Fresh Loaf

Videodrome, the Poncey-Highland movie rental store that’s been a go-to for film buffs since 1997, was robbed Friday night.

Owner Matt Booth tells CL that a male suspect entered the store at approximately 10:45 p.m. and browsed film selections. After purchasing a movie, the suspect allegedly displayed a gun to the clerk and demanded the contents of the register. (Booth declined to say how much cash the suspect took.)

No one was injured during the robbery. An Atlanta Police Department spokesman told CL he was working on providing more details about the case. We’ll update when we hear word.

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“Take your shotgun out of the corner, or from under the bed, and make it accessible!”

Coming soon: Lil’ Back Up!  Easily adaptable to bunk beds, cribs — even racecar beds!  It’s a blast!

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Remember the daring robbers who broke into a Grant Park home and made off with a flat-screen TV? You probably saw it on the YooToobz, the world’s most powerful crime-fighting tool next to David Caruso.

Now other Atlanta residents are putting the site to use.

Surveillance camera footage recently uploaded to YouTube shows a person allegedly trying to break into cars at the Milltown Lofts in Reynoldstown on Aug. 9. The first video, filmed around 3:30 a.m., shows a man moseying through the parking lot and unsuccessfully trying to enter a black Toyota 4Runner.

Three hours later, the same man returns. He peers into the same car and then walks behind a silver pick-up truck. Several minutes later, the man is seen strolling past the camera and rolling a keyboard.

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WSB-TV reports that a man stabbed early Saturday morning in Piedmont Park is in critical condition and expected to undergo surgery at Grady Hospital.

Investigators said two men got into an altercation near a lake inside the park at about 3: 30 a.m.

Police said the perpetrator punched the victim twice and then stabbed him twice in the stomach.

Authorities said it was unclear if the victim knew the perpetrator.

Police described the perpetrator as a “black male, between 5 feet 4 inches and 5 feet 6 inches tall, carrying a backpack.”

This morning’s attack is the second after-hours crime in Piedmont Park to make headlines this year. On May 28, 43-year-old Patrick Boland was killed near the same lake.

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After a July 25th weekend marked by the carjacking of a City Councilman, the killing of a pro boxer and the shooting of an Edgewood resident, Atlanta Police Chief Richard Pennington was once again criticized for his noticeable absence.

“At this particular time, I do not know.”

— An Atlanta Police Department spokesman tells CBS Atlanta on July 29 he didn’t know the chief’s whereabouts.

“I was surprised to watch a recent press conference regarding crimes near the [Georgia Tech] and see the Atlanta Police Department represented by a lieutenant and a sergeant. Where was the chief? Leadership matters, and he hasn’t mattered. His absence has been an issue.”

— Former Atlanta Deputy Chief Lou Arcangeli in a July 30 AJC article.

““I want the critics to know that I have not ‘checked out.’”

— Pennington, who says he was at a mandatory training conference in Virginia during the crimes, at a July 30 press conference.

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Mayor Franklin at yesterday's press conference.

Mayor Shirley Franklin and Atlanta Police Chief Richard Pennington’s press conference yesterday was a long and quizzical event filled mostly with testy questions about the chief’s recent whereabouts.

But in addition to those questions about Atlanta’s Houdini, the mayor said she wanted to talk about “solutions” and the city’s strategy to improve its piss-poor public safety. That strategy involves more cops on the street, a crackdown on gang activity, and an engaged community.

In the interest of public engagement and transparency, we’ve decided to post Franklin’s statement in full.

After the jump, what Franklin’s administration plans to do in her remaining months in office to prevent the killings, carjackings, burglaries and other ills.

(Photo by Joeff Davis)

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Jim Walls at Atlanta Unfiltered dug into Atlanta’s crime statistics for this year and found that, yep, crime is  down citywide. But there are pockets where it’s risen sharply.

Aggravated assaults climbed by more than 50 percent in downtown Atlanta this year, and residential burglaries were up sharply in Buckhead and southwest Atlanta, police statistics show.

…

Aggravated assault, for instance, climbed 52 percent in Zone 5 (downtown Atlanta), even as it declined by 8 percent in the rest of the city. Auto theft was up 23 percent and bicycle theft up 120 percent in Zone 5 during the same period.

Residential burglaries climbed 54 percent in Zone 3 (Southwest Atlanta) over 2008, the statistics show. In Zone 2 (Buckhead), residential burglaries rose 33 percent. Elsewhere in the city, the number of burgaries was stable or down slightly; in Zone 1 (northwest Atlanta), they were down 28 percent.

More info at Atlanta Unfiltered.

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Who knew train wrecks could happen indoors?

Mayor Shirley Franklin and Atlanta Police Chief Richard Pennington today faced heated questions from reporters on how the city plans to address residents’ growing concerns about public safety.

