Midtown Atlanta Residents Talk Safety

More than 60 Midtown Atlanta residents were on hand this past Monday for the monthly safety meeting, hosted by Midtown Neighbors' Association. The City of Atlanta (particularly the Mayor's Office) furloughed police and firemen as a result of the city's budget shortfall. Needless to say, that has not set well with residents concerned about crime and safety.

But this was an extra special Safety Meeting with some pretty heavy hitters in attendance! Of most noted importance was Atlanta Police Department (APD) Zone 5 Commander, Major Williams. The meeting was co-hosted by Kwanza Hall, District 2 City Council. Kwanza represents about half of the Midtown area, including most of the condominium buildings. The primary purpose of this meeting was to introduce the "Clean Car Campaign."

Kwanza (on the left) and Major Williams (right) discussed the campaign, which is not about how pretty your car looks after it comes out of a car wash! Instead, they talked about the persistent problem in Zone 5 of auto break-ins. A persistent problem, because people continue to leave valuables in plain sight inside their cars. Items like GPS, laptops, cell phones and purses are often left laying on the seat or the GPS is left mounted on the windshield. All of these items make for an easy target for a car break-in.

I found it very interesting to learn that a spark plug is a tool of choice when breaking out a car window. Imagine how easy it is to hide that in your hand, or pocket. (No bricks or stones required!)

Major Williams noted that Zone 5, which covers Midtown and Downtown has some unusual challenges with this problem. First off, there are over 100,000 parking spaces in Zone 5! (a.k.a. We Atlantans love our cars and need places to park them!) Additionally, Zone 5 includes numerous special event facilities like The Georgia Dome, Georgia World Congress Center, Georgia Aquarium and more. Many people visiting these venues don't "think like a city dweller" and will leave many items inside their cars. With the downturn in the economy, criminals are looking for anything of value they can use, or sell. Also, there are numerous restaurants and night life spots in the Midtown area where people might forget they are in a city and not the suburbs!

Midtown Neighbors' Association,(MNA) along with the Midtown Ponce Security Alliance created a unique "safety ticket" to warn residents of Midtown, as well as visitors to not leave items in the open in their cars.

I am the Membership Chairman of MNA, and we are currently working on a plan to distribute these tickets to every homeowner in the major condo buildings in Midtown. It will be quite an undertaking, but a great community service!

Major Williams also talked about a few of the other changes he has made in Zone 5 since returning as it's Commander.

Midtown Atlanta now sees foot patrol officers. Yep...out of the car and on the street! They park their cars in visible locations, and then walk a 3-4 block radius from their police cruiser! It's pretty cool to get to interact with them, as they are always willing to stop and say hello!

Zone 5 also has a Quality Of Life Officer that works with the neighborhoods on various issues from panhandling to code enforcement issues.

APD faces challenges with officers leaving the city for surrounding cities where they are offered a higher salary. So, when you are on the streets of Midtown, and see one of the officers, be sure to thank them for their time and effort in keeping the streets safe!

Residents in attendance at the meeting asked questions about homeless people and their involvement in these crimes, as well as other safety questions.

Also in attendance at the meeting was Anne Fauver, District 6 City Council Member. Anne's district covers the other part of Midtown, often referred to as Historic Midtown as well as Morningside. Anne has been working hard to find ways for the City of Atlanta to increase its revenues, and restore the police and firemen back to their full schedules.

There was a great group of APD officers that attended the meeting! Many of them volunteered to come in on their off time to attend this community meeting! That shows some dedication to their job, and their community!

The beat officer for Peachtree Street often stops in our office, to grab a coffee if it's cold, or use the restroom!

Also attending the meeting was Mary Norwood, Atlanta City Council At Large Post. Mary is also running for Mayor of the City of Atlanta in November.