Community Policing office opens

Published 3:11 pm Wednesday, August 23, 2017

MOULTRIE, Ga. — Police Chief Emeritus Frank Lang opened the city’s Community Policing Office Wednesday with fanfare and plans for reaching out to the community.

Lang, who served as Moultrie police chief for 13 years before moving into this new position, emphasized the importance of community members and law enforcement working together to fight crime.

“It’s really important that we in law enforcement partner with the community,” he told about 100 people who came out for the grand opening of Lang’s office at 132-B First St. S.E.

In an interview following the ceremony, Lang said his plan starts with area ministers.

“I think it’s going to be so important to get them involved on the ground floor,” he said, citing the influence pastors have with a “captive audience” every Sunday morning.

“They have an opportunity to help spread the message that we as citizens have to be more involved (in keeping their neighborhoods safe),” he said.

That involvement doesn’t extend to taking up arms. “We’re not expecting anybody but the officers to put on a gun and a badge,” he said.

Lang is also making plans for coordination with local organizations. One of the first will likely be the Moultrie chapter of the National Alliance on Mental Illness, with which he worked closely to establish Crisis Intervention Training at the Moultrie Police Department. Lynn Wilson, one of the founders of NAMI-Moultrie and now its vice president, was visibly excited about the opportunity Lang’s new position might offer to expand the CIT program.

“Chief Lang could help us attain CIT (Crisis Intervention Team) training for 100 percent of our law enforcement,” Wilson said earlier, a position she reaffirmed after the grand opening.

During the opening event, city officials noted the importance of cooperation and communication between citizens and law enforcement with examples from a nearby town.

“If we needed a reminder of how important that is, we have Thomasville,” City Manager Pete Dillard said, referring to protests following an officer-involved shooting last week.

But on the positive side, Mayor Bill McIntosh noted that tips from the Thomas County community on Friday led officers there to a suspect wanted in two Moultrie robberies.