Do you think crime is spiraling out of control?

These crimes are getting more and more brazen. Someone is going to get killed next. It's starting to feel like that environment a few years ago with crime increasing and ultimately leading to the robbery and murder of John Hendersen at the Standard in Grant Park and the other robbery and murder in the Highlands.

Also, why do you never report on arrests? All we here about are the crimes that are being committed. There has to be some good news, right? Some of these criminals have to have been caught.

I think the Mayor and the APD Chief need to come up with a big sweeping plan to tackle Atlanta's "summer problem" asap. This is getting ridiculous.

Probably a group of people loosely affiliated with each other are causing the bulk of the issues. Not a direct gang, but more like a crew. Remember te home invasions last winter with the guys who tied up people in grant park area. These crimes continue until enough key members are caught. I think that is bulk of armed robberies, car jackings, stolen laptops. The kidnappings are something all together different.

I am surprised it took so long for people to realize that they could pull these crimes off and not get caught. That area is such a soft target and the APD will be very slow to do much, if anything.

Hey, Chris: Paul Arena-Camarillo, the Fulton County D.A. Community Prosecutor for Zone 6 is going to give regular updates on cases as they are settled. I'm going to see if I can set up something similar for the Community Prosecutors for Zones 3 and 5, which form the other APD areas that are part of East Atlanta Patch. Will keep everyone posted.

Time to get a gun permit. Ive seen the fourth ward change in the 11 months we have moved here. Also it doesnt help when I called the police it took an hour to get there.

For the record, they weren't "dark complected". They were black.

A guy was acting crazy next to my home. Screaming and yelling, it was about 10 pm, The police showed up at 10:55 pm , the man had already left. I was told it must been because of the shift change. I know someone else that was robbed called 911 while the guy was breaking in and they didnt show up until he left with her money. I figure the crooks know that they react slow. I dont blame them ,they are under staffed and everyone wants low taxes.

I feel that it's extremely important that I address some issues relating to crime in Zone Six.  Crimes have started occurring in areas where we historically have not had problems, but the men and women in Zone Six have worked very hard to correct this problem.  Peralte I would like to share these numbers with your readers, three weeks ago Zone SIx officers arrested 6 burglars and 2 robbery perpetrators, two weeks ago 6 individuals were arrest for larceny from auto and 3 burglars were arrested as well, last week 3 burglars and 2 robbery perpetrators were arrested.  So far this week officers have arrested two individuals for committing snatch thefts from the Star Bucks in Little 5 Points.  So far this year Zone Six has realized a 44 percent increase in total arrest.  Unfortunately it is not always practical for us to release information on some of our arrest because of the need for investigator follow up, showing photographic line ups and collecting additional evidence relating to the crimes.

I completely understand everyone's frustration and I share  your concerns about the potential for violent behavior occurring in this community.  Please know that our officers will work very hard to prevent that from happening .  Also, I would encourage everyone to pay close attention to the Atlanta Police Department's "See Something Say Something Campaign."
Many of our citizens see things they feel are not important but we strongly encourage you to bring this issues to our attention.  I would also like to thank each of you for your continued support of the men and women in Zone Six.

Thanks
Major Keith Meadows

Thanks, Maj. Meadows.

Thank you Chris for all of your support !!

Major Meadows: thanks so much for your response. I know everyone gets upset when something like this happens, and I, for one, feel at least a little bit of comfort knowing that someone at Zone 6 is listening and responding to our concerns. I appreciate your service to our community.

Thanks Kevin I will pass your comment along to the men and women in Zone Six!!!
Thanks for your support!!

Zone 6 needs to employ a bike unit to ride around the different neighborhoods of Zone 6, in particular the O4W, Highlands and Little 5. I have been seeing them but not often. They also need to, if they haven't already, utilize the COPS unit to do a lot more "directed patrols" in the area.

Also, you the citizen, need to be aware of your surroundings. If you can do away with doing the obvious "No No" (ie wearing your iphone head phones walking freedom park at night) you'll be ok. Furthermore, go and get yourselves a gun and learn how to shoot.

Furthermore, we the citizens of Zone 6 need to allow our officers to Police! While Cop Watch is a good idea, it's a double edged sword. Officers could do a better job at being proactive without one our residents in their face 24/7 asking for his/her name and badge number. Just let the officers be police officers.

