Residents press DeKalb police on ICE stops, patrols, noise and traffic at town hall

Residents at the East Precinct town hall pressed DeKalb County Police on immigration enforcement, patrol responsiveness and local quality-of-life concerns.

James Jackson asked what would happen if ICE were conducting stops that required passports or birth certificates and whether local policehands would be tied. "We know ICE is all over the place," Jackson said, describing a church notice and a recent case he cited. Chief Greg Padrick replied that DeKalb has no federal immigration authority and that the department had no confirmed reports of ICE operations in the county. "We operate under Georgia law and with county authority," Padrick said, noting that federal agencies do not have to notify local police but that DeKalb officers respond to 911 calls and document scenes with body-worn cameras.

Patrols and follow-up: multiple residents asked for directed patrols, speed-trailer rotations and follow-up on reports. Major Baron described the POAP (patrol-as-often-as-possible) electronic system and explained that community-submitted POAPs expire after 30 days and can be escalated to directed patrols when supervisors see repeated requests. Padrick and commanders repeatedly directed residents to public education specialist Danae Weber as the main point of contact to register concerns and track follow-up.

Noise and traffic enforcement: Assistant Chief Raimondo Hughes said DeKalb is revising its noise ordinance (previously enforced 11 p.m. to 7 a.m.) to allow officers to enforce based on audible disturbance at any hour once the county commission passes the rewrite. He confirmed dog-barking complaints remain handled by animal control and said loud-muffler ordinances are enforceable when officers can hear the violation.

Other issues: residents raised abandoned and parked commercial vehicles, truck traffic on residential streets (requesting restored signage), the sanitation and safety risks posed by informal street vendors ("water boys"), and requests for crosswalks at busy entrances. The department said it would work with Traffic Engineering for road/sign fixes, use directed patrols for enforcement, and connect young vendors to PAL and WorkSource DeKalb job resources.

Next steps: officials asked residents to submit specific addresses and incidents to Ms. Weber or use the police website's traffic-concern tab so staff can document, monitor and escalate persistent problems.