VaHi Safety Team Report January & Early February

Crime Statistics

This morning we received the following message from Atlanta Police Department

Good Morning all;

Hope this email finds you all in good grace. Zone 6 Crime Analysis has not as of yet gotten caught up on the Community briefings for 2016. We’ve been having technical difficulties with our computers/server, on top of the task of re-creating formulas for stats for the new year.  These situations are very time consuming and the Community briefings have been placed on hold for now. We will get you all caught up when time permits. Please accept my apologies for any inconveniences this may have caused you and your respective communities.

Keep in mind that providing crime statistics to the community is just one of the tasks that APD crime analysts perform for the department. Other duties are far more essential to preventing and solving crimes. As soon as this data is available I will prepare a special report. In the meantime, you can look at zone 6 crime maps to track crime http://www.atlantapd.org/zone6.aspx, or use the APD Open Data Portal where you can look for crime for today, the past 24 hours, or search on a specific data range http://opendata.atlantapd.org/Default.aspx. What these two sources lack is the detailed narrative of the incident from the officer. In preparing the reports which I pass on to you, APD crime analysts take the narrative provided by the officer and edit it to remove the names of victims and other details that should not be shared with the public. This is also a time consuming process for all of the crime across twelve beats in Zone 6.

Street Cameras

There has been a great deal of conversation over the past year or so about video cameras that can serve as a deterrent to crime and also as a crime solving tool after the fact. APD has the capability to monitor cameras in real time if they have been integrated into their system. This is not generally appropriate for residential cameras, but the network of high end cameras installed in commercial areas (either on a business’ private property or by on public property) are gradually increasing. Peggy Berg and Jenifer Keegan representing the VHCA Safety Committee and Kay Stephenson and Eleanor Barrineau representing Neighborhood watch are working together with local businesses, Alex Wan’s Office, the Atlanta Police Foundation, and APD to install additional cameras this year. Please stay tuned for updates on locations and fund-raising.

BeltLine Light the Line Campaign

As many of you know who exercise early in the morning or in the evening, the Eastside Trail of the BeltLine is not lighted. In an effort to improve safety for those using the trail during these hours after dark, a campaign has been launched to raise funding for lights. You can find more information and make a donation here http://lighttheline.com/. The program will raise $1.1 million and has already received a pledge from Ponce City Market (funded out of parking fees) of $100,000. Keep in mind that just because there will be lights on the trail, it will still be closed from 11:00 pm until 6:00 am, as are all parks in the city of Atlanta. It is not recommended that individuals be on that trail at these hours.

Ansley Park Civic Association Special Security Alert

Passing along this alert from Ansley Park

At 4:30 p.m. on Saturday, February 6, a female resident of Ansley Park was walking on Barksdale at the edge of Winn Park. A silver 4-door sedan with tinted windows was parked in front of the new home construction near 1 Barksdale, facing in the direction of The Prado. As she passed the car, a tall, slim black man in his 20’s, who was unclothed except for a ski cap, jumped out of the car and addressed her, “Hey baby.”  She screamed for help and was able to run away and hide in the doorway of a house on Barksdale. The man returned to his car. He drove past where she was hiding, and the intended victim felt he was looking for her, but after he left she was able to run away and call 911.

Please be aware of your surroundings when you are out walking, no matter the time of day, and if you have any concerns, call 911 immediately. It is important to carry a cell phone with you if you have one, but keep it concealed in a pocket or bag so that you don’t become a victim of a snatch and grab. If you can safely do so, snap a picture of the individual or vehicle that is the cause of concern, and let the 911 operator know you have the photograph and where responding police can find you.

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If this report was forwarded to you and you would like to be added to the distribution, please send a message to me at VaHiSafety@gmail.com with your name, email address, and affiliation. Thanks.

Stay Safe!

Kay Stephenson