City of Athens

The Special Services Division is led by Lieutenant Fred Schultz. This division includes the Department’s Detective Unit, Student Resource Unit, and Directed Patrol Unit.

The Detective Unit consists of two officers who are assigned cases that are especially complicated or long-term in nature. This unit is also responsible for running the Department’s in-house crime lab. Developed in 2019, this crime lab allows the department to process evidence for fingerprints and conduct other basic tasks that the agency could not perform prior to the lab.

The School Resource Unit consists of one uniformed officer assigned to the Athens City School System. This officer serves as a liaison between the Department and School System, which aids in the Department’s efforts to ensure the safety of our students.

The Directed Patrol Unit consists of one uniformed officer who is tasked with long-term management of cases and issues that are not easily handled by patrol officers who work unusual shift hours. Some notable examples of the things this officer handles are the City’s Downtown area and the Police Department’s ongoing efforts to address issues related to homelessness in the area.

In addition to the aforementioned personnel, this Division manages the Department’s relationship with the 10th Judicial District Drug Task Force. Like several other agencies in the area, APD assigns an officer to work full-time with this unit in order to address drug issues in the area. Since APD began assigning an officer to this unit in 2019, this partnership has resulted in the arrest of numerous drug dealers.