Decatur PD’s Juanchella Francis just sent this note out to the community…
The City of Decatur Police Department wishes to advise residents about a recent increase in residential burglaries occurring in the southern portion of the city. Since January 14, 2010 four burglaries of residences have been reported to the Decatur Police Department. Each of these incidents have occurred after 8:00 PM. In three of the incidents the residences were vacant, but a resident was home during the fourth incident. In the fourth incident the suspect fled without entering the residence, once the homeowner made her presence known. In that incident the resident stated she heard someone knock on her door, but did not answer and shortly thereafter the suspect attempted to enter through a rear window. It is surmised the suspect thought the residence was not occupied when he/she did not receive a response at the front door.
Residents are encouraged to contact the Decatur Police Department if they see any suspicious activity in their neighborhoods. Residents are cautioned against opening their doors to unknown people and to contact the Decatur Police Department immediately if strangers approach their homes.
Physical evidence has been collected from the above incident locations and investigators are pursuing leads in each of the cases. Anyone who has information about these incidents is encouraged to contact the Decatur Police Department. Investigator D. Bellis is the lead investigator on these cases and he can be contacted at 678 553-6616. If unable to reach Inv. Bellis, information can be submitted to any Decatur police officer at the main telephone number 404 373-6551.
can someone clarify what/where is south decatur?
WPMom, per you question, I’ve asked DPD for street names. I’ll let you know what I hear back.
DPD divides the city into four quadrants. The north/south dividing line is College Ave. The east/west dividing line is McDonough St. and Clairmont
Here’s a bit more detail courtesy of Juanchella Francis…
“Three burglaries occurred on Kings Hwy, Adams Street and Candler Oaks Lane. Candler Oaks Lane is in SE Decatur. One attempted burglary occurred on Adams Street.
As for the City’s boundaries, north and south Decatur are divided by College Avenue. East and west Decatur are divided, on the south side, by S. McDonough and on the north side by Clairemont Avenue.”
One of the burglaries was in Southeast Decatur. Three burglaries occurred on Kings Hwy, Adams Street and Candler Oaks Lane. One attempted burglary occurred on Adams Street.
I can add that the Adams burglary and attempted burglary were on the north end of Adams, just a few houses down from us. We’ve noticed not only the Decatur PD increase patrols, but also the ASC force has been cruising the street more than usual.
DECATURKJ: Do you know if those homes had 1.) burglar alarms; 2.) signs indicating they have burglar alarms; or 3.) dogs? WPS is always interested to know what thought, if any, goes into selecting homes to burgle.
From what I’ve heard through the neighborhood grapevine, it sounds like a dog was a deterrent in one attempt, while an alarm was not a deterrent in another.
A common theme in the incidents I’m aware of is that the residents were either out of town or away for many hours. As if some recon had been done in advance. My take is that people should be careful to conceal whether they are home or away.
I also heard, like TeeRuss, that dogs were a deterrent in one instance. I don’t know about the alarm thing. To a later poster’s point, I do think it’s interesting to know all the info we can because it may help to avoid a false sense of security to know, for example, that alarms may not deter criminals all the time. I for one can get complacent.
In talking to police over the years, I’ve been told time and again that dog(s) beats alarm as a crime deterrent every single time. And it’s not the size of the dog that matters. Could be a shih-tzu as long as it barks a lot when strangers show up. Because it’s the barking that freaks out home invaders. And dogs sound different when something is really wrong (if you own dogs, you know). A lot of burglars calculate that they can be in and out before anyone responds to an alarm, especially if they’re just after a single big-ticket item, like a TV. But dogs have to be dealt with, and it’s just not worth it to most burglars.
Tough luck for those of us who are cat people. But when it comes to keeping out vermin with more than two legs, I’ll stick with kitty.
Dogs and cats can co-exist, you know.
What AMB said. We only have dogs, but I grew up with a series of cats and dogs happily sharing the same household.
Seems like a killer security system. Dog barks and bites the crotch while the cat goes for the face!
One of the burglaries occurred while the family was volunteering at Decatur’s Martin Luther King Jr. Service Project this past weekend. We are grateful for their dedication to the Project, and we are so very sorry that this happened to them.
Stop with trying to analyze everything. The email was sent as an alert to the City of Decatur community to be on the look-out for your neighbors and yourself. Decatur is a great place to live!
uh, speaking as someone who within the last few weeks has had my car window busted out and my car rifled through i don’t think it is over analyzing to try to get some additional information about these crimes. i’d like to know where they are happening.
besides that, this is a blog and people share information. that’s what it’s all about.
True, but try common sense and placing items of value in cars out of viewing and closing blinds/curtains in homes. That can help as well.
So you can EITHER use common sense OR analyze the situation?
How can you use common sense if you don’t know what’s going on in your environment?
Common sense will cut out a lot and help with trying to analyze every word and sentence spoken & every event that takes place.
I think a little analysis into what burglars look for, etc. is helpful info in regard to improving safety in our community. Sheesh!
Remain calm, all is well!
Ok folks, no more analysis–apparently we should all be content with just hearing information and not what that information means.
Well, Gibbets, darn your diabolically demanding little hide, because too much analysis of the available information would naturally result in Decatur being viewed by outsiders in a less-than-favorable light. Why is that so difficult for you information-analyzers to wrap your heads around? *sigh* Must I explain EVERYTHING? (Answer: No, because then I’d be giving you too much analysis of the information. Eh? Eh?) ;-P
Well sure…but we wouldn’t want to pretend that crime doesn’t happen in Decatur…would we?
Um, JB– you do understand I was being sarcastic, yes? (And I’m gonna go out on a limb & say that Gibbets was as well.)
Yep, ¡LibreWestchester!
Winnona Park Stud thinks this “Oakhurst” character seems awfully anxious for everyone to stop asking questions about these burglaries and move on….hmmmm.
I find Winona Park Stud’s suspicions very interesting
I find it slightly odd, but also slightly vindicating, that the AJC now posts these little blurbs.
Speaking of crime, does anyone know what happened at Sycamore and (I think) Willow across from Glenlake? Four DPD with lights flashing were all over a silver Altima.
i watched two men being arrested at gun point with a dozen police around them. i think i overheard something regarding money as the police searched their trunk! was this a robbery?
I heard that the bank in the little Kroger was robbed this afternoon. Could have had something to do with that.
You guys are too quick for me! Check my latest post for confirmation and further detail.