By D.L. Bennett
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
ATLANTA, Ga. — For many Atlanta residents it seems having a mower stolen, car radio taken or home broken into is a rite of passage.
For Muffie Michaelson of Druid Hills, her welcome to Atlanta came four years ago.
About 11 p.m., Michaelson went to the door of her Oakdale Road home to make sure it was secure. As she looked outside, she was shocked to see a man rifling through her car.
The thief smashed her car window and took the stereo. Three other neighbors reported car break-ins that night, she said.
“We don’t get any patrolling in our neighborhood,” Michaelson said. “It doesn’t make any difference what jurisdiction they are in. They don’t have enough staff.”
In response, Atlanta residents frustrated with chronically understaffed city police are piecing together their own private police force neighborhood by neighborhood.
Dozens of Atlanta neighborhoods, from up-and-coming areas like East Lake and East Atlanta to the Midtown and Downtown business districts to tony Druid Hills or funky Lake Claire, supplement Atlanta police with their own private patrols.
Patrols have even spread outside Atlanta to Gwinnett County, with residents of Flowers Crossing subdivision and businesses along U.S. 78 paying for private police.
In some cases, businesses are paying extra taxes to create a private agency they control. In others, homeowners are selling memberships to their own neighborhood police departments using off-duty Atlanta officers to tackle street-level crime like burglary, car break-ins and thefts from tool sheds.
East Lake started a patrol in April.
“You get to the point where you can only do so much,” said James Scott of East Lake. “You protest. You protest. We took the initiative. It’s unfortunate [you have to].”
These aren’t malcontents who dislike Atlanta police.
And the local private patrols are not just security guards.
Neighborhoods typically hire off-duty Atlanta police, who can make arrests just like when they are on-duty.
“The police should be doing this but they are so widespread they just don’t have the resources,” said Mark Romzick of Morningside, which has had patrol since 1993 years. “This is there because we live in an urban environment. The security patrol gives us extra comfort.”
No quick fixes
Crime statistics reported by Atlanta police show burglary, auto theft and larceny up a combined 7 percent in the city in the first quarter of 2007 compared with the first three months of 2006.
For March 2007, the last month reported, Atlanta residents reported 19 burglaries a day this year compared with 16 per day in 2006. Likewise, larceny was up 7 percent and car theft 6 percent in March over 2006 numbers.
Despite repeated requests for an interview, Atlanta police did not respond for this story.
But Atlanta Mayor Shirley Franklin said beefing up police presence has been a struggle for all of her 20-plus years with the city, first as an administrator and now as mayor.
“I think we need more too,” Franklin said. “The man on the street, the woman on the street has an accurate reflection of their experience.”
Franklin said when she took over as mayor in 2002 the city had about 1,500 officers. Today, there are more than 1,700 officers but Franklin figures she will not be able to reach the 2,000 officers she wants before her term ends in 2009.
“This is not a problem you can solve in two years,” Franklin said. “It can take a decade.”
Idea catches on
The Druid Hills Patrol, which is more than 20 years old, saw its membership fade until three years ago, when John Paddock took over the volunteer role at its helm. He commissioned a study and found residents wanted visibility and the services of a small town police force — officers who stop and talk and know when folks are away.
An 11-point improvement plan has membership up 30 percent this year to 150, Paddock said. He hopes to expand coverage to all of Druid Hills, a move that would triple the patrol’s area.
Druid Hills acquired its own marked patrol car to increase its street presence and credibility. The patrol charges $480 a year and ranks among the city’s most expensive services.
“This is largely about community policing,” Paddock said. “My goal is to make this a model.”
Some established neighborhoods like Grant Park and Morningside have had their own security patrols for more than a decade. East Atlanta began last year and Kirkwood is now debating one.
Businesses also have done the same with their own private police forces financed by extra property taxes paid into a community improvement district. Midtown Blue started in 2000. A similar force rolled out covering Downtown last week.
The residential groups typically follow the same model.
The neighborhoods form a corporation to manage the security patrol, set its boundaries and its services and then sell memberships. Members get to display signs so patrol officers can monitor their properties. The officers also usually offer repeated checks for members who are away on business or vacation.
A bite out of crime
But the officers don’t skip over criminal activity if it involves a nonmember.
Virginia-Highland has two patrols, one paid for by the local civic association and another paid for by subscription.
“We still have a lot of petty theft, a lot of car break-ins,” said John Wolfinger, public safety director for the Virginia Highlands Civic Association and a 33-year community resident. “But that stuff happens everywhere in the city. It’s a very sad state of affairs.”
East Lake’s new service costs members $200 a year. They have 130 paying members from among about 1,200 households.
East Lake’s patrol focuses on known criminals who live in the community or may be passing through. Officers also keep an eye on homes and key areas where troublemakers may gather.
A single officer, which is all the patrol can afford, working random hours has made 18 arrests since April.
“It has helped,” said resident Scott.
Copyright 2007 The Atlanta Journal-Constitution