Car break-ins along the Peachtree corridor are so bad that Atlanta police have sought financial help from the federal government to help keep Midtown and Buckhead streets clean of shattered window glass.
APD officers will be working overtime to confront thieves looking to steal valuables from parked cars late at night.
With overtime pay, funded in part by a $500,000 federal Justice Assistance Grant, Atlanta police will have additional officers out late into the night patrolling areas where car break-ins occur.
The Peachtree Corridor from Buckhead through Midtown is one of four Atlanta areas singled out for a 60-day crime suppression detail now under way and lasting through September.
“I’ve got officers out there from 6 at night to 4 in the morning,” Zone 2 Precinct Commander Major Van Hobbs Jr. told Buckhead NPU-B members Aug. 7. “They’re not responsible for 911 calls. Their job is to patrol that corridor.”
The initiative comes at a time when crime in APD’s Zone 2 jurisdiction, which includes parts of Midtown and Buckhead, is up by 6 percent from this time last year, largely on the strength of thefts from vehicles.
The area has seen fewer murders, rapes, robberies, burglaries and auto thefts than at this point last year, police report. Only aggravated assault, up 38 percent, and larceny from autos, up 27 percent, have increased in 2012. The overwhelming majority of assaults have been domestic disputes, Hobbs said.
In addition to the extra hours for officers working the Peachtree corridor, the Zone 2 Precinct has eight new officers from APD’s recent graduating class.