Participating agency chiefs and operational commanders now meet regularly to discuss crime statistics and identify current public safety issues. Group discussions focus on how member agencies can maximize the use of technology and work together to resolve problems, especially around interconnecting jurisdictional boundaries. The ILE has implemented a number of collaborative initiatives designed to improve both the real and perceived sense of safety in the downtown area. ILE members frequently coordinate personnel deployment plans to maximize visibility, an invaluable strategy for a city with 2,300 conventions and millions of visitors annually. Overlapping bicycle patrols and foot patrols that team officers from various agencies are now commonplace in the central business district.
Police now combine efforts to promote responsible youth development.
During school hours, police throughout the city enforce Georgia's compulsory school attendance law. The safety of another 1,271 youths was likewise assured when APD officers picked them up when found in violation of the City's curfew ordinance. As another example of ILE cooperation, member agencies share responsibility for monitoring the five surveillance cameras recently installed in the downtown area. The cameras, which can swivel 340 degrees and zoom in so tightly so as to make a license plate legible from a quarter mile away, have greatly aided public safety efforts downtown. As a result of ILE discussions, private security officers, once enveloped by downtown office buildings and unaware of surrounding events, increasingly patrol their property boundaries, adding to a sense of security omnipresence.