Friday, February 20, 2009
News Soapbox: Mayor, City Council must address crime
Posted by Thomas Wheatley @thomaswheatley on Fri, Feb 20, 2009 at 7:04 PM
Kyle Keyser is a founder of Atlantans Together Against Crime, a grassroots citizen group that raises awareness about the city's growing crime problem. In an open letter to Mayor Shirley Franklin and City Council that Keyser asked CL to publish, he says the community is fully engaged, but residents' trust in their elected officials is slipping. On Feb. 23 from 5 to 7 p.m., ATAC will hold its second monthly rally at the corner of Martin Luther King and Joseph E. Lowery Boulevards.
An Open Letter to the Mayor and Council of Atlanta:
Lately, it seems, when you can’t fight crime with police officers you fight it with numbers.
“Things are better today,” you insist, and you reach back over the years to compare crime rates. Never mind the property crime increase here or another senseless murder there. You act as if this is all in our heads, perhaps being exacerbated by neighbors – and neighborhoods – too quick to react.
Madam Mayor & Council members – with all due respect – stop patronizing us. We are not children who are scared of the dark for no other reason than its darkness. Criminals are lurking in our streets and perpetrating horrible crimes on all sides of Atlanta. Maybe they are not killing or assaulting us as much as they did in your comparison years but they are breaking into our homes and our cars, they are robbing us of hard-earned possessions, and they are stealing our privacy, our peace, and our sense of safety with alarming frequency.
As a result, communities are coming together to better self-police. You’ve encouraged us to do so and we are on board. Yet, windows continue to get broken and more homes are being invaded. As this continues, glass isn’t the only thing damaged. So is our collective trust in you. When the “lesser” crimes don’t get the same attention as the “more serious” crimes do, you leave the door open for more.
This is a cycle that we will not accept. There are hundreds of broken windows across Atlanta neighborhoods and there are not enough cops to do something about them. The furloughs have effectively reduced the force by nearly 20%. We all understand that times are tough but you must find a way to undo these public safety furloughs.
Fewer cops equal higher crime. Fewer firehouses equal worse fires. These are the basic equations of reality, not the sharp-penciled calculations of your statisticians.
As Atlantans Together, we expect – no, demand – better from all of you. We don’t want election-year promises about a safer tomorrow. You are in office now, you are spending our money now, and you must deliver now. All of you must put aside your differences and work together for better and more creative public safety solutions.
We represent a coalition of the aggrieved. Our grievance is about fewer police on our streets, slower response to fires, and the weakening of our public safety system in a time when we need it the most. We are determined to protect our families, our homes, our businesses, and our neighborhoods. But we need your help to do that. We will not let up until you find a way to help us make Atlanta safer, now.
Comments (42)
Showing 1-42 of 42
Eugenia Calle's last words: "I don’t want him to think that we don’t trust him."
like
dislike
At the same time this open letter was released the mayor was at the White House trying to get the money for more public safety. What has the council done? Pass resolutions that don't mean anything, incite crowds at neighborhood rallies, and criticize the mayor for their political gain. So far, the mayor has been the only one trying to solve the problem without bankrupting the city. The councilmembers – Smith, Hall, Archibong – in the affected areas should really be held accountable.
The mayor may have been trying to get more money for public safety, but if there was proper spending of city tax monies in the first place we wouldn't be in this fix. Smith and Archibong have personally assisted me in many ways with public safety. They are doing their best and I really appreciate it. If the mayor stops lying and REALLY steps up to the plate and shows support for her tax payers, then I think the tax payers will be appreciative. The problems don't end with the Mayor. Our oblivious Governor needs to help state officials begin to see that our laws are not working to protect the citizens of Georgia.
Crime in Atlanta is too high, yes. But will someone please step up to the plate and give some practical solutions instead of "demanding" from the mayor et al. that they solve our problems? Are you all willing to pay higher taxes, for example, to achieve higher public safety? Should we spend more money on homelessness prevention? Youth programs? And who should pay? The pre-furlough APD had roughly the same number of police officers per capita as the Boston Police Department, yet Boston has a far lower crime rate than Atlanta. And Atlanta has MORE police officers per capita than Charlotte, which also has a lower crime rate, so is hiring more officers really the answer here? And if no, then what is? Can we please stop yelling in talking points and start talking solutions? Writing open letters demanding some kind of unspecified action is so easy, because it leaves you open to reject any action that is then subsequently taken. Get involved, yes, but get constructive at the same time!
