Welcome to the March edition of the PENS Bulletin brought to you by the Cobb County Police Criminal Investigations Unit at Precinct Two.

Public Safety Topic(s) of the Month

Safety Tips for Spring Break Travel and Crime Prevention

The National Crime Prevention Council (NCPC), home of McGruff the Crime Dog, issues tips for travelers, which include protecting ourselves, family and homes. The NCPC suggests following these safety tips to avoid problems during your travels:

Personal Travel Plan: Think Before You Go

• File a “travel plan.” Let someone know where you are going, the route you plan to take, when you plan to arrive and how to contact you. If you deviate from that plan, let someone know.
• Travel with friends. There is safety in numbers.
• Make sure your house appears “lived-in” when you are away. Lock all doors and windows, set household lights (inside and out) on timers.
• Trim your hedges and bushes so thieves cannot have a place to hide out.
• Have a neighbor park a car in your driveway to make it appear as if someone is home.
• Have a neighbor pick up your mail and newspapers while you are away or have them held at the post office.
• Invest in an alarm. An alarm system controls access points to your home and lets you know if someone has invaded your space.

Driving: On the Road Again

• Always lock your car doors. Keep valuables out of sight, preferably in the trunk of your car.
• Never pick up hitchhikers.
• Park in well-lighted areas and close to the building.
• Do not stop alongside the road if possible. If your car is bumped from behind or if someone indicates there is something wrong with your car, go to a service station or a well-lighted, populated area and call for help.
• Fill the gas tank before dark; lock your car doors and roll up your windows if you step away from the car for any reason. 

Cobb County Camera Registry

The Cobb County Police Camera Registration program is a police/community video partnership that operates on a voluntary basis with homeowners, neighborhoods and business owners who own private video surveillance systems. We encourage both businesses and residents to register their cameras online by completing the form below.

This program is intended to let our officers know where cameras are active in the county in case a crime occurs. It is not intended for active surveillance, and officers will not have direct access to homeowners' cameras. Those who register a camera will be contacted if a crime occurs in the vicinity of that camera. Information provided by residents and businesses will be maintained in a secure database.

Fill out our Online Registration Form and find out more about the program.

Your Heroes at Work

Suspicious Person / Burglary

Officers Abernathy and Sorenson responded to a complaint from a neighbor that he had observed two males make entry into a residence (which he did not believe they lived in). The officers arrived on scene and called out to the residence. They heard a strange noise when they made entry. Once done the same neighbor advised them that two males had left the rear of the residence when they arrived. Officers checked several side streets and the heavily wooded areas around the location. Sergeant Abernathy arrived on scene and observed a pickup truck on the side of the road. This caught his eye and he thought it may be picking up someone. The vehicle quickly left the scene and was stopped for a brake light violation. The occupants were nervous and sweaty. They were confirmed as the suspects by video footage, evidence located in the truck as well as a show-up conducted with the witness/complainant. Both suspects were charged with Burglary, Obstruction, and one was charged with False Name DOB.

Hit and Run / DUI

Precinct II officers were dispatched to a traffic accident with injuries. While en route, the complainant advised that one of the vehicles was leaving the scene south bound on Hiram Lithia Springs Road. Cobb Fire arrived on scene first and advised that there were no injuries. Officers canvassed the area and Officer Neill located the hit and run vehicle deep in a pasture. The female driver was highly intoxicated and passively resistant. Her vehicle had significant damage to the driver’s side with airbags deployed. Officer Neill conducted SFST’s and took the driver into custody. The female driver was charged with DUI-less safe, open container, running a stop sign and hit and run.

These are only a couple of examples that demonstrate the hard work and professionalism exhibited by the officers of Precinct 2 on a daily basis.

Community Affairs Officers for Precinct 2

Officer Cole and Officer Conwell are assigned as the Community Affairs officers serving the community in Precinct 2.

The Community Affairs Unit seeks to effectively engage the community and citizens to strengthen Public Safety and community partnerships, facilitate a joint effort in solving problems which affect our community, and foster enhanced trust, communication, transparency, and mutual respect.

Officers help foster a strong working relationship between the Department and the community it serves. Officers work with homeowners associations, community organizations, advocacy groups, public and private schools, faith-based organizations, and individual residents to promote partnerships that are mutually beneficial.

As a result of these working partnerships, the officers are able to develop pro-active crime fighting projects that are jointly undertaken by Department personnel and citizens.

If you have a concern effecting your area or would like more information regarding this unit, please contact Officer Cole or Conwell.

Officers Cole and Conwell can be reached via email at Rivion.cole@cobbcounty.org and James.Conwell@cobbcounty.org.

Stay up to Date with Critical Information

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Cobb Department of Public Safety staff is working to enhance the delivery of near real-time information to residents about incidents that may have significant and/or imminent impacts on their safety or welfare. DPS has implemented the SwiftReach Swift911 notification system to distribute these types of alerts.

SwiftReach is a high-speed emergency notification system that alerts residents to emergency situations including severe weather, missing and endangered persons or significant road closures due to fatality accidents or other unplanned incidents in the local area. The program has the capability of delivering pre-recorded messages to the entire county via telephone, cell phone, email and text messaging. The system uses a publicly-available list of phone numbers that can be removed or updated by both residents and businesses.

There are two simple options to opt-in and provide contact information for this service. Sign up on for the service online. Residents can also get the Swift911 Mobile App by texting the word “Swift911” to “99538.” The response text will be a link for the Swift 911 app in the app store. SwiftReach is another example of using current technology to ensure residents receive vital information from the Department of Public Safety.

Police Athletic League

Cobb PAL focuses on juvenile crime prevention through athletic and recreational activities for Cobb County’s high-risk neighborhoods, primarily in South Cobb. There are many ways that you can help, whether it be spreading the word, getting your children involved, volunteering your time and resources or donating money. If you wish to assist this worthwhile program and make a donation, visit Ways to Help.

Sign Up for PENS Bulletins

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If you have any questions or concerns feel free to contact us at Precinct2Pens@cobbcounty.org

Thank you for your participation.

Lieutenant M.T. Brown - Precinct 2 Criminal Investigations Unit
Sergeant M. Nerbonne - Precinct 2 Criminal Investigations Unit (Day) 
Sergeant K. Clausen - Precinct 2 Criminal Investigations Unit (Evenings)