Over on Decaturish, resident and journalist Dan Whisenhunt is doing a great job of providing some much needed in-depth reporting on the recent crime uptick over the summer.  He’s now posted another piece that came out of a two-hour conversation with Decatur PD’s Public Information Officer Sgt. Jennifer Ross.  Here’s a taste…

Decatur has a low rate of violent crime, but a glut of media coverage of some high profile incidents has put the Decatur police department in the spotlight.

What’s happening in Decatur is part of a broader trend in East Atlanta, Sgt. Ross said.

Criminals don’t really study geographic boundaries. Metro Atlanta residents take pride in them. They will hold accountable the government closest to them.

I spoke with Sgt. Ross for nearly two hours about her job, life as a police officer and the recent “crime wave” in Decatur. During our interview, Deputy Chief Keith Lee and Chief Mike Booker dropped by to say hello.

Over on the website, Decaturish, journalist and Decatur resident Dan Whisenhunt has acquired crime data from the Decatur Police Department and gives some good context to the recent uptick in burglaries and larcenies in Decatur over the first six months of the year.  (Many are also probably interested in July data, which hasn’t been completely compiled yet, but Dan was able to get robbery counts, which was 6 in July 2013 and 3 in July 2012.)

It may also interest many that robberies, assaults and motor vehicle thefts are all down vs. same period last year.

Click over to read Dan’s full account, which also includes annual violent and property crime levels for Decatur back to 1985.

Additionally, he’s got a follow up post that compares Decatur’s crime to the most similar place that he could locate, Carrboro, NC.

Chart courtesy of Decaturish

UPDATE II: From DPD…

On 08/05/13 at approximately 10:24 am, DeKalb County Sheriff’s Deputies were attempting to serve an arrest warrant at a residence in the 200 block of Cambridge Avenue when the wanted person fled on foot toward Oakhurst Park and deputies pursued.  A taser was deployed and the suspect was taken into custody without further incident.  The suspect and a deputy were treated on scene for superficial injuries.

UPDATE: DPD’s Jennifer Ross says…”Standby for the real story…it was NOT a robbery and/or shooting.”  Stay tuned.

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Waiting to hear back from Decatur PD, but Arriba reports “gunshots and an attempted robbery near Oakhurst Park this morning (possibly on Leyden.)”  He says that his wife “called 911, and the police were there immediately.  They apprehending one suspect, the other one got away.”

He also followed up to report that “the police dispatcher called my wife back and said there was a second incident on Cambridge, also to make sure these weren’t the same incidents.”, so there could have been two events this morning.

Anne also wrote in and reported “my friends were playing tennis and saw the robbery in progress, heard shots, and called 911 leading police to the house.

Stay tuned.  We’ve followed up with Decatur PD and will let you know when we hear back.

Decatur PD sent out this alert last night….

On 08/03/13 at 6:31pm, Decatur Police responded to an armed robbery of two pedestrians in the 400 block of Fayetteville Road. The suspects ran up behind the victims and one pointed a handgun and demanded everything from the victim’s pockets. A wallet and set of keys were taken. The suspects then ran to a newer model charcoal gray Dodge Charger (unknown tag) and fled south toward Hosea Williams Boulevard.

Suspect #1:
-African-American male
-14-17 years old
-Approximately 5’8-5’9 and 130 lbs
-Dark brown complexion
-Short afro
-Thin build
-Clean shaven
-Wearing a dark hoodie and jeans
-Armed with a black semi-automatic handgun

Suspect #2:

-African-American male
-14-17 years old
-Approximately 5’11
-Dark brown complexion
-Thin build
-Possibly wearing red and white clothing

Atlanta Police and DeKalb Police were notified of this incident.

A busy day for DPD. Again from Sgt. Ross…

On 08/02/13 at approximately 12:11 pm, Decatur Police responded to a false public alarm (bomb threat) at the Phoenix School on East Lake Drive. The location was evacuated and searched by Decatur Officers and Marta Police K-9 units. No suspicious items were located. The incident is being turned over to the criminal investigations division.