Here's a solution. Raise taxes enough to hire more police... keep hiring more police and increasing patrols until crime is down to acceptable levels and we all feel safe again. Nobody wants more expenses in the midst of an economic downturn, but nobody wants to worry every day about the safety of home & family.
simply adding police presence is not the answer. it is irresponsible to suggest adding police to the current active force is the solution. addressing the issues driving crime such as the increased number of homeless people while we have too few shelters and the economic situation must be done. additionally effective use of the officers we have is important. so perhaps an officer would be better used in a way instead of harassing homeless people sleeping in little five points or hassling them about the contents of their coffee cups.
TPA - http://atlantanstogether.org/ Lulabelle - if the number of officers isn't a solution, let's take more of them off the street and fund "homeless" programs. That solution is as reasonable as your statement that additional cops on the street is no the solution. History of policing all over teh world proves you wrong.
How many officers would we need to have saved the woman who was murdered showing her condo by herself at night? 1,2,3 I'll tell you, none. Where's the candle light vigil? I smell old-fashioned election politics to me
Ed: You're probably correct that more officers on our streets may not have prevented Ms. Calle's murder. You know what would have prevented it? If Shamal Thompson had been behind bars where he belonged. He was a repeat criminal with an extensive record. Please read the article below for further details. http://tinatrent.com/?p=1 Regardless, I don't see how you can argue AGAINST more officers on our streets. Thats just foolish. And how does an open letter from a private citizen involve "old-fashioned election politics"? Even if we are able to get more officers on our streets it will be of little help if the judges who see these criminals at trial continually give them a slap on their wrist and let them free to continue terrorizing the law-abiding citizens of this city. Where is the incentive to follow the law if there are no consequences for breaking the law?
I don't argue that more cops is the only solution, but to argue against putting more cops than Atlanta has is foolish. We have effectively reduced an already marginal police street presence by 20% due to furloughs. Safety is in your hands first. Awareness, self-protection and common sense are keys to personal safety. No amount of self-protection is adequate if the criminals know they can roam the streets with increased impunity. Police have a really hard time preventing individual crimes, but an increased police presence, supplemented by vigilant citizens, creates an inhospitable environment to criminals and they move to more inviting areas.
Sounds like everyone here agrees more poice is part of the solution. I hope you all support the mayor when she tries to raise taxes to hire more cops. Don't let the councilmembers who are up for re-election this November distract you from a real solution. Hopefully, the stimlus money comes through and a tax increase isn't needed. Lord knows I need my money.
I wonder what would happen if we stripped away all but the most essential budget items to fund police/fire/streets? Get rid of tree planting, art purchases, city travel without direct benefit and other non-essential spending. I bet we would have plenty of money without a tax increase. I know it is a silly suggestion that, in times of economic hardship and reduced revenues, the government only do the bare bones necessities, but that beats the crap out of police furloughs. If, after cutting ALL fat from expenditures, tax increases are necessary, then I am all for them. The notion that there are no more possible cutbacks in the city budget is not logical to me. It is also possible that the recent furloughs of police is the Mayors way of telling the council "Now, give me my tax increases". Anyone know where I can get a copy of the city budget with line items?
You miss the point, I'm not against more police on the street but fact the facts its more than the police that put criminals away. My point is until the removal of Shirley Franklin, the latest in the long string of incompetent mayors, Maynard, Andrew Young, Maynard again, Bill Campbell and Now Ms. Franklin. Unable to manage money, retaining incompetent highly paid flunks, and all the while we are asked to clean up the mess. Not another penny until the big shakeup. I should know I have lived her my whole life and watch my hometown become a dysfunctional joke. And by the way if you want to live in a world totally safe with the streets lined with cops then I suggest you move to North Korea.
I think we actually agree. There is a balance, but our leadership, through financial mismanagement and lots of other crapola, has managed to make our city less safe.
BTW, the only way to save the woman killed at Aqua... don't let people you don't know into your home without protection.
@ Ed, it's pretty interesting that your string of incompetent mayors begins when the city elected its first black mayor. As a life long resident myself, I never seem to forget I live in the South.
@ DaleC, every major municipality is facing a budget crunch. Has every city/state/country been mismanaged? I doubt it...
South Dekalb Voter, That is a pretty strong insinuation to make based on a comment that could be said to describe almost all major cities in this country. I was born in '81 so i have known nothing but the mayors that Ed mentioned. I am not saying that i agree with everything he said but based on my knowledge of the city, i could only really talk about they mayors who have been elected during my life time. That does not make me a racist and i don't thing you should throw accusations like that around. Just my two cents.
