As of late Wednesday, some 24 people have applied to be Peachtree City’s next police chief.

Mayor Harold Logsdon said he hopes to have the position filled by the middle of February. The city has not yet cut off the acceptance of applications.

The next chief will be chosen by the City Council in a public vote at a council meeting.

The opening has been advertised in a police trade publication, in addition to the Georgia Municipal Association and the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, Logsdon said.

Logsdon, speaking recently about issues facing the city in the upcoming year, said he hopes the police department will provide increased drug enforcement and drug education in the near future.

Among a number of accomplishments during his tenure, now-retired Chief James Murray has kept the department’s national accreditation, which he has said significantly improves policing because of all the standards and goals that have to be met to maintain the honor.

It is likely that the city’s next police chief will have to continue that tradition of maintaining national accreditation, officials have said.