Georgia Tech Robberies (Atlanta, Hampton: apartments, crime, houses)

[Mishap]

Originally Posted by DuchessOfKvetch

People can defend their homes all they want, but how does "packing heat" at home prevent someone from getting mugged in the street? Most of the chest-pounding machismo barked out here is just plain dangerous, and will get people killed.

Even if you happen to BE armed (and this is certainly not something that a university would allow its students to do) that doesn't mean much if someone gets the jump on you. Most citizens are not trained to "disarm" people with guns, or keep their cool in such a situation. You don't argue with someone who has a gun pointed at your head. Your main goal in keeping alive is to get the gun AWAY from your body as quickly as possible... and then to provide the ACTUAL cops as much detail as you can in terms of a description of the perps and their vehicle.

The real solution here is a greater police presence patrolling the Home Park region. But I doubt the Home park residents are affluent enough to afford to pitch in for the off-duty cops that, say, "Midtown Alliance" can afford. Reporting suspicious activity goes a long way though, as does getting to know