S Dekalb Voter - so that eliminates the possibility that Atlanta has no fat to cut? Please. Edgewood Adam - those unfounded accusations kind of piss a fellow off, don't they? :-)
Edgewood, That's a good point. I never thought about the meaning for someone in your demographic. That being said, you have to understand my experience of seeing ALL the Atlanta black mayors bashed in this blog as being incompetent, crooked, and fiscally irresponsible. It’s not true, it’s unfair, and it’s racist.
Dale, there is always fat in any organization. I agree they should cut everywhere else first before fire & police. You're preaching to the choir. However, unless you're down there doing the analysis, how do you really know what's what? You have to trust the elected officials at some point or get involved yourself. Are you ready to serve? I don’t have the time and wouldn’t want to subject my family to the scrutiny.
pointing out incompetence where it exists isn't racist. claiming "racism" when someone points out when the system isn't working just means people stop listening to u, but i suspect that happened a long time ago...
I can argue incompetence on several fronts. A lot of Atlanta's success was not being Birmingham. Fiscally irresponsible? I haven't lived here long enough to know for certain, but sewer problems and goofy spending in Atlanta abound. Corrupt? Maynard Jackson – plenty of smoke, but no convictions…construction set asides and contracts awarded to cronies… not unusual, but doesn’t look good Andy Young – from what I can tell, clean as mayor Bill Campbell - pretty obvious he was corrupt Shirley Franklin - jury is still out, but remaining ethical while serving as a key player in the Campbell administration strains credulity ... with airport concessions contracts bypassed winning bidder and awarded to ex-husband and providing income for her kids.... ignorance of Tremayne Graham's livelihood and subsequent fallout from Kai’s actions? She either lied or isn’t very well connected in Atlanta. The jury is still out 2 ½ out of 4, and probably more like 3 out of 4. I don’t think they are corrupt because they are black. I think they were corrupted by the same forces that corrupt politicians of all colors all over the world. I have watched Birmignahm Mayor Larry Langford go from an upright and honorable man to a total sleazeball in about five years. Criticizing someone solely on race is not racism, it is bigotry. The "get involved" argument is false. I am involved by writing to council members and politicians, participating in campaigns, participating in neighborhood organisations, discussing issues on blogs and in public, etc. There are more ways to be involved than holding an office. I have located a copy of the Atlanta budget so that I can do some analysis. This is going to take a while. Until then I will just have to rely in common sense.
Did the Mayor and the Chief really say that crime has been flat? From the Mayors 2009 Proposed Budget, Page 26; Crime Rate During the past two years, crime has been increasing ... Drug sales activity is often correlated with – and help drive up – property related crime. http://www.atlantaga.gov/client_resources/government/finance/bfp/fy%2009%20proposed%20budget4%20%20v1.pdf My question to the Mayor and the Chief.... up or flat? Which time were you being truthful?
How in the hell did we get 22 comments and no one has suggested that perhaps the Police Chief should be held accountable? Using rough numbers of 500,000 population and 1700 police officers, we've got 34 officers per 10,000 residents, which is above the national average and above many comparable cities. But we don't see the benefit. Our crime rates (especially for violent and property crime) are higher than cities that are much larger than us. Dallas, Charlotte, Houston, Vegas, even D.C. - all bigger cities with lower crime than us in 2007. Our competition for crappy crime cities includes memphis, Nashville, St. Louis and Oakland. Not places we're fond of comparing ourselves to. I don't believe this is a # of cops issue. This is a policing strategy and leadership issue. The Mayor and Chief are first on my list, then the Council next for not doing what the Mayor should. I vote for the Chief to go and see if one of the Deputy Chiefs can make a difference. Then the next mayor can hire the right chief.
@ Wesley - I think the system is working. Atlanta is a better city now than 30 years ago. It has it share of problems, but I'm proud of my city and most of the leadership. @ Dale - Shirley is a lot of things, but a crook she is not. Neither was Maynard. I'll give you Campbell for sure. So I'm at 1 out of 4 corrupt mayors. BTW, Shirley never worked for Campbell. From what I understand, she can’t stand the man. I happen to believe there is an undercurrent of racism when people suggest that ALL of the black mayors are bad. I may be wrong and I can accept that, but to suggest the last 35 years of leadership has been terrible while Atlanta has thrived is crazy and doesn’t make any sense. I believe Atlanta is not B'Ham because of its leadership, not in spite of it.
Dale - For the record, Shirley was not a part of Campbell's administration. She played important roles with Young and Jackson. During the Campbell years, she did Olympic stuff and had her own consulting firm. I believe she's clean.
S. DeKalb - Quick point - Atlanta population in 1960: 487k. In 2009: 500k. There are a TON of factors, racism chief among them, as to why the city lost 20% of its population before folks started coming back. But to suggest that the city itself (excluding metro) has thrived for 35 years is generous to put it mildly. The last decade of growth and inmigration - and really just five years - has everything to do with traffic congestion and demographics. And if we don't get this crime under control, I fear we will see a reversal of the trend.
I stand corrected on Franklin and Campbell, I am not sure where I got that. She may not be a crook, but there are elements of those other shortcomings in her. Go back about 40 years and change about three things. Take away the steel industry opposition to the Delta hub moving the Bham, which was the first choice. Take away steel industry opposition to Ford and GM. Take away the film footage of the hoses and dogs, at a time when Atlanta was as bad as Bham. Do that and Bham is Atlanta.
I agree it's a leadership issue. Keeping Pennington has been Shirley's biggest mistake, but you and I have beat that dead horse before. I'm really confused about the crime rate thing. Somebody please educated me, because I'm honestly confused. Is crime down since the start of Shirley's Admin, but is up for the last year? Is it up from where it was when Shirley started or is it up from last year?
Thrived is probably the wrong adjective. Still I think everybody would agree that Atlanta is better now than before. True, there are tons of factors and leadership is one of them.
I can't get 2008 stats to download from APD's site but based on trending from 2002 to now, crime went down in the first few years and has been trending up since sometime in 2006 (which coincidentally is the beginning of Shirley's second term and all of the where-in-the-world-is-Shirley games). At the pace we're going, Franklin will leave office with higher crime than she came in with. And thrived is a verb :-)
S Dekalb - on the crime thing, I think it may be the Mayor and Chief are claiming that violent crime is flat and the rise is in larceny and other property crimes. I am working from memory here and my memory sucks. From Mayor Franklins Proposed Budget – FY 2009 "During the past two years, crime has been increasing as it has been nationally. The primary drivers of this increase has been property crimes, particularly larceny, larceny from autos, and auto theft. Together they have accounted for 70% of the increase in major crime since 2006." Property crimes account for 70% of the increase, so violent crimes account for 30% of the increase. That means that violent crime is up. Auto theft dropped from 2002 to 2004, remained flat to 2006 and rose to or past 2002 levels in 2007. Burglary did the same, except for a rise in 2006 and exceeded 2002 levels in 2007. The Mayor admits that drug sales drive and thus are correlated with property related crime. Does that mean drug sales are up? I see no reason to think that this trend changed in 2008 or will change in 2009. One thing to keep in mind, COBRA (crime stats tracking system) only puts out what is put in and is subject to manipulation. If a person kicks down your door and steals your stuff, but does not harm you, is that a property crime or violent crime? There is anecdotal evidence that officers have been pressured to classify some violent crime as a property crime. If a property crime occurs and the reports is not entered into COBRA, that crime did not occur. I have personal experience with that. These errors could reasonably be simple mistakes. It seems that violent crime is up, regardless of the Mayors spin.
I have wondered about the property crime v. violent crime issue. Somebody breaking into your home may not be a violent crime per say but it will certainly feel like that to the victim. It is a scary thought to think of a criminal in your home stealing your property. I think that a rise in propety crimes shows that criminals are getting more brazen which will lead to more violent crimes. There are little things we can all do. When i lived on Ponce people used to smoke crack on maiden lane behind our house. I did not call the police at first because it did not really affect me so i did not care. Well one day i got fed up and called the police. Now i call anytime i see something like that. When there is a flop house on your street, call the zoning commision. You would not believe how quickly they act.
I think there is also some confusion about crime vs. crime rate. Shirley and Pennington often talk about crime rate decreases, which is different from crime decreases. If crime is increasing, but population growth is increasing faster, the crime rate is actually going down. I don't know if this is actually the case, but just a point of clarification.
I am the same way with the hookers outside my building. At first, I didn't worry about it. I think prostitution should be legal and considered it a victimless crime. Then someone stole my road bike from the garage that they look at while turning tricks on the corner. There is no way they didn't see it. I also learned that they attract drug dealers and acted as information conduits and lookouts for other criminals. Now, I call every time they are out there. The report also drives criminal activity stats within APD which helps determine patrol routes and frequency.
The stats I linked to are total numbers fo crimes, not rates. It's agood point, but the population of Atlanta has been stable enough over teh years in question that I doubt it would have much effect. The MSA has grown like crazy, but the city has not grown so much.
I'm not sure comparing to ourselves is the right thing to do anyway. While it is true that we're likely in a worse spot than we were in 2002 - and that is bad - it's more of a problem to me that a city with more than 2 million people in its city limits (Houston) , that also happens to have a bad rep for crime, has fewer violent and property crimes than Atlanta. That's not per capita, that's raw numbers. That's not okay.
Ok, guys, so now I've done my own research. The only way to rationally compare crime in cities is by the crime rate (ratio of crimes to population). You can't just compare the number of crimes because that doesn't take population into account. According to the FBI website Atlanta has a similar violent crime rate as other big cities with large minority/poor populations – Detroit, Philly, DC, Oakland, Miami, Milwaukee, Memphis, Nashville, Cleveland, St. Louis, Kansas City, Baltimore, New Orleans, Birmingham. What does this mean? No, poor people aren’t bad people. To me it means there are socioeconomic factors that politicians in those cities can’t control. Furthermore, when the economy is bad these people are hit the hardest and often turn to crime. This should not be an excuse for pols in these cities, but rather a clarification. What does this mean for the rest of us? Lock your doors I guess. I don’t think any mayor/councilmember can do anything about this without addressing socioeconomic factors. Hiring or firing a police chief isn’t going to make much of a difference.
I would like to see the Guiliani/NYC "broken windows" policy put into place in ATL. It works. It ispainful for a lot of peple and their sensibilities, but the success is a matter of record. APD does traffic stops in my neighborhood. I actually got a ticket at one for an expired insurance card. I STILL like the stops. I agree that per capita is the measure, so I will get ATL population for 2002 - 2007 and do the computations. I think you will see declining crime until 2005 and then increases after that year.
It was a major PITA to get burglary info for 2007, but here are violent and property crime info. I list total numbers and crimes per 100,000 residents. This is for the city of Atlanta, not the MSA. Stats show, I think, a really good job my the Mayor Franklin and Chief Pennington until 2007. After 2006, we see huge increases each year. I plan on tabulating those years and doing more in depth analysis and posting here. I may have found a reason to start a blog for something other than my obnoxious opinions. Rate per 100,000 people Change from prev year Year Population Violent Property Violent Property 2001 433,253 2534 9704 2002 443,492 2289 9066 -245 -638 2003 456,412 1970 8869 -319 -197 2004 465,621 1842 7716 -128 -1153 2005 470,688 1675 7290 -167 -426 2006 487,463 1554 6635 -121 -655 2007 519,145 2574 6981 1020 346 Violent - murder/manslaughter, rape, robbery, aggravated assault Property - burglary, larceny, auto theft, arson Sources for crime stats - www.idcide.com/citydata/ga/atlanta.htm en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Population_of_Atlanta I didn't feel like tabulating the 2008 info because I am tired and need to sleep, but the increases in both categories are startling, especially for some neighborhoods like Kirkwood and East Atlanta. That info can be found in the following links Informative Crime Links - Atlanta Police Crime Reports - www.atlantapd.org/index.asp?nav=Stats Crime by Neighborhood 2006 - 2008 www.ajc.com/metro/content/metro/atlanta/stories/2009/02/08/atlanta_crime_rates.html FBI Uniform Crime Report Shows Increase in ATL and decrease nationally for 2007 www.ajc.com/metro/content/metro/atlanta/stories/2008/09/15/atlanta_crime_stats.html
Latest in Fresh Loaf
-
Film Clips: Men In Black 3
Men in black are back, Chernobyl's tourism industry is booming, and music festival romance all this weekend 'at the movies.'
-
Rep. Elena Parent won't seek re-election, will join Georgia Watch
Endorses Holcomb, fellow Dem who was drawn into new district
-
#AtlantaSlang takes over Twitter
Twitter "finna" get real.
- More »
More by Author
-
State Sen. Nan Orrock bids adieu to controversial conservative think tank 23
In other news, state Sen. Nan Orrock was a member of ALEC?!?
-
Cumming mayor needs briefing on Georgia's sunshine laws 4
Kicks out citizen journalist from meeting for videotaping
- More »
