Atlanta, GA - Governor Brian Kemp today sent a letter to members of the Atlanta City Council urging them to support a new law enforcement and first responder training center. An excerpt from the letter is below, and a full copy is available upon request:

The Atlanta City Council is in a unique position to support a new training facility for law enforcement and first responders. Increasing training and support for public safety personnel has united all sides of the political spectrum here in the Peach State in the past, and at a time when residents in our capital city are being plagued by a drastic rise in violent crime, I am encouraging the council to promptly approve this facility.

Our capital city and surrounding metropolitan area are facing a crime crisis. That’s why I have dedicated additional state resources, including the Department of Public Safety’s Crime Suppression Unit and millions of emergency dollars in state funding, to support the Atlanta Police Department. This has been a productive partnership and their joint efforts are seeing significant progress with dozens of wanted criminals taken off the streets, hundreds of stolen vehicles recovered, and thousands of arrests and citations for unlawful conduct.

The security of our families and communities hang in the balance, and we must continue to do all we can to support our public safety partners.