Two Burglaries Reported on South Columbia Drive Late Last Week
Decatur Metro | December 30, 2013 | 8:43 amFrom Decatur PD’s Jennifer Ross…
On 12-27-13 at approximately 9:35pm, a burglary was reported in the 400 block of South Columbia Drive. The homeowners heard a front window being broken out and then noticed the power was off inside of the house. A purse was taken from the table inside of the broken window. The power had been switched off from the exterior power box. The purse and some contents were recovered the following morning near a wooded area on Talley Street.v
On 12-28-13 at approximately 3:20pm, a burglary was reported in the 300 block of South Columbia Drive. The homeowner noticed a rear door that is frequently left unlocked to be ajar and a jacket that should have been inside of the home on the ground outside. The homeowner then noticed an item had been moved in one of the bedrooms and credit cards were missing. The homeowner recalled going outside for a short period of time the previous evening at approximately 9:30pm and was unsure when the burglary occurred.
Circumstances surrounding these two burglaries indicate the suspect was most probably on foot and checking for unsecured entry points as well as looking into windows to find items of value. Burglars will turn off the power from exterior power boxes in an attempt to circumvent alarm systems. According to Georgia Power Customer Service, a homeowner can choose to place a lock on the exterior switch box. However, in the event of a fire the exterior power switch would need to be accessed to shut off power so locking the box is not recommended. The decision is up to the individual homeowner. Other preventative measures homeowners can take are to make sure all doors and windows are locked, close blinds and curtains in the evening when you are in for the night, install and use motion activated lighting and if you have an alarm system, use it and make sure there is a cellular back-up in the event of a power outage.
We had car break ins on West Benson over the holiday, the Family dollar was robbed, and a person had a purse stolen while working at Eastside Church. I believe the precinct that was closed in Oakhurst should be reopened. I fear that someone here in Decatur, particularly on this side of town is going to be killed during one of these robberies. Then will we get the expanded help? The officer who took the call and made the report for the purse snatched at the church has not returned any of the victim’s phone calls. The purse was found in Oakhurst park. This is where several items have been found after Oakhurst robberies. The crooks are feeling empowered because they are continuing to get by with it. What can we as citizens do? Do we have to be beaten, or murdered during the robbery? Folks in Oakhurst are getting sick and tired of this mess.
“What can we as citizens do?”
1. Adhere to the excellent crime prevention tips provided by the Decatur Police:
http://www.decaturga.com/index.aspx?page=477
2. Be attentive and report any suspicious activity to Decatur Police: 404-373-6551.
3. Actively help your neighborhood by participating in the Neighborhood Watch. Especially appreciated if you can also pitch in as a block captain to ensure your neighbors without internet are being kept informed too.
4. Be proactive – if there’s an area in your neighborhood that needs attention, take the initiative to email your commissioners and/or the appropriate city official(s) and request action to address.
5. Don’t be THAT PERSON who goes online to bitch about the police. Especially not the Decatur Police who prove day in & day out that they’re ON IT, working as hard as is humanly possible to protect our community. If you have a concern over how you *perceive* something is being handled, then escalate it up the chain of command, but don’t publicly blast an officer. Online venting demoralizes the DPD and makes the commenter seem like an ass#*%* (which, hopefully, you’re not) .
Not bitching. I worked as a public employee for years. I never whined or became angry at tax payers who expected me to be thorough in my duties. We expect our teachers to return calls in a timely manner, our city officials, etc. This blog has been used to make similar demands without naming individuals or blaming all public employees.
I can assure you that we, the neighbors, in this area of Oakhurst and beyond have made our concerns known directly and up the chain. We are proactive in this neighborhood and Decatur. There is no excuse for not returning a phone call. I am not bashing the entire police force and would never publicly name an officer. We, are demoralized and feel that our efforts aren’t making much difference. We do know that along with our efforts, more officers in our community, on foot, bicycle, or cars can help.
Bashing would be calling someone I don’t know an ass!@#$.
It does not make me an ass!@#$ to expect one unnamed police officer to call my neighbor back within a reasonable amount of time. It does not make me an ass!@#$ to see a precinct place back in an area where I have lived and worked for 20 years. It does not make me an ass@#$% to be frustrated because we have had a huge uptake in crime in this area in the last 7 months with what seems to be little improvement.
To assume that I, and my neighbors, have not called and emailed our commissioners,not supported our neighborhood watch, do not call with suspicious activity is mighty self-righteous.
Online assuming and lecturing demoralizes the current victims of crime, (I, and at least 4 of my neighbors are one a few of those victims). Online assuming and lecturing makes the commenter seem like…..
too cool, you asked what we as citizens can do and I replied with the DPD’s action list– and yes, added my two cents about how you came across for which I don’t apologize (and don’t expect you to change your opinion on me either). To be clear, in no way did I knock the Oakhurst neighborhood’s efforts to thwart crime. I’m fully aware of efforts over there. (At DPD’s request I participated in the meeting to help the Owls’ Watch gear up again.) Perhaps you misunderstood the point on taking action where there’s a problem area– meaning, a poorly lit street, overgrown bushes in public areas that could be turned into a hiding place, vacant buildings, etc. At any rate, I applaud the neighbors who are actively pitching in to help with community policing as it’s only by having engaged neighborhoods working alongside the DPD that headway can be made in addressing the crime issues.
When and why did the Oakhurst Precinct close?
Many, many years ago. It was part of the old fire station, if I recall correctly, but its closing predates the replacement of that facility. It was staffed only as a check-in point, and did not have a continuous officer on duty. IMO, the regular patrols provide roughly the same police presence in that area. The officers do have the ability to “park and walk”, and often do.
It was in the village and it’s now the cupcake bakery. You’re right that it was not a staffed location. Officers basically used it as a periodic desk to do paperwork.
An argument could be made (in fact, I’ll make it!) that an active storefront, with neighbors on the street, coming and going, has a more positive effect on crime than a dark office, even if that office says “Police” on the door. I’ll take beat cops over desk cops any day.
Agreed, Scott. Moving the discussion a bit, I do think there is some fun (symbolism?) in that space – having gone from whatever it was to service the streetcar users to whatever it was after that, to a police station, to a natural smoothie place, to a Cupcake place. I may have missed a transition or two.