Safety Team Report 2/20/09
Citizen’s CourtWatch Training
– Learn How to Advocate for Your Community. This program helps community members actively participate in the criminal justice system. This is a wonderful way to find out how our justice system works and why it sometimes fails us. It’s an intricate process involving aspects of law enforcement, the prosecution system, our jail and penal system and the legal profession. This training session really helps to make sense of how all these different systems have to work hand in hand to protect us, and is very well presented. I hope several folks from our NPU can attend and join in our network of courtwatchers I can call on to attend specific court cases. This is on Saturday, March 7 from 9 to noon at the Fulton County Courthouse, Justice Center Tower, at 185 Central Avenue, S.W. For more info e-mail to [email protected] or call Janet Martin at 404-699-5297. This is sponsored by the Fulton County District Attorney’s Community Prosecution Program. I’ll be glad to answer questions too at [email protected]
City Council District 6 Town Hall Meeting
– Anne Fauver is hosting this event, March 4, at 7 p.m. at the Inman Middle School, with the main topics of discussion being city public safety, the budget crisis, and other related city information. See you there!
Crime reports from APD
The following crime stat info is taken from our APD Zone 6 reports for weeks 6 and 7 of 2009, with specific emphasis on our Beat # 603, but news from around all of Zone 6 as it pertains to us. Please take heed from this info as to how you can alter your day to day activities to avoid being the victim of crime, and heighten your sense of awareness.
Aggravated Assault – On 2/4 at noon on Kings Court in Morningside the victim stated the suspects blocked his vehicle in his driveway and began to yell at him for honking his horn at passersby. The w/f suspect got out of the vehicle, cocked and pointed a pistol at him. The victim ran to the house to get his father – the w/m and w/f then left in their car.
Auto Theft – One vehicle stolen from Rosedale Drive.
Larceny From Auto – Vehicles were broken into on Virginia Avenue (2) and a license plate was stolen from a car on Glen Arden Way being replaced with a stolen one. Keep checking to make sure you have your plate on your car.
Around all of Zone 6 in this time period there were 3 license plates taken off, 14 GPS systems stolen, 5 indash stereo/radios ripped out, two cases of wheels/tires taken off, one catalytic converter sawed off, and two more weapons added to the arsenal on the streets. Keep reminding your visitors to make sure their car is cleaned out to make their VaHi visit safe.
Larceny Other – Another trailer stolen – this time from the Publix parking lot (under the cover of darkness) at Lavista and Cheshire Bridge Roads. A FedEx package stolen from a Rock Springs Circle front porch. A construction company’s BobCat stolen from a Cheshire Bridge Road parking lot (maybe they loaded it into a stolen trailer?). A Bellevue Drive resident is missing jewelry and a dog walker is suspected. The BlockBuster on PDL Avenue caught a shoplifter. Money was taken from the bar of an unidentified PDL Avenue tavern. An ice machine was stolen from Doc Chey’s on North Highland Avenue. A locked bike was taken from a rack in front of the Majestic on PDL Avenue. At the bowling alley on Piedmont Circle – a watch was stolen when placed on top of the victim’s purse while she went to the snack bar (I’m surprised the purse wasn’t taken also). Employee’s personal items were taken from a storage room at the Dark Horse Tavern on North Highland Avenue. At the Edgewood Retail District, the Target caught 7 shoplifters, the Kroger’s caught 5 shoplifters (including another guy with two bottles of champagne in his pants). The PDL Avenue Kroger and Publix stores caught 9 shoplifters.
Pedestrian Robbery – On 2/7 at 2:10 a.m. a Virginia Avenue resident was walking to her car on Lindbergh Drive when a car pulled up with one armed b/m getting out and demanding her purse – he also demanded her car keys, but she refused and the perps fled in their car. On 2/1 at 11:15 p.m. a local female resident was walking in the alley behind Atkins Park Restaurant when two h/m grabbed her purse and fled in a white minivan.
Residential Burglary – At the Briarcliff Summit building on PDL Avenue an apartment was entered for thievery. On 2/6 at 3:03 a.m. at a PDL Avenue apartment the victims came home to find one perp in their living room – as they grabbed him they heard another perp fleeing from a side door – they saw a total of 3 b/m jump the fence behind their building. Entry was made through a smashed side door glass panel. On 2/7 at 11:45 p.m. at a Somerset Terrace apartment in Poncey Highland, the victims were in the apartment below theirs when they heard footsteps overhead – they went upstairs and caught the perp in the act. On 2/13 another PDL Avenue apartment was entered via a smashed rear window. All around Zone 6 in this time period 14 residences were entered via kicked-in doors, including one on Piedmont Circle. Nine residential flat screen tv’s were stolen – being very honest with yourself – see if your set is visible through windows from the street. Don’t give these guys an invitation to break in to your home. Don’t think they are not out driving around at nite and looking for ones that can be easily seen.
Other News For Business Owners
– These tips are from Threat Management Consultants – www.threatmangment.net on the use of panic alarms. These should be placed discretely at the register, office and kitchen and where they cannot be hit accidentally. Mobile panic alarms should be used by the most mobile employee during business hours and at closing time two employees should be equipped – the person counting out the cash and another person elsewhere in the business in the event of a robbery. Care needs to be taken against accidental false alarms to avoid false alarm fines.
PEDS News
– PEDS is about to launch an upgrade to their website at www.PEDS.org The Take Action tool where you can report pedestrian hazards directly to the City of Atlanta responsible person will be expanded to allow pictures to be downloaded for a better report. April will be Feet on Atlanta month and PEDS will be asking for dangerous sidewalk conditions – but don’t wait til then to make a report, since we still have miles of bad sidewalks. Visit their website to learn about all their activities.
North Highland Avenue Streetscape Improvements
– The second phase of this project (centered around the south side of the Virginia Avenue intersection) is scheduled to begin February 20 with the bulk of the construction completed before Summerfest. Hope we can believe this schedule!
Springtime Special Events
– The ING Marathon is scheduled for Sunday, March 29th on the same route as last year – be prepared this year! Dogwood Festival returns to Piedmont Park on the 3rd weekend of April. The parking/traffic plan will be basically the same as instituted two years ago (which really worked) and will be coordinated by our own FBAC/APD Detective Chris Clark.
Recycling
– If you are using additional containers for your recycling other than the city issued black box or the new big blue cans, I have stickers on my front porch at 1054 Vance Avenue, that you can identify your ad hoc containers with so they will not be mistaken for regular trash. Just come by and get them from my porch.
Be alert and stay safe!!!!
John