Newly released FBI crime statistics show Atlanta -- and much of the metro area -- continues to follow the downward national trend despite the poor economy, but the police are concerned that 2011 will not be such a banner year.
The FBI crimes statistics show that Atlanta had a 10 percent drop in violent crime and property crime in 2010 from the previous year although it did show a 16 percent bump in murders with 93 reported in 2010.
But current police statistics show a worrisome trend for 2011 with a seven percent bump in robberies and a 14 percent spike auto thefts, according to APD numbers. Those two categories are still down, though, when compared to 2009.
"Robberies are a real concern because they will impact businesses and tourism," said Robert Friedmann, a Georgia State University criminologist who reviews APD crime numbers weekly.
Atlanta Police Chief George Turner said he believed that the robberies were driven by the poor economy. He said that the reports showed that most were street robberies in which small items were taken, and he said zone commanders were trying to address them by concentrating forces in hard-hit areas. He said they had set up a regional task force with 15 other agencies to tackle car thefts, which he said saw criminals stripping the vehicles for parts, shipping high-end ones overseas and even smashing older models into bales of metal.
"We know we're losing cars to these crusher yards," he said.
Josh Hinkle, another criminologist from Georgia State, said it was the long-term trend that matters, which has shown crime going steadily downward despite the economic conditions.
Some highlights from the FBI Uniform Crime Report for 2010 that was released Monday.
Gwinnett County Police reported a 15 percent drop in violent crime-- with a 43 percent drop in murder -- and a six percent drop in property crime in 2010 from 2009. Clayton County Police saw a 10 percent drop in violent crime -- with a 29 percent drop in murder -- but only a negligible drop in property crime; DeKalb County Police saw only a three percent drop in violent crime-- with a 33 percent increase in murder -- and a negligible drop in property crime.
The FBI report did not show any 2010 numbers for the Cobb County Police. Marietta police reported a seven percent increase in violent crime and a 13 percent increase in non-violent crime.
Crime has made headlines especially in downtown Atlanta in recent years despite the decreasing numbers citywide in a large part because many of the victims were students from Georgia State, Georgia Tech universities and the Atlanta University Center. But while there was a big bump in auto thefts in the downtown police zone --14 percent so far this year -- the other violent and property crime number way down from 2009.
Kathy Boehmer, who lives near Georgia Tech, said crime has definitely fallen in her Home Park neighborhood, which was once hard-hit with car jacking, home-invasion robberies and scores of larcenies, for the last couple of years. She credits the Atlanta Police with putting in more foot patrols and the partnership it formed with not only Georgia Tech police but also the security force for Atlantic Station.
Both Georgia Tech and the Atlantic Station forces now patrol part of the neighborhood, she said.
"We've got a lot of feet on the street," said Boehmer, public safety chairwoman of the Home Park Community Improvement Association. "With all three of them patroling, it has really had an affect on stopping the bad guys from running amuck through out neighborhood. Atlantic Station was like the wild, wild west but the new security force is really professional."
Friedmann and Hinkle both said they and other criminologist remain by the fact baffled that crime overall has continued to fall despite the high unemployment rate.
“This is probably one of the few times where the economy had a big downturn without an upward trend in crime,” Hinkle said.
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