News and Notes
Please note this is a report for six weeks of data. Due to the demands of the holiday schedule APD is just getting caught up on reports to the community. Because of the large volume of data, crime may appear high, but averaged over time, it is about normal for this time of year. However, thefts from auto at thirty-six over a six-week period is high and of concern.
Street Captains Needed
Recently the safety team did a refresh of our list of street, block and building captains and discovered we have a few areas in the neighborhood where residents have not been receiving these VaHi safety reports. To fill the gaps, we are looking for a point person to handle this simple task on the streets below. As experienced captains, we are hoping you may know someone on these streets that would be a good candidate.
Streets needing a Captain:
Amsterdam Av (Monroe to Beltline)
Barnett St (Highland View to St Charles)
Bellevue Dr
Bonaventure Av
Briarcliff Ct
Briarcliff Pl (Barring condo bldg.)
Briarcliff Rd (Ponce to Virginia)
Briarcliff Ter
Greenwood Av (N Highland to Barnett)
Monroe Dr
N. Highland Av (CVS to Rosedale Dr)
Park Dr (West of Monroe)
Saint Augustine Pl
Stillwood Dr (Los Angeles to Rosedale)
Virginia Av (N Highland to Rosedale)
Virginia Av (Rosedale to Briarcliff)
If you have someone in mind, please contact Eleanor Barrineau ebarrsafety@gmail.com or Deborah Schwarz at gweazle@yahoo.com. We are always interested in bringing in new folks to our safety effort, so if you know anyone who may be interested in getting involved with safety, encourage them to come to our March 4th meeting. Another great opportunity for folks who want to get involved with the neighborhood is VHCA's Open House on January 29th (details below).
Neighborhood Watch Safety Meeting
We are excited to announce that our next Street Captain meeting will be Saturday March 4th at 10 am at Church of Our Saviour on Los Angeles at N. Highland.
An agenda will be sent later, but we hope to have a presentation about security cameras/police bodycams, as well as an opportunity to update the attendees on neighborhood safety initiatives and share best practices from the Captains.
As with our other Street Captain meetings, all residents interested in safety are encouraged to attend.
VHCA Committee Open House
The Virginia-Highland Civic Association is holding a committee open house on Sunday January 29th at DBA Barbecue from 3:00 to 5:00 pm. Come out and learn more about what VHCA does for the neighborhood and how you can get involved to make Virginia-Highland better. Free appetizers and cash bar. http://vahi.org/vhca-to-host-
CourtWatch Lunch & Learn on Gangs
The Fulton County District Attorney’s Office, through their CourtWatch Program is sponsoring a series of “lunch and learn” sessions on a variety of topics. On January 20th, they hosted a panel of experts from APD, Fulton County Police, Fulton County Schools, and the Assistant District Attorney responsible for gang prosecutions. We learned that in metro Atlanta we have a total of 135 gangs with approximately 2,200 identified members.
Most the local gangs are affiliated with the Bloods. In addition, there are gangs affiliated with the Inglewood Family and Crips (all California based gangs), and Gangster Disciples. There are also many juvenile gangs such as Down for Whatever (DFW) active in Atlanta. For the juvenile gangs, drug use is pervasive.
A few highlights from the discussion:
· It is not illegal to be in a gang. To charge an individual with being in a criminal street gang, they must be engaged in criminal behavior.
· The age range in local gangs is 12 – 30 years old. Older members run the gang. Often the younger members join as a family substitute.
· The primary reason that gang members are breaking into cars is to find guns. If they break into 100 cars and net 2-3 guns, then that’s a good night.
· There is a connection between some rap music businesses and gangs. Some rappers were members of gangs as youths and bring other gang members with them into the business as they achieve success.
· Georgia is currently the number one recruitment area for national gangs.
· Gangs don’t need to be physically present to recruit within a neighborhood. They are using social media to recruit young people.
Body Cameras
Atlanta Police Department Zone 6 has recently implemented body cameras for all officers. Read more about this program on the VHCA website http://vahi.org/local-police-
Crime Statistics
The following information is taken from our APD Zone 6 report (http://atlantapd.org/Zone6.
