Safety Team Report 5/16/09

Campaign For Atlanta

I have recently become involved in a group of folks who, like me – are proud of living in the city, but are extremely frustrated in the inefficiencies and shortfalls of our city government. This group, Campaign for Atlanta, is a grassroots citizen’s initiative, to ask mayoral candidates to focus seriously – with precision and depth – their plans for addressing solvency, services and public safety. The intent is to get past clichéd campaign rhetorics and talking points and get to their thought-out plans and ideas for turning the city around.

This group will not endorse any candidates – but will, through a series of taped forums with questioning by neighborhood leaders, draw out of each of the leading candidates, as to how they will meet the challenges of being our next Mayor. These forums will then be available for viewing and analyzing on the group’s website at your leisure so you can make an intelligent voting choice. Our next Mayor needs to be organized and be able to hit the ground running immediately.

Go to the website at www.campaignforatlanta.com read the plans, then sign the petition to show the candidates there are thousands of us who are seriously concerned about the state of our city. The goal is to have at least eight to ten thousand city-wide signatures to show to the candidates. Show your serious concern by adding your name to the list just as thousands did on the ATAC website!!

The “30 Deep” Gang Arrests by APD

Blue jean thefts and murder were mixed together. The story is at http://www.ajc.com/metro/content/atlanta/stories/2009/05/15/blue_jean_thefts.html

Safety Team Street Captain’s Meeting

Thanx to all the folks who came out last Saturday morning to seriously discuss safety concerns in the neighborhood and how we, as private citizens, can make a difference just by connecting neighbors together to look out for each other. I’ll be sending out the notes from this meeting in my next Report. I also continue to get requests to be added to this Report distribution list, and I am grateful for the interest. What I do ask though, is that you also be willing to take on the responsibility of being a Street Captain, connect the folks on your block, and pass the Reports on to them.

Crime reports from APD

The following part of this report is gleaned from our APD Zone 6 crime stats, with specific emphasis on our Beat # 603, but with news from all over Zone 6 as it pertains to us. These stats are for weeks # 18 and 19 of 2009, and are meant to help you be aware and alert and change your everyday habits to lessen the chances of your becoming a victim.

• Aggravated Assault – There was a domestic altercation on Monroe Place resulting in non-life threatening injuries.
• Auto Theft – Vehicles were stolen from Lanier Boulevard and PDL Avenue. Elsewhere in the Zone – there were 5 motor scooters stolen, many of which were not securely chained. These scooters can be loaded into a pickup truck or van in seconds. Secure your scooter!!
• Auto Theft Recovery – A car stolen from Sherwood Road was found parked on Drewry Street and reunited with the owner.
• Commercial Burglary – Three separate units were broken into at the storage facility on Kanuga Street. The Eros bar on Monroe Drive was entered through a 2nd floor balcony using a ladder.
• Commercial Robbery – A Checkers restaurant on Memorial Drive was robbed in a scenario similar to what happened recently at the Taco Mac on Virginia Avenue. An employee was taking out the trash at 11:30 p.m. when confronted by an armed perp who used him to gain access through the back door – he then took the cash from the safe. This serves as yet another warning to businesses to not let down your guard when you are busy cleaning up at closing time – this seems to be a very vulnerable time period when everyone is anxious to go home.
• Larceny from Auto – Vehicles were broken into on Los Angeles Avenue (3), Frederica Street (2), PDL Avenue (2), and Virginia Avenue (2). Of these 9 different incidents – 4 of the owners were neighborhood visitors. Please remember the Clean Car Campaign – especially if you are in the hospitality business and want your patrons to return. Make sure hosts and servers gently remind patrons to return to their parked cars if they have not hidden all items visible from outside. If we can collectively eliminate the bait – the rats will go elsewhere for thievery. This is a shared responsibility for all of us. All around Zone 6 in this time period there were 20 GPS systems stolen, 2 more hand guns added to the arsenal on the streets, 6 in-dash stereo/radios ripped out and one license plate taken off.
• Larceny Other – The Java Jive on PDL Avenue had copper piping taken from their rooftop a/c unit. I’m sure the damage will cost far more then the paltry sum the thieves received for the scrap copper. The Bank America branch on PDL Avenue had 5 checks belonging to a customer where a perp had simply changed the name on the checkface. The Bank America had yet another ATM card left in the machine, and of course, it was stolen and used. Our PDL Avenue Kroger and Publix stores caught 4 more shoplifters. The Edgewood Target caught 6 shoplifters. Yet another case of new checks stolen from a mailbox in Kirkwood – arrange to pickup your checks at the bank rather than having them mailed to you. There is evidently a job opening at a Mrs. Winner’s on McDonough Boulevard south of here. The employee who was supposed to make a bank drop never did so, and of course, never came back to work.
• Residential Burglary – This particular report is a little fuzzy – but at an apartment on Briarcliff Terrace, the victim heard someone at the door, and just as he started to answer, the perp kicked in the door, but fled. A Drewry Street home was entered via a kicked-in back door. All around Zone 6 there were 14 cases of kicked-in doors for entry to homes, with the most common items stolen were flat-screen tv sets. Please, please – make sure your flat screen cannot be seen through your windows. Either move it to another room or cover your windows so that the flickering light cannot be seen outside at night. I am not making a recommendation here – but the next time you are at Intown Hardware, check out the door frame face plate they have for sale, and seriously think about your own doors. In fact – if you have other door strengthening ideas – let me know and I’ll put them in the next report. We’re all in this together.