From the Decatur Police Department…

On 09/04/13, Decatur Police arrested a 15-year-old Decatur High School student for robbery and simple battery regarding the August 28th robbery of a Renfroe Middle School student for an iPhone as the student walked home from school.

In a follow up email, DPD described this event as an isolated incident.

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From the desk of Superintendent Phyllis Edwards…

Dear Decatur Parents and Community:

Friday night following the Decatur High School vs. Grady High School football game, three armed robberies occurred, all involving our students as victims. The Decatur police have issued a release regarding the information about the incidents. Thankfully, our students were not physically harmed, but staff, students, families and citizens of Decatur are feeling stunned and vulnerable.

Decatur High School has always had police presence at our football games. Chief Booker shared with me that after the game on Friday, he sent the rest of the units over to the high school as well. The police have descriptions of the suspects and the robberies are a police matter.

There have been a number of other incidents like this in Decatur over the last few months. I have spoken with the School Board and administrators about any additional measures that we can take to further protect our students. I have asked the city to provide an additional Resource Officer, at the school system’s expense.

City Schools of Decatur will commit to the following to improve the safety of our students before, during and after athletic events:

• Host a Student and Parent Safety Meeting on Thursday evening, Sept. 5 at 6:30 pm in the theater of Decatur High School. Lauri McKain, principal of Decatur High School, will present some of the changes to procedures for large school events moving forward, and Sgt. Ross, of the Decatur Police Department, will provide safety recommendations to our students and families.
• Hire DeKalb County Marshalls on an hourly basis to patrol our campus before, during and after Varsity football and basketball home games
• Evaluate the lighting on the campus, and adding or adjusting bright floodlights
• Investigate the rental of walk-through metal detectors
• Ban spectators’ backpacks or bags from entry into the stadium or gym during a game
• Organize Band parents to chaperone a pickup location for Band students after games

Additionally, I have asked the Principals at the secondary level to meet with students to remind them again to be vigilant, to walk with others and keep their technology out of sight. Certainly awareness is key but for the typical Decatur student or citizen, expecting this type of criminal behavior is not something that they are accustomed to within the usual safe surroundings. Parents may want to form walking groups that are supervised or pick students up at the school after a game.

This can and has happened at other areas of the city. Our students are very accustomed to walking freely throughout Decatur but some of this freedom may have to be monitored while the police increase their patrols.

An additional press release from the Decatur Police Department can be found by following this link.

I am extremely grateful that our students were not hurt. We will continue to be in contact with the police to see what other avenues or remedies they suggest to keep our children safe.

Sincerely,

Phyllis A. Edwards, Ed.D.

Superintendent

From the City Schools of Decatur…

Student and Parent Safety Meeting

In response to recent crime targeting City Schools of Decatur students, the school system and police department are hosting an information session on Thursday evening, Sept 5 at 6:30 pm in the theater of Decatur High School. Lauri McKain, principal of Decatur High School, will present some of the changes to procedures for large school events moving forward, and Sgt Ross of the Decatur Police Department will provide safety recommendations to our students and families.

The Decatur Police Department just sent along this update…

The Decatur Police Department is in the process of investigating the robbery of three Decatur High School students for their iPhones as they left last Friday night’s football game.  Identifying and locating the suspects is a top priority for Police Department staff.  Assistance and cooperation are being provided by a sketch artist from the Georgia Bureau of Investigation as well as the City Schools of Decatur, Marta Police, DeKalb Police, Atlanta Police and area school resource officers.

“No one wants these incidents stopped more than the City Commission and the City of Decatur Police Department,” said Mayor Jim Baskett. “We are deeply concerned about the incidents and this type of activity is not welcome in our community.”

Resolution of last Wednesday’s theft of an I-Phone from a Renfroe Middle School student is expected within the next several days.  At that time it is expected that additional information related to that case will be released.  The robberies from Friday night do not appear to be related to the Wednesday incident.

Chief Mike Booker reports that, “a total of fifteen officers were on duty in the area during the time of Friday night’s robberies. This included the standard six officers at Decatur High School for the football game. In addition, according to our operating procedure, as the game was ending, the on-duty shift was notified and they had responded to the area around the school, as well as the bicycle patrol officer from the Square. There was additional law enforcement staff in the area that was part of security for the Decatur Book Festival. The Decatur Police Department and City Schools of Decatur will continue to work together to put even more safety precautions into effect for future games.”

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Be careful and vigilant out there. From DPD…

On 08/30/13, Decatur police responded to the following three armed robberies calls involving Decatur High School students leaving the football game.

In the first incident, the victim reported he and a friend were leaving the football game at approximately 9:45 pm when they passed the two suspects on the driveway between the lower lot and upper lot of Decatur High School. One suspect asked the victim for the time and the victim removed his cell phone from his pocket and provided the time and then continued on. The victim and his friend were walking past Renfroe Middle School minutes later when the suspects ran up behind the victim, one suspect grabbed the victim by his shoulder while the second suspect pressed a small silver semi-automatic handgun to the victim’s back and demanded his phone. The victim relinquished his phone and the suspects fled south on Adams Street. The victim was not injured. An iPhone 4 was taken. The suspects were described as follows:
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