It includes information from the Virginia-Highland Beat 601 reported incidents along with relevant reports from other nearby beats. Keep in mind that not all incidents are reported. A map showing the location of beats 601 – 612 within Zone 6 can be found at this link http://boundaries.atlantapd.
Homicide None in Beat 601 and one in Zone 6.
Rape None in Beat 601 and three in Zone 6.
Pedestrian/Carjacking Robbery Two in Beat 601 and twenty-four in Zone 6.
On November 8th, the victim asked an acquaintance to assist him with a job. Once the work was completed there was a dispute over payment and the acquaintance and victim began to fight. The acquaintance pulled a knife and after taking all of the money, he fled.
On December 8th, a man was assaulted on Cresthill Avenue. He was struck in the head with a pistol. The suspect demanded his keys, but then fled without taking them. Fortunately, Officers Sheppard, Williams and Dobbler mounted on officers Joke, Oreo and Jake were able to apprehend three juvenile suspects who were charged with criminal attempt at robbery. Three cheers for the mounted patrol.
Residential Robbery None in Beat 601 and two in Zone 6.
Commercial Robbery None in Beat 601 and four in Zone 6.
Aggravated Assault None in Beat 601 and twenty-two in Zone 6.
Residential Burglary Two in Beat 601 and sixty-one in Zone 6.
On November 13th, a residence under construction on Adair was burglarized via a pried open back door. A stove was taken.
On December 4th, the rear doors of a residence on Drewry were damaged, but nothing was taken.
Commercial Burglary Eight in Beat 601 and nineteen in Zone 6.
On November 29th, several businesses at 695 Pylant were burglarized. Entry was made through a damaged door.
Larceny From Vehicle Thirty-six in Beat 601 and 271 in Zone 6.
Vehicles were entered on Amsterdam, Hudson, Lanier, Los Angeles, Maiden Lane, Maryland Ave., N. Highland, Rosedale Road, St. Charles Avenue, St. Louis Place, Virginia. Entry was made via broken windows, unlocked doors (nothing taken), and from a landscape truck (tools were secured with cables but the suspect had bolt cutters). Victims lost backpacks, a briefcase, five tablets, headphones, two Stihl blowers, multiple cameras, eighteen laptops, a set of golf clubs, and miscellaneous clothing and other personal items.
In one case the bag that previously contained two laptops and an iPad was found by AFR on I-20 during a suspicious package call.
Cameras did catch at least one of the break-ins on Ponce de Leon Avenue, and in some cases fingerprints were found.
Other Larcenies Ten in Beat 601 and 152 in Zone 6.
On November 14th, two locked bicycles were stolen from a parking lot on Greenwood.
On November 16th, the victim was moving when her TV went missing.
On both November 23rd and 24th, cigarettes were stolen from the Standard gas and convenience. Arrests were made in both cases.
On November 30th cash was stolen from a business on Ponce de Leon Place
On December 2nd, a rug was stolen from a residence on Saint Augustine Place. It had been left outside for pickup by UPS.
On December 5th, a locked bicycle was stolen from a second-floor railing.
On December 12th, packages were stolen from a secured lobby on Greenwood.
On December 14th, a wallet was taken from Bookhouse Pub.
Also on December 14th, a bicycle and bag were stolen. However, a security guard interrupted the theft and the suspect fled without the stolen items. Police arrested Gilber Conley on outstanding warrants.
Auto Theft Seven in Beat 601 and fifty-five in Zone 6.
On November 8th, a 2010 red Toyota was stolen from the Friend’s parking lot on Ponce de Leon Avenue.
Also on November 8th, a silver Infinity was stolen from the parking lot at The Local on Ponce de Leon Avenue.
On November 11th, a gray Lexus was stolen from a parking lot on Bonaventure Avenue. The vehicle was later recovered when an anonymous person called the victim and told her that they had found the vehicle and her business card in the car.
On November 13th, a white KIA was stolen from the driveway of apartments on Briarcliff Terrace.
On November 15th, a white Ford F15 was stolen from a parking lot of apartments on Briarcliff Place.
On November 22nd, a black trailer was stolen from the driveway of a residence on Virginia Avenue.
On November 28th, a green Dodge was stolen from the street near 744 N. Highland Avenue.
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
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