VaHi Safety Team Report: February 24, 2015
By John Wolfinger
Learning Opportunities Coming Up
Two citizens public safety academies starting soon and a city-wide safety awareness program, too.
The Fulton County Sheriff’s Citizen’s Academy, to be held on 7 Wednesday evenings from 6 to 8 p.m., starts April 22nd. These sessions are mostly held at the County Safety Training Center on Merk Road in College Park near the Wolf Trap outdoor arena. The purpose of this academy is to give an understanding of the daily operations of the Sheriff’s Office from every aspect to include a tour of the downtown courthouse, the Fulton County Jail, the Special Operations/Tactical Units and a portion of their specialized training. Sheriff Ted Jackson and Chief Jimmy Carter will personally give several of the presentations. This class is already more than halfway filled up, so to hold a seat – contact Lieutenant Dan Cochran at [email protected] listing your name, e-mail address, mailing address and phone numbers. I also have applications – e-mail me for a copy. I am a graduate of this program and it is a stellar presentation.
The City of Atlanta Police Department has announced their spring session of their Citizen’s Police Academy, to be held for 8 Wednesday evenings starting April 29th, from 6 to 9 p.m. These sessions are mostly held at the Police Academy on Southside Industrial Parkway near the main post office. This program provides an opportunity to learn how the police department operates with its many units. This includes a visit to our 911 operations center, a ride-along with a Beat Officer, watching a K-9 demo and a chance to meet a lot of seasoned Officers who teach classes at the Training Academy. Request an application at [email protected] – the deadline for doing this is April 1st. I am also a graduate of this terrific program, and it is eye-opening.
APD is also sponsoring a city-wide safety awareness training program on Saturday, March 21st from 8:45 a.m. until 1:30 p.m. at the downtown Public Safety Building – free parking at the attached garage. E-mail Inspector S. Thomas at [email protected] for further details and registration. Deadline for registration is March 16th.
These sessions allow you to see how relatively crime-free VaHi is compared to what other city neighborhoods have to endure.
The following reports are taken from our APD Zone 6 (http://atlantapd.org/Zone6.aspx) VaHi Beat 601 reported incidents for the 2015 weeks 6 and 7 (2/1-2/14). These reports are not meant to scare anyone, but to let you know what happens around us everyday – so you can be alert and aware. This report is absolutely amazing to me – with the small amount of 601 reported incidents.
Aggravated Assault: No reported incidents from Beat 601.
Auto Theft: No reported incidents from Beat 601. However, all over the Zone there were 27 such cases.
Commercial Burglary: No reported incidents from Beat 601.
Residential Burglary: No reported incidents from Beat 601.
Commercial Robbery: No reported incidents from Beat 601.
Residential Robbery: No reported incidents from Beat 601.
Pedestrian Robbery: No reported incidents from Beat 601.
Larceny From Vehicle: Only ONE such incident reported – PDL Place (camera, laptop and bag, tablet and house keys). However, in the total Zone in this time period there were 53 such incidents – with one catalytic converter sawed off and one more hand gun added to the arsenal on the streets.
Larceny Other: An iPhone and a tablet were stolen from a Greenwood Avenue apartment – they were taken by an acquaintance of the resident while she was taking a shower.
Nearby, on Edgewood Avenue – a big “whoops” – a cell phone was taken from the dashboard of an APD patrol car while the Officer was out of the car conducting a traffic stop. Guess that nothing is sacred anymore.
All of the stores at Edgewood Retail District reported 6 shoplifting incidents. At the Walgreens at Piedmont and North Avenues – a “shopper” pretending to buy a cupcake, grabbed the cash out of the register when the drawer was opened – he ran and escaped.
Just because we only had one auto break-in in this time period – do NOT forget the Clean Car Campaign and keep ALL parked cars cleaned out at ALL times.
Spring will be here soon – just endure the rest of winter.