VaHi Safety Team Report

The VaHi Safety Team Report, compiled by Virginia-Highland resident John Wolfinger, is intended to update residents on recent crimes. The information in the report is provided by the Atlanta Police department.

The following report was sent to residents via e-mail on Tuesday, June 14.

Vehicle Break-ins  

I have been getting a lot of reports from Street Captains about multiple vehicle intrusions on the same nites lately.  The pattern seems to be that the thieves are walking the street and trying door handles - if it is unlocked they enter and see what they can find to take.  If the door is locked and something that looks like it is worth taking is visible to them - the window is broken for entry.    Other than the fact that we have these nite-time cruisers, it is also troubling thatthesetrusions are not being reported to APD Zone 6 via a 911 call.  Even if it is not determined that nothing has been taken - the owner's personal space has been violated and needs to be reported.  Also - it may be ascertained a week or so later that something is missing from the glovebox, under the seat or the console.  These 911 calls also determine as to how Zone 6 allocates its personnel resources- areas with the most 911 reports are the ones most likely to receive extra patrol help.  So - an unreported incident robs us all in the end.   I fully realize that there are two distinct schools of thought about leaving vehicles locked or unlocked - the unlocked folks figure it will save them the cost of replacing a broken window, and the locked door folks (myself included) figure it will help to deter an entry if nothing is visible.  Probably all of us feel that our vehicle is part of our own personal space (and it is), but this is not the time to also consider it extra storage space - in the long run empty vehicles are just not enticing to thieves.  We have to remember that thievery is a "job" to some folks and if a whole street or parking lot contains nothing but clean and empty parked cars - these guys will quickly turn to more lucrative areas for them.   We also need to be diligent about warning our neighborhood visitors to clean out their parked cars and this includes folks in the hospitality business to diplomatically warn their patrons.  We are all responsible for lowering the incidents in this crime category by remembering the Clean Car Campaign.

Scammers  

Our roadside scammer is still plying his trade - I got a report that he was sighted at Lindberg Center on 6/9 and was picked up by an unsuspecting good Samaritan.  His picture is at  http://groups.yahoo.com/group/vhlist/message/10800    Out on the interstates another scammer is at work - the story at  http://www.ajc.com/news/atlanta/motorist-scammed-by-phony-973031.html?printArticle=y  

PDL Avenue Pedestrian Safety  

Our diligent local pedestrian-advocating non-profit, PEDS, is sponsoring a meeting 6/21 at Druid Hills Baptist Church to discuss pedestrian safety on this vital traffic corridor in our midst.  Details on the attachment to this report.  This gathering should be of special interest to the residents of Briarcliff Summit and other community residents who walk to PDL Avenue stores and services.  

Our New Teen Curfew   More details and how it can affect all of us in the long run at  http://atlpd.us/ssic  

Contacting APD   I continually get queries about contacting APD with a "non-emergency" phone number - the only way we have to contact APD is via a 911 phone call.  But - don't worry, your non-emergency will not keep someone with a life-threatening situation from receiving help.  Your call is first answered by an operator who ascertains where you are calling from and as to whether you need APD or AFR (for fire or medical help), and then transfers the call to either anAPD zone dispatcher or to AFR.  The APD zone dispatcher knows what all of the personnel in their zone are doing and priortizes your call as to the degree of emergency and contacts a responder.  Yes - we could use a 311 call center for non-emergency, but that is not in the cards for now.   Office Cooper, who was our evening watch patrolman, and who is now working on our Field Investigative Team during the daytime, has asked for you to contact him via e-mail for anything you think needs to be looked at.  His city e-mail is jgcooper@atlantaga.gov  Now, of course, this is for situations not requiring immediate response - but general problems that can be looked at when he has time in his schedule.    

The following reports are gleaned from our APD Zone 6 crime stats for the weeks of 22 and 23 of 2011, with emphasis on our  own Beat 603 (all of VaHi), but with news from around the whole Zone as it applies to us.  Again, I state these reports are not meant to scare anyone, but to help to make you aware of what happens around us everyday.  

Aggravated Assault  -  No reports in Beat 603  

Auto Theft  - A vehicle was stolen from Amsterdam Walk, a scooter taken on North Highland Avenue, and there was a botched theft attempt on Greenwood Avenue - the battery was dead :)  One of the few times that a dead battery is a good thing!  

Auto Theft Recovery  -  No reports in Beat 603  

Residential Burglary  -  No reports in Beat 603  

Residential Robbery  -  No reports in Beat 603  

Commercial Burglary  -  No reports in Beat 603 But nearby, the Rock Springs Presbyterian Church was entered with computers being stolen.

Commercial Robbery  -  No reports in Beat 603 But nearby, at the Rite-Aid store on Piedmont Avenue near Ansley Mall, a shoplifter pulled a knife on the security guard, but fled on foot.  

Larceny From Auto  -  Vehicles were entered on PDL Terrace, St. Charles Avenue (3), PDL Avenue, Greenwood Avenue (2) and a rooftop bike rack was taken from Virginia Circle.  These were the REPORTED incidents for Beat 603 - Zone 6 does not know how many such incidents were not reported via 911.  All around Zone 6 in this time period there were 7 laptops stolen, 6 GPS systems taken and two more handguns added to the arsenal on the streets. An embarrased ( I would think) Fulton County Detention Officer lost some of her uniforms in the southern part of the Zone.  

Larceny Other  -  At Aurora Coffee on North Highland Avenue at 4 p.m. a laptop was stolen from a patron's table by two perps - they were chased by two vigilant customers to Lanier Boulevard where the perps were picked up in a car that sped away east on the wrong side of Lanier.  Nearby, our two PDL Avenue supermarkets, Kroger and Publix, caught 5 shoplifters, and the Edgewood Target caught 4 non-paying patrons.  All around the Zone - a/c units continue to be stolen at a rapid rate - especially from empty houses and churches.

Pedestrian Robbery  -  At PDL Avenue and PDL Place, a lone male pedesrtian was robbed of $5.00 in cash by two unarmed males at 1 a.m. A female victim had her purse snatched on North Highland Avenue just north of the CVS store at 2:30 a.m. by a lone male who was picked up by an accomplice in a pickup and fled southward.