Virginia-Highland Safety Report

The following report was sent to Virginia-Highland residents by VHCA safety chairman John Wolfinger.

Our Crumbling City Sidewalks

Atlanta's wonderful non-profit pedestrian advocate agency, PEDS, is sponsoring a sidewalk forum on July 17th at 6:30 p.m. at City Hall in the old council chambers to discuss this sad state of affairs.  More details at www.peds.org on the left hand side of the page.  A good story in the AJC about this same subject at - http://www.ajc.com/news/subscribers/atlantas-unrepaired-sidewalks-prove-1462831.html  to see how much it is costing we as taxpayers to settle sidewalk accident lawsuits.

Fulton County CourtWatch Survey   Please fill out the attached survey about this important service of the Fulton County D.A.'s Office and send to our CourtWatch coordinator, Janet Martin, at  courtwatch@fultoncountyga.gov

Our Fulton County Jail   To better understand the functions and purpose of jails in our total criminal justice and penal system - take some time to watch this very good film that I found out about from Colonel Mark Adger, head of our county jail on Rice Street.  This film takes a long time to download, so give yourself some uninterrupted time.  http://nicic.gov/Assets/VideoPlayer.aspx?url=http://nicic.gov/Library/Files/018696.avi And on the same subject, an interesting AJC article about the malfunctioning cell locks at the jail http://www.ajc.com/news/fulton-jail-test-asks-1462238.html  

Fulton County Sheriff's Citizen's Academy   I just recently finished up this 6 week course to learn more as to how the Sheriff's Office functions and I heartily recommend it to all interested folks.  There will not be another such session til next year, but it is already filling up.  Contact Natasha Mootoo in the public affairs section to get your name on next year's list at natasha.mootoo@fultoncountyga.gov   The evenings spent at the CourtHouse downtown to see all the security features and inside the Jail are really eye-opening.  

Cell Phone Snatches   This category of crime continues to grow, and just like auto break-ins, is a crime that we as citizens can help to squelch.  If you are at a bar or restaurant - do not lay the phone on your table - keep it in your pocket.  And, if you are walking and you just have to talk, wait til you can get to a secure place where you can see actions around you before you begin a conversation.  I continually see pedestrians talking on their phones who have absolutely no idea as to what is going on around them. A good story at - http://www.myfoxatlanta.com/story/18700025/police-say-phone-thefts-on-the-rise   Note the free app at the end of the story "Find My I Phone" - might be a good idea to have this installed for when your phone is lost or stolen.

Front Porch Package Thefts   This is another crime category that we as citizens can prevent - that of FedEx and UPS deliveries.  We have had this free program with some of our local merchants for several years now - but it bears a reminder every once in a while.  Go to Intown Hardware, Highland Wine and Crystal, CityStorage or Urban Body and sign up to have your packages delivered to their safe addresses and pick them up at your convenience.  These community-minded merchants offer this service at no charge.  If there are no packages to steal, these thieves will go elsewhere to ply their trade.  

Keep your parked car cleaned out of ALL items at ALL times and avoid having a broken window and the loss of your electronics, cameras, weapons, loose change, gym bag, etc   This is vacation time - so before you leave, be sure to stop delivery of the mail and newspapers and let your trusted neighbors know where you are and when you will return.  If you belong to FBAC - be sure to let them know also so they can regularly check your house.