Safety

A safe place to be.

Downtown has almost half of all daily City population and now represents only 6% of the City’s total crime during the first six months of 2012.
Downtown crime represents 41% of Zone Five’s total crime. Zone Five includes Downtown, Midtown, a portion of SW Atlanta.
Auto/other larcenies is still Downtown’s largest sector of crime and represents 75% of all Downtown crime for the reporting period (January - June 2012).
Overall, most offenses committed in Downtown Atlanta are non-violent in nature.

Safety Initiatives

The ADID donation of 10 police bikes and 3 police equipped Segways significantly enhanced the Zone 5 officers’ ability to patrol parking decks, surface lots, and pedestrian corridors throughout the entire District more efficiently and effectively.

Atlanta Downtown Improvement District partnered with Atlanta Police Foundation to purchase the SkyWatch  Mobile Surveillance Tower.
•ADID purchased core System
•APF funded onboard surveillance equipment Used by APD for Special Events support and targeted crime suppression operations in Downtown.

Recent initiatives implemented by the APD’s Zone 5 precinct include:

Balance Visibility with Enforcement
Addition of Foot Beats
Focus on quality of life and prevention
60 officers per day in Downtown, 10:00 AM – Midnight (30 each shift) in addition to Zone 5 mobile patrol officers
Field Investigative Teams (FIT)
Parking Lot Liaison Officers
Holiday Detail - Admin. Staff and new Officers
Suppression Team Operations - Special Enforcement
“Street Heat” - Overtime Operations w/focused enforcement
COBRA – Crime analysis for deployment strategy
Surveillance camera program (jointly with ADID)
Clean Car Campaign to help reduce larceny from autos
Sweeps conducted by Homeless Outreach Prevention Services (HOPE) & Field Investigation Team (FIT)
Security alliance with parking companies
Continued heavy emphasis on panhandling prevention

Safety Tips

• Stay alert.
• Project a confident image; walk with a purpose.
• Stick to well-lit, busy areas.
• Don’t leave valuables, especially cell phones & lap-tops, unattended and in open view on your desk or in your car.
• Remove convention badges outside the meeting site.
• Do not give money to panhandlers.
• Report suspicious behavior to the police or a Downtown Ambassador.
• Use the wayfinding signs and maps throughout Downtown.

The Ambassador Force

Created by Central Atlanta Progress in 1996, the Ambassador Force of Downtown Atlanta is a full-time private hospitality and public safety force that works as the eyes and ears for APD in many respects.