Car break-ins are a growing problem for residents in north Atlanta, according to Atlanta Police Department data reporting a 25-percent increase in the crime this year.
Zone 2, which includes Buckhead and northwest Atlanta, has experienced the largest rise in vehicle larcenies this year. Last week, nearly two-fifths of the 119 crimes committed there were thefts from vehicles.
Major Van Hobbs, commander of Zone 2, said he’s made the break-ins a priority for the precinct. In fact, the first thing he does in the morning is determine when and where the crimes occurred to formulate the day’s assignments.
“We are very concerned about it,” he said. "We are aggressively working it.”
It's a crime of opportunity for thieves, who Hobbs said comb parking lots and streets for an easy target: A laptop in the backseat. A purse on the floorboard.
"We have seen on video where individuals drive into a parking lot and will walk until they see something in plain sight," Hobbs said. He blamed this year’s spike on the abundance of opportunities.
Kendall Craig, director of community relations for the Buckhead Alliance, a group originally formed to eliminate crime from the area, said of the thieves, "They're targeting this area because they're having success here."
Craig said the community needs to help police prevent break-ins by removing valuables from cars and alerting authorities if they see something suspicious. "It takes less time to secure your items in the vehicle than dealing with the hassle of calling police," she said.
Hobbs said the city recently assigned an additional group of officers to help Zone 2 police work routine and plainclothes patrols. The push has resulted in arrests, but Hobbs said the culprits constantly change locations.
"It's kind of fluid. When we get into an area, the crime moves into another," he said.
According to police data, there had been 808 break-ins in Zone 2 as of June 3. But despite the increase in that area, citywide figures have declined in the past few years.
In 2011, there were 8,654 reported break-ins, a 22 percent decrease from 2009. The number of break-ins has fallen in four of Atlanta's six police zones in 2012, and citywide figures are down 2 percent.
According to Atlanta Police crime maps, the most break-ins in Zone 2 occurred in the south and northeast areas of the precinct.
Auto thefts are also slightly up this year in Zone 2, with the area experiencing a 6 percent increase compared to this time last year.
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