Why should I pay for a security patrol when I am already paying taxes for APD?
Do you have any statistics that show that neighborhood security patrols make a difference?

Why should I pay for a security patrol when I am already paying taxes for APD?
You’re right – we are paying taxes for police. But the fact is that APD does not have as many police officers and supporting equipment as it wants and is stretched too thin. It has been this way for many years and will probably remain that way for some time. As a result, many neighborhoods in Atlanta have developed privately funded security/safety patrols to enhance security in their communities.

Prior to the launch of the O4WP, Old Fourth Ward was surrounded by neighborhoods that have their own security patrols; we were the hole in the doughnut! As a result, the other neighborhood security patrols effrorts “pushed” the bad guys out and the bad guys go to where security is less prominent and it is easier to operate, like the Old Fourth Ward. We hope that our patrol will curb the pushing of bad guys into our patrol area by having our own security patrol. It is up to you whether you feel paying a little extra for proactive, focused community based policing is worthwhile.

Do you have any statistics that show that neighborhood security patrols make a difference?
There are more than 60 privately funded neighborhood security patrols in the Atlanta area and they have been operating for many years. Based on that statistic, clearly these patrols are effective and add value to public safety and quality of life in the patrolled neighborhoods. More specifically, here is some information about several security patrols’ successes:

• The West End patrol has cited a significant reduction in crime since the patrol’s inception.
• Grant Park noted a 70% reduction in burglaries since their patrol began in 2000.
• The Midtown Ponce Security Alliance (MPSA) has significantly reduced prostitution, drug dealing and crime in their patrol area and is making headway in cleaning up parts of Ponce de Leon Avenue

We publish a newsletter every month that provides Part 1 crime statistics in our patrol area and alert people to crime trends and issues in our area to be aware of. If you don’t know what the issues are, our patrol and the community can’t address them. In our newsletter each month we also discuss the items that we worked on during the monthy, quality of life issues addressed and any arrests that were made.

While statistics can be useful to gauge effectiveness, it can often be difficult to truly know what is driving crime statistics up or down in a given period of time. Importantly, statistics do not capture all of the impact that a patrol has on its area. Graffiti deterrence, code enforcement, reduced loitering, dealing with vacant and derelict properties, holding slumlords to account, etc. do not show up directly in crime statistics but greatly impact quality of life and safety.