I've done a few ride-a-longs. I encourage all of you to do the same. The streets aren't nice people. We really need to employ some "Shaft" type of Officers. No nonsense officers in the area. I would love to see these bad guys punched in the mouth a few times :)

Major Meadows, thank you for listening to concerned citizens and thank you for sharing information on this site. I honestly know nothing of law enforcement, but I agree that more bike units on the streets and paths would be a good thing. A question: is it accurate that crime spikes in zones 6, 3, and 5 during the summer months when teens are out of school? And if that is correct, does the APD make major adjustments in the summer months in an attempt to prevent and react to those crimes? If not already, can they make adjustments somehow? Thank you again.

Thank you Major Meadows and the East Atlanta Patch for keeping us all informed about what is happening in our neighborhood. I hope that more neighbors will take notice of what is going on in the community, like the off duty Kirkwood Security Patrol Officer and Starbucks Barista that helped to catch the juveniles responsible for the laptop thefts. It is the dedication and determination of concerned citizens like these that helps our police officers in catching these criminals.

John

You will find that most zone commanders try to balance their crime fighting strategies with different tactical responses to crime. We have officers that address quality of life issues, officers that proactively patrol problematic areas and some that handle 911 operations. In Zone Six we do see some increases during the summer months and we do deploy bike patrol units. These units are primarily deployed around our city parks and heavily traveled shopping areas. I would love to deploy additional bike officers but I feel it's extremely important that we maintain a balance relating to our crime fighting strategies.

Keith

There is a big problem with 911 response time. That's why Im getting a gun permit.

911 response should not be your reason for getting a gun. That's the mentality of a victim. Blaming others for your own short comings. This is a capitalistic nation. You have the "haves" and "have nots". There will be crime! Not a lot in some area but for some areas like Southwest Atl, they experience a lot.

I say that to say this, whether you're in Buckhead or Bankhead, you should always be prepared. "Only a fool prepares his shield in the middle of a battlefield"... You are responsible for your own safety. If you don't think so... You have just become a victim.

Go get yourself a gun, learn how to shoot... Become aware of your surrounding. And above all, don't do the obvious "no no" whether you're in Alpharetta or Southwest Atlanta.

Peace be with you

Gentrification is cleaning up the area slowly but it will take a while to get all the criminals out. Common sense, alarm system, and dogs (real actual dogs, not toy / yipper dogs) will prevent 95% of burglaries / home invasions. For the remaining 5%, I recommend 12-gauge steel shot--that will ensure the degenerate does not strike again.

Police have released sketches of the suspects: http://patch.com/A-vLd1

gentrification has "cleaned up" the neighborhood? i suggest that it has contributed to the increase in crime by displacing families as well as leaving behind poor kids who see the extreme discrepancies in income. and guess what people: you moved to the inner city where crime is usually higher. now you complain that there is crime in "your" neighborhood, and the answer is to get a gun? so much of what i am reading sounds so racist. i live in candler park and am also very concerned with the increase in crime. i also think that bored teenagers of weak parenting who don't seem to care are committing many neighborhood crimes. i have teenagers and it has been sad to see so many kids go from mary lin to inman to crime, alcohol, and drugs. my final thought is that i think that showing our neighborhoods on television has contributed to the increase in traffic and crime. just my rambling two cents.

lets not blame gentrification on crime. Gentrification is good for many neighborhoods specially if the newcomers are active with youth. Volunteer to coach, tutor etc... Children who see discrepancies in income should also be able to see that they too can achieve a better quality of life. Moving to the "inner city" isnt an excuse to accept more crime. that is totally ridiculous! but if you move into a neighborhood that is changing around, make yourself part of that change. i live in Ormewood Park, I want to live here and i wont accept crime in my neighborhood. I think people are afraid of correcting bad behavior, i come from the thinking that as a community you must. On our street we have seen teens try to ruin flower beds and fences, what did my husband do? he yelled at them told them it was wrong and if he ever saw them doing that to a neighbor's home again or his home he would not just call the police but "take matters into his own hands" (what ever that was). What did my neighbors do? they called him and told him to be careful that teens may be gang members and just to go back inside his home. Would they have defended him? probably not. This is not a community mentality. We need to be more involved and get out and about, some people live like they are shut ins.

Our church in Grant Park has a youth program, it has a focus on the issues of gentrification and on changing communities, maybe this is something to expand into other neighborhoods.

I prefer the strategy of less guns, not more guns. If you own a gun you are statistically more likely to be involved in a violent episode. Much as you like to think you are stroking your inner Rambo, what you are actually doing is making us all statistically less safe.