Public Safety – It’s A Tough Conversation

By now, you all know that our awesome Atlanta Police Department (APD) Zone 2 has done it again – they won the crime reduction award for the second year in a row! And if you haven’t heard it yet, they are talking smack about going for a threepeat!

And just this morning the City’s COO, Lisa Gordon shared some interesting citywide stats:

• 40% of the city’s crime is done by the same people (so they are focusing on repeat offenders)
• 80% of crime perpetrators are caught
• 79% of cases are solved
• 40% of crime is between people who know each other (it isn’t random)

But many of you have asked me how to respond when people who are considering doing business in or visiting Buckhead say things like  “Everyone says Buckhead is unsafe – why should I go there?” or my personal favorite “those stats are b.s. they changed the way they count to make them look better”

First you dramatically roll your eyes and say – “stop getting your information from Nextdoor – half the crap on there is wrong” and then you refer to the handy dandy cheat sheet below as a guide for those tough conversations. (If it is a business deal, your in-laws or your boss consider skipping the eye roll)

First you tell them… Buckhead is one of the safest areas of Atlanta and getting safer each year. Atlanta Police Department’s Zone 2, which covers Buckhead, consistently has the least personal violent crime (homicides, rapes and aggravated assaults) of any zone in the city. Buckhead had the greatest crime reduction of any zone in both 2021 and 2022. Personal violent crime declined 7% citywide and 8% in Buckhead during 2022.

Second you tell them… theft from auto is the most common crime in Buckhead – and it is largely preventable. Larceny from auto accounted for nearly half the crimes in Buckhead in 2022, and Zone 2 ranked third (out of six zones) in that category. Auto break-ins are opportunistic crimes, and Buckhead is a target-rich environment. Parking lots and garages at Buckhead’s high-end retail stores, hotels and office buildings give criminals many potential targets. Residents, workers and visitors can help reduce the number of break-ins by always locking their vehicles and never leaving valuable items in their cars – especially not in plain sight.

Next you tell them… Buckhead leaders have worked with APD to help bring crime rates down. In October of 2020 several public and private sector groups came together to discuss what should be done to address an increase in unlawful behavior in Buckhead. They created the Buckhead Security Plan, which identified ways to improve deterrence and enforcement, as well as policy and procedural changes to reduce crime. As a result of the plan, there are additional overnight security patrols by off-duty officers, new license-plate readers and pan/tilt/zoom cameras on major roads, improved local support for APD officers, and a new Zone 2 precinct in Buckhead Village.

And finally you can tell them to be part of the solution… you have a vital role to play in reducing crime in Buckhead by sharing their business or residential security cameras with the Atlanta Police Department. Connect Atlanta the newest safety program brought to you by the APD. The Video Integration Center (VIC) is a high-tech operation that enables 911 operators to access a network of cameras across the city. This provides them with real-time information that can be helpful for officers responding to a situation, and is a valuable tool for increasing public safety.

The Atlanta Police Department has rolled out an initiative to fight crime by asking the public to share the images and footage captured on their private surveillance camera systems and devices, including residential cameras such as Ring. The process for doing this is easy and cost effective and it is a great way to help deter, and solve crime in your neighborhood.

There are two options:

• Register your camera. Camera registration takes less than one minute via their secure online portal. Registering your cameras does not allow the APD access to your live video stream. 
• Integrate your camera. You can take community security one step further by giving the APD and first responders direct access to your camera feed in case of a nearby emergency. All the time or one-time, it is up to you. All you need is a small CORE device that you plug into your camera system. 

You can find more at connectatlanta.org.