LaFayette Public Safety
In 2021, the LaFayette Police Department and LaFayette Fire Department were consolidated under one administration.
LaFayette Public Safety Director Stacey Meeks heads up three departments which include Police, Fire and Emergency Management.
Department Assistant Chief Jason Steadman is running the day-to-day operations of the Police Department. The day-to-day operations of the Fire Department is conducted by Assistant Chief Stacy Blaylock.
LaFayette Police Department
208 North Main Street
LaFayette, GA 30728
706-639-1540
There are 24 full-time police officers and 6 part-time officers with the City of LaFayette Police Department as well as a 2-person civilian administration staff.
“We really adhere to the community policing model,” Meeks said. “We police with a strong sense of service to our citizens and community.”
Meeks said LaFayette Police believes in building partnerships with local businesses and our school system and work with both on a daily basis.
Crime prevention and security is first and foremost, Meeks said.
“We are able to maintain a strong sense of community policing while maintaining an emphasis on safety and security in the community,” Meeks said.
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Three Divisions of Teamwork
There are three divisions within LaFayette Police Department.
Patrol Division
The first division includes Patrol and is commanded by Lt. Chris Reynolds. Patrol has four police sergeants including Sgt. Brock Campbell, Sgt. Josh Worley, Sgt. Tyler Houser and Sgt. Heath Owens. Each sergeant has a shift of officers who work under them patrolling the city.
Patrol also includes the Street Crime Unit comprised of two sergeants including Sgt. Dusty Coker and Sgt. Ryan Wilson.
The Street Crime Unit’s primary role is overall crime suppression within the community which includes street level drug interdiction as well as a concentrated patrol on high crime areas.
There are two School Resource Officers consisting of Sgt. Pepper Stanfield and Cpl. Mike Sprouse.
Detective Division
The Detective Division is commanded by Lt. Billy Mullis and consist of Sgt. Robbie Tate and Sgt. Nick Terry (Narcotics).
Administrative Division
The Administrative Division is headed up by Lt. Dusty Clift and all civilian employees—as well as Animal Patrol—fall under Clift within Administration.
The overall command consists of Director of Public Safety Stacey Meeks and Assistant Chief Jason Steadman.
The city also has a Special Response Team that handles all tactical operations within the City of LaFayette which include hostage situations, barricaded suspects, active shooter scenarios and high-risk warrant service.
Additional Patrol on the Streets
“Since assuming the role of Public Safety Director, I have been able to rearrange existing staff as well as bringing on part-time employees to add more officers on the street for patrol which is huge,” Meeks said.
“Now—more than ever—we have more police officers on patrol at one time than we have ever had, and we accomplished that by restructuring the department and hiring part-time officers as well as the creation of the Street Crimes Unit,” Meeks said.
Now, there are 4-to-6 officers per shift as opposed to 2-to-3 in the past.
“What we have seen is an overall decrease in property crimes and I attribute it directly to the increase police presence, specifically the Street Crimes Unit Team,” Meeks said.
A second full-time School Resource Officer (SRO) was added also in 2021.
Emergency Response Team
Starting in 2022, under the Emergency Management umbrella, the city will start a Community Emergency Response Team (CERT). It will be headed up by EMA Coordinator Vernon Barnett.
This will consist of volunteers under-going a 16-hour training class where they will be issued gear and would be called out to assist and respond in times of crisis and emergencies within the community and also assist in community events like the annual Honeybee Festival.
Meeks said he considers the City of LaFayette as the Gateway to Pigeon Mountain, with so much wilderness activity, and the CERT Team can assist the county as a Ground Search and Rescue Team.
Anyone interested in joining the CERT Team would be very much appreciated and should contact the LaFayette Police Department.
An Open-Door Policy
“I have an open-door policy,” Meeks said. “And I welcome any and all citizens that have concerns or complaints to come see me at any time.”
Meeks said streamlining the Public Safety Administration frees the director up to be the liaison with the community.
“That’s my job. I’m out. I’m interacting. I’m communicating with different businesses throughout the day and communication is key for this position,” Meeks said.