The focus this morning was on Pennington, who spoke only briefly and appeared downtrodden throughout the press conference. The chief’s been criticized for maintaining a low profile, especially after a recent spurt of crimes in the city that included the killing of a pro boxer, the carjacking of a councilman, and the shooting of a man walking into his girlfriend’s house with groceries. Today was the first anyone’s heard from him on the recent rash of crimes. (He said he was attending mandatory “police leadership training” in Virginia over the weekend.)

Reporters asked the chief — who will be looking for a new job once the mayor’s term ends in January — if he has the wherewithal to address the crime issue.

“I have not ‘checked out,’” Pennington said. “I will continue to work hard until [Franklin] leaves.”

Franklin — who got testy with the press many times throughout the conference — voiced unwavering support for Pennington, whom she said has helped “reform” the Atlanta department and the New Orleans Police Department, where he formerly worked.

“I’m proud of his leadership,” she said. “I’m proud of his integrity.”

She added, however, that one crime is “one crime too many” — and that the city could do more.

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Thanks to some Obamabucks from Washington, D.C., Atlanta residents could see more police officers patrolling the streets — possibly this fall.

Vice President Joe Biden today announced $1 billion in economic stimulus funds to hire 4,700 police officers in cities across the country. The funds will be administered through the U.S. Justice Department’s Community Oriented Policing Services, or COPS, program.

Atlanta’s set to receive $11.2 million of that loot — enough to hire 50 police officers. (You can view a PDF of Atlanta’s award letter here.)

That’s a far cry from the 200 officers Mayor Shirley Franklin had hoped for earlier this year. But after a weekend of high-profile shootings, killings and carjackings, it’s good news for a city that looks safer on paper than it feels on the streets.

In a statement about the funding, Atlanta Deputy Chief George Turner said:

…the goal is to have a recruit class this fall with the 50 new recruits. Once the officers are trained they will be dispatched into the community. The police department is proud and happy to add 50 new officers to the force, said Chief Turner. All the positions awarded under the grant must be used to initiate or enhance community policing in the City of Atlanta.

There’s a catch, however.

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On Sunday, July 26, nonprofit arts center WonderRoot will host a “cops and robbers”-themed shindig to celebrate the  reopening of its digital media lab. (A recent break-in resulted in the loss of five computers, forcing the lab’s temporary closure.)

From WonderRoot Executive Director Chris Appleton:

Join us this Sunday at 8pm for a ‘Cops and Robbers’ themed reopening party of the WonderRoot digital media lab. As most of you have heard, there was a burglary at WonderRoot last week and we were forced to temporarily close our digital media lab. And while we are both sad and disappointed about the break-in, there is exciting news to report. The Digital Lab will reopen this upcoming weekend and we want you to join us in celebrating.

We would like to send a special thanks to the community for all the concern and willingness to help out. In fact, because of some of you the police were able to recover some of the stolen computers. We have been overwhelmed with the kind words and support expressed in light of the unfortunate events. This is why we want to celebrate. WonderRoot wants all of you to know that we are committed to continue providing state-of-the-art facilities. We believe that empowering the community with these resources will lead to a stronger, healthier, and more sustainable Atlanta.

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A weekend break-in at WonderRoot Community Arts Center that forced the closure of its digital media lab won’t impact the Reynoldstown nonprofit in the long term, its executive director Chris Appleton says.

“It’s unfortunate it’s happened here,” Appleton tells CL. “A space that’s worked toward bettering and building the community. We’re sad that some people are not respectful of the work the artists have created.”

The five computers that were taken were all insured, Appleton says, so the digital media lab will most likely be back up and operating by next week.

“We’re not going to let it stop us or slow us down,” he says.

He says he was surprised by the outpouring of support from WonderRoot and community members. Minutes after he sent an email to notify artists about the break-in, Appelton says, he received 30-40 responses asking if the center needed any assistance.

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BUGGED OUT: Around 9:30 a.m., a woman said a bee flew into her car while she was using her access card to enter a parking lot on Peachtree Street. “As she was swiping the bee out of the car, she did not realize how close she was to the card reader,” a police officer wrote. “As she drove off, her left-side mirror hit and knocked out the card reader.” Damage to her car: $200. Damage to the card reader: $300. Damage to the bee: unknown.

Continue reading The Blotter

(Illustration by Tray Butler)

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Dyana Bagby of the Southern Voice gives a thorough update on the killing of Patrick Boland, a 43-year-old gay man who was stabbed in Piedmont Park early in the morning hours of May 28. Bagby reports that Atlanta police still have no leads and are investigating the killing — and the stabbing of another gay male that took place shortly after Boland was attacked — as possible hate crimes.

When police arrived at Piedmont Park May 28 to investigate Boland’s death, there were several people in the park, some hiding in the bushes because they were there after the park’s closing time at 11 p.m.

But Willis said he does not care who was in the park for whatever reason on that night; he just hopes someone will come forward with a clue to solving the crime and helping Boland’s family find closure.

“The amount of blood at the scene and the blood trail — he ran quite a ways,” Willis said.

“Someone had to have heard something, him screaming or calling for help. There had to be some kind of altercation. One witness we did talk to was worried about being arrested. That [being in park after hours] is not a concern to me; that is low on my list,” Willis said.

Interesting details about why police don’t think robbery played a role in Boland’s killing is in SoVo’s article.

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Everyone wants to know! Quel scandale!

We hope our fellow freedom-loving friends across the Atlantic will be enchanted by the depiction of our grand city. Crime, bum bots, and hella guns. Creative Loafing also plays a role. “Jay-sohn,” the civilian patroller interviewed in the report, is CL’s senior art director. Hat tip to SpaceyG for finding the video.

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Blue Genes, the clothing boutique in the Around Lenox shopping center that has been broken in to seven times in the past eight years, might be getting a run for its money as the most burgled outpost along Lenox Road.

This morning, police began investigating yet another such burglary, this time at the Macy’s in Lenox Square Mall, where approximately 80 pairs of blue jeans worth an estimated $10,000 were stolen. Burglars found their way in after smashing a plate glass window at the front of the store.

These two victims are, of course, far from alone. Atlanta recently ranked second in a survey of the nation’s most dangerous cities, with property crimes increasing by 7.6 percent in 2008 compared with the previous year. And as the AJC noted, these recent break-ins don’t even set these two stores apart on their own block:

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From an AJC story about an uptick in burglaries near Tech’s campus:

More police will hit the streets to help combat a spike in crime targeting Georgia Tech students, officials said.

Georgia Tech and Atlanta Police have scheduled a press conference for 3 p.m. today to announce the steps they are taking to stop the crime spike.

Funny, when a bartender was murdered in January at his place of work on Memorial Drive — following a string of burglaries and robberies in the area — I don’t remember a press conference being called by police. (Only after detectives caught one of the bartender’s killers did the Atlanta Police Department hold a press conference.) Nor was there the promise of more patrol officers working the street.

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Number of reported burglaries, larcenies and automobile thefts in Atlanta in 2008: 38,978

Percentage increase in Atlanta property crimes in 2008, compared to the previous year: 7.6

Percentage that property crime decreased across the country in 2008: 1.6

Number of times a Poncey-Highland gym was broken into in the first weeks of June: 5

Number of intown bars hit in one night in May by thieves apparently looking for flat-screen TVs: 4

Number of times a Midtown clothing boutique was hit by “smash-and-grab” burglars in May: 2

Total number of burglaries, larcenies and thefts that occurred in Atlanta during the first three months of 2009 (most recent statistics): 7,980

Number of same crimes that occurred during the first three months of 2008: 8,804

Atlanta’s rank in a disputed survey of the nation’s most dangerous cities: 2

Sources: Atlanta Journal-Constitution, Atlanta Police Department, FBI Annual Crime Statistics, Real Clear Politics

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1. Mayor’s rebuttal of Atlanta crime rankings misleading and incomplete (How’s that for a thorough headline! No wonder this post was so popular.)

2. Suspected Holocaust museum shooter identified as Holocaust denier James Von Brunn (Octogenarian authored idiotic prose, including the book, Kill The Best Gentiles!)

3. Ga. drought ‘is over,’ water restrictions eased (Environmentalists hope residents will continue conserving water. Unfortunately, Georgians have very short memories.)

4. Atlanta schools, ADA strike deal over TAD funds (Atlanta Development Authority will return $18 million to the cash-strapped school system.)

5. Buckhead coalition pushing for end to Ga. 400 toll (Two-decade-old promise vowed to shut down the cash-cow toll booth in 2011.)

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As we mentioned yesterday, Mayor Shirley Franklin on Tuesday night rubbed elbows with the Young Democrats of Atlanta at its fundraiser and award ceremony.

Roughly 100 people attended the event at Sweetwater Brewery, including politicos from the local (Atlanta City Council President and mayoral candidate Lisa Borders, Councilwoman and Council President candidate Clair Muller, Councilman Kwanza Hall, and City Hall hopefuls Amir Farokhi and Adam Brackman) and state level (Reps. Rashad Taylor, Kathy Ashe and Pat Gardner, all of Atlanta.)

For nearly 30 minutes, the mayor addressed the crowd on issues ranging from the environment to her online jousting habits. Afterward, she spoke with CL about the recent disputes over how the city’s reacted to what is widely considered — perceived! — to be a rise in crime.

After the jump, a bulletpoint summary of the mayor’s remarks to the Young Democrats crowd.

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Rebutting a June 5 story by Real Clear Politics naming Atlanta the country’s second least-safe large city, Mayor Shirley Franklin’s office today correctly noted Real Clear Politics jumbled its numbers.

From the Mayor’s office (emphasis mine):

Real Clear Politics claims that the City of Atlanta’s crime rate is over 16%.  According to the actual FBI data, the crime rate in Atlanta is only 8.7%.  (The FBI shows total crimes in 2008 of 46,381 and a population of 533,016.  This translates to a crime rate of 8.7%.)

What the Mayor’s defiant press release neglects to mention, however, is that Real Clear Politics’ rankings are indeed correct.

The “only 8.7%” crime rate Franklin’s office boasts of is, according the FBI, the second-highest crime rate of any American city with more than 500,000 people.

In 2008, Atlanta indeed had more crime per person than all-but-one U.S. city with more than 500,000 people.

The numbers below were calculated by adding the total number of violent crime and property crime incidents in 2008 (not including arson) divided by the population. All of the numbers can be found in an Excel spreadsheet on the FBI’s web site.

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As expected, Mayor Shirley Franklin took issue with today’s AJC article that cited a Real Clear Politics’  blog post in which Atlanta was tagged as the second most dangerous city in the United States. The mayor says the blog erred in its calculations and failed to take into account the city’s seven-year record for reducing crime, which is roughly the same amount of time Franklin’s been in office.

So sayeth Franklin in a press release:

Real Clear Politics claims that the City of Atlanta’s crime rate is over 16%. According to the actual FBI data, the crime rate in Atlanta is only 8.7%. (The FBI shows total crimes in 2008 of 46,381 and a population of 533,016. This translates to a crime rate of 8.7%.) In other words, the political blog’s Atlanta crime rate is double the actual rate. Also, in the most recent issue of CQ Press’s crime rankings – which is considered the authoritative source for comparative crime data – the City of Atlanta ranked 16th in overall crime rate. Just last week Forbes magazine issued a list of the 15th most dangerous cities in the country. Atlanta was not on it.

Don’t trust Forbes’ list-icles, as they are mined from a bottomless pit of census data to generate pageviews.

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1. The word is a ‘ghetto’ (We posed a question to readers — Is the word “ghetto” so off limits it’s become, um, ghettoized? — and y’all had some interesting things to say. Thanks!)

2. Atlanta: America’s ’second least safe city’? (The stats suggest that could be the case, but some aren’t so sure.)

3. Roy Barnes: Tanned, rested and ready (Barnes is baaaaaaaack! And the governor’s race is about to get a helluva lot more interesting.)

4. Biden to Perdue on rail funding: ‘Georgia gets nothing’ (VP: Just joshin’, Sonny!)

5. Less-than-fond memories of Barnes’ first term (Not everyone is enamored of the former guv and his bid to get his old job back.)

*This blog post has been edited to correct an error.

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The Federal Bureau of Investigation’s 2008 crime statistics, released on Monday, add weight to the argument that, contrary to what some folks in City Hall might’ve said in the past, Atlanta’s crime concerns aren’t about perception but about people actually entering your car or home and taking your possessions.

Although the bureau’s stats show violent crimes in Atlanta decreased 8.3 percent compared to 2007 (that’s good!), property crimes such as burglaries, thefts and larceny jumped 7.6 percent (that’s bad!). That’s quite a leap in just a year and a stark contrast to the 1.6 percent decrease in property crimes enjoyed by the rest of the country.

Real Clear Politics crunched the bureau’s statistics and concluded Atlanta had a 16 percent per capita crime rate, thus earning it the distinction of being the second least safe city in the United States. Memphis, Tenn., earned top honors. San Antonio, Texas, Detroit and Milwaukee rounded out the bottom five.

Celebrate our dubious honor by locking up your flat screens, supporting your local patrolman, and keeping valuables in your car out of sight.

(H/T to Sara for noting the RCP article)

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According to blogger and friend-o-Fresh Loaf Reporter-Cub, the Perception of Crime in Atlanta just broke into a van belonging to Americorps volunteers fixing-up a park in Kirkwood.

Perception of Crime Watch® is on the Twitter at #PoCATL.

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Asked earlier this year about residents who are worried about crime in their neighborhoods, Atlanta Police Chief Richard Pennington said residents are feeling edgy and disturbed not because of crime itself, but because scary news about crime spreads fast and far over e-mail.

Mayor Shirley Franklin seems to agree with Pennington. She insists Atlanta is safer today than it’s been for decades.

According to Pennington and Franklin, Atlanta isn’t experiencing a crime wave. It’s experiencing a perception of crime wave.

I agree.

I also believe we must band together as a community to put a stop to this emotional menace.

So I’m starting a new project here: Perception of Crime Watch®.

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