Decatur Police Release Updated Advisory on Recent Robberies
Decatur Metro | April 15, 2013The City of Decatur’s Linda Harris sent along this updated advisory…
The City of Decatur Police Department is working diligently to solve the recent cell phone robberies and the Wahoo Grill robbery while at the same time putting together various details involving the officers, detectives and command staff members to try and prevent further incidents. The Decatur Police Department encourages everyone to be aware of their surroundings and to limit distractions such as talking on cell phones or using earbuds and to secure items such as cellphones, wallets and purses in order to prevent thefts.
At the April 8 Oakhurst Neighborhood Association meeting Chief Booker said, “We are following up on leads as they develop, have done sketches for the ones where the victim was able to give us a good description, have instituted specific activities designed to prevent future problems, including scheduling approximately 200 hours of overtime in addition to regular shifts to make every effort to locate and prosecute the perpetrators. Please know that these robberies are currently our number one concern and that no one wants this spree to end more than we do as a police department.”
Chief Booker added that the robbery at Wahoo Grill occurred after the business had closed and the victims were all employees. He said, “We are following leads and working diligently in our efforts to solve that case. The manner in which the robbery occurred looked well-planned and was carried out without much being said by the perpetrators and we do not feel that the Wahoo robbery is related to the other pedestrian robberies.” The Police Department sent immediate information to the City’s retail and restaurant establishments in an effort to encourage awareness among business owners and employees.
The City of Decatur Police Department encourages anyone with information about the pedestrian cell phone robberies and the Wahoo robbery to contact them at .
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I hope the police will be more present in an around our neighborhood restaurants after dark. I hope the restaurant owners will help raise awareness and ask employees to be careful about emptying the trash at late nite closing. I worked in the resataurant business for years as a young college student. Truly, tie up the garbage, leave it by the door, and let the day crew take it out in the morning. Don’t open a back door where lighting is limited and the ability to enter a back area is wide open. I hope they catch these scum bags. As for me, I know this won’t be popular, but I have my gun and I have the training to use it if I had too. Just sayin.
I remember a few years back after the horrific restaurant shooting in East Atlanta, the owners of the Marlay told me that DPD was showing up at closing time and keeping watch. So such a request isn’t without precedent.
The issue will always be that there are more restaurants/businesses than there are police so vigilance on everyone’s part is the most important thing. The people who robbed Wahoo likely didn’t gamble on whether there was a police presence in the area…they knew there wasn’t and if there had been they would have gone someplace else or waited for another night.
I have to say that after living in Oakhurst for over 4 years, it is now that I am most fearful. I’m nervous for my kids and I’m even scared to go running with my Iphone (that I use for GPS/music). It makes me sick that I feel this way about the neighborhood that I love.
The ONA is willing to re-institute the OWL (Oakhurst Watch Local Safety) committee once again as a way to aid the DPD. It will take a dedicated volunteer to help organize and recruit but the precedent and model is there. If you are interested in speaking further I would suggest you reach out to the ONA and it can be an agenda topic for next months meeting where there is always DPD representation.
As the weather improves, I think we all need to spend MORE time out and about in our neighborhoods. Walking in groups, socializing on street corners, OWNING our little corners of this town. As has been said, there are only so many police, so many places they can be at once.
Turn on and leave on your outside lights, pay attention to what goes on around you and make use of those great front porches. Nosy neighbors are the best form of security!
+1
I would like everyone to also keep some perspective (I’m not referring to anyone to be clear). We have had a number of incidents but generally speaking, the Decatur area is not under siege, and we should as the poster says, keep calm and carry on.
Clearly this is a good reminder to check those doors, windows and gates, and make sure you lock your car when you head into the store, but we should also continue to happily enjoy the weather and the opportunity to walk around the city, even at night (I walked to Java Monkey quite late the other night to get some coffee, without fear but also without headphones on).
One of the biggest factors in people’s fear of crime turns out not to be crime rate but how publicized individual crimes are. Indeed, in many areas of the country there is growing fear about crime at the same time that the crime rate falls.
Frankly, that cheeseburger and beer that I am about to eat is likely to cause me more harm than the criminals in Decatur. (But to be honest, I’m going to eat it anyway…)
I agree with sugarmama. Decatur is such a great city and this ruins it. If people stop walking, scared to be out, etc…this city is going to go down quick, including the schools. I know we need to be aware but I think we need the police to be more present as well, especially at night.