Downtown Atlanta: Single Digits In Citywide Crime Comparison; Almost 90% of Crime Non-Violent.

ATLANTA -- "Today it's time that people's perception of crime in Downtown gets replaced with facts, and the truth. The folklore needs to go," said A.J. Robinson, President of Central Atlanta Progress (CAP) and the Atlanta Downtown Improvement District (ADID), in a quarterly "town hall" meeting this morning at the Westin Peachtree Plaza Hotel in Downtown Atlanta.

"I don't care what your neighbor said or what someone who's trying to steer you to someplace else intimates about Downtown, the fact is that Downtown represents the largest daily population equivalent (about 200,000 people) within Metro Atlanta but accounts for only 8% of the City's total crime. That's reality and it needs to replace the perception and the whispers," said Robinson.

Atlanta Police Department (APD) officials were on hand to back up the statement with recent crime statistics comparing crime citywide, in Zone 5 and in Beat 506 (within Zone 5) which covers the Downtown area. "We have worked with Chief Pennington's office to develop a standard reporting format that will compare crime every six months on those three levels. People weren't seeing the raw Downtown numbers and this analysis makes it crystal clear," said CAP Chair Scott Wilfong, President of SunTrust Bank - Atlanta and an Atlanta Police Foundation Board member.

Also joining APD officials were other representatives of CAP's Interagency Law Enforcement Partnership that represents eight different police jurisdictions based in Downtown. "Downtown has more police per capita on a daily basis than any other area in the City. That is always a deterrent to crime," said Robinson.

According to Robinson, from the private sector there is strength in numbers too. "Downtown has more than 1,300 private security personnel in the area. When you add in the Ambassador Force that walks our sidewalks every day that is a lot of eyes and ears watching and listening for crime and potential criminals. Because of that saturation, arrests in Downtown are up in double digits in the majority of crime categories reported by APD."

Robinson went on to say, "Another striking figure that flies in the face of the false crime perception is that almost 90% of Downtown's crime is non-violent and not against individuals. If that doesn't say 'safe' for a major urban center, I don't know what does."

"Car break-ins, classified by APD as larceny, are the problem. We have more parking spaces, decks and surface lots than any other area of the City, but even car break-ins have dropped by 33% when compared to last year," said Craig Jones, ADID Chairman and President of Cousins Properties Office Division. "Under the leadership of Chief Pennington and Zone 5 officers, the figures we see are headed the right way in all categories of crime. Crime is headed down and arrests are up."

Jones also referenced reductions in nuisance violations and quality-of-life crimes, such as aggressive panhandling, saying that the results were very promising. "When panhandlers don't want to take 'no' for an answer, then our answer is 'yes,' you are under arrest. Compared to last year, panhandling arrests are up 42% and all quality-of-life crime arrests are up 170%. The laws are being enforced and standards of behavior are being set for Downtown."