Articles

Major Crimes Drop For 6th Year: Atlanta Betters South On FBI "Yardstick"

Ernie Suggs, AJC Staff
Atlanta Journal-Constitution
June 17, 2003

Serious crime was down more than 5 percent in Atlanta last year, and Police Chief Richard Pennington says he is working on ways to keep that figure going south -- with a little help.

"We want to stay focused on a 5 percent reduction," Pennington said Monday as the FBI released its latest crime statistics for big cities. "We can change our goals when we get more manpower."

Major crimes in Atlanta declined for the sixth consecutive year in 2002, according to the annual Uniform Crime Report. The report is based on surveys of law enforcement agencies.

The number of major crimes in Atlanta fell to 49,451 last year, from 52,194 in 2001. The downward trend began in 1997.

The FBI considers seven crimes -- homicide, rape, robbery, aggravated assault, burglary, larceny and car theft -- as major. Arson also is included, but since that data is maintained by fire departments, it is counted differently. Nationally, major crime fell .2 percent.

In Atlanta, all of the major crimes declined considerably, except homicide and car theft. In 2002, Atlanta had 152 homicides, compared with 143 in 2001, a 6.3 percent increase. Thieves stole 287 more cars in 2002, a 4.1 percent rise.

But, over the same period, 91 fewer rapes, 173 fewer robberies, 583 fewer aggravated assaults, 177 fewer burglaries and 2,015 fewer larcenies were reported.

"We are always pleased anytime we have a reduction in crime," Pennington said. "I am pleased in the direction that we are going. Sometimes, it is difficult to get that 5 percent."

FBI spokesman Joe Parris said the report is an important tool for governments and citizens. "The UCR certainly provides local governments with a comparative yardstick and can alert police officials to trends within their departments when compared with communities of comparable sizes."

In major crime reduction, Atlanta outpaces the South, which saw an overall 1.3 percent decrease.

Major crime has declined despite "fewer officers and fewer resources," Pennington said. "If you're still driving crime down with less officers, that should say something."

Pennington said the challenge this year will be doing more with less. Atlanta now has only a few more than 1,500 police officers, far fewer than the 1,607 authorized positions. Officers are being hired, but only to replace retired and resigned officers, so the numbers aren't going up. Plus, there is a salary freeze.

With the increased population in the city, Pennington said at least 700,000 more 911 calls are coming in annually.

He said a new crime tracking system, COBRA, will help. Every week, Pennington meets with his commanders to track crimes and trends. He holds them accountable for dealing with crime in their areas.

"If they have a robbery problem, they have to account for and address it," Pennington said. "It makes everybody accountable, and it helps decrease crime."

For the first four months of 2003, major crime is down 4 percent in the city, compared with the same period last year. But homicides are up to 45, from 35 during the same period a year ago.

Despite the fact that major crime is falling in Atlanta, there has been a perception that crime is rampant.

"If there is an overall downward trend, I am not seeing it in my neighborhood, and I certainly don't feel any safer," said Dave Hartman, 30, a condo owner in Buckhead.

Pennington said the perception problem is fueled by an assumption that the whole metro area is "Atlanta."

Metro Atlanta has had a rash of killings this year. As of Friday, Gwinnett County had had 20 slayings, just two shy of last year's total. Police say that if the killings continue, Gwinnett will easily top its record of 27 homicides in one year. Cobb County had had 11 killings as of May, according to FBI figures.

Pennington also said the preponderance of lesser crimes -- vandalism, prostitution, loitering and vagrancy -- also add to Atlanta's crime image.

"But perception is always an issue," Pennington said. "If people perceive it is unsafe, then it impacts reality."

Hartman contends that crime is up and people are just not reporting it. He said he knows many people who have had break-ins or been mugged who felt it was an isolated incident and refused to tell authorities.

"It is generally known that all crimes are not going to be reported," said Parris, the FBI spokesman, who noted that victims of sexual assault are often reluctant to make reports. "The amount of underreporting is something that is subject to data studies and scholarly and statistical research."

Last Oct. 5, seven of Hartman's friends parked their cars near his condo on Mathieson Drive for an evening of partying. A gunman came from behind a building to rob the group. The robbery quickly turned tragic when the gunman shot one of the men in the group in the heart.

Doctors said it was a miracle that the victim lived.

"It was an incident where people ... were just trying to make their way down the street," said Hartman. "I have always been cautious, but after that, I began to realize the gravity of the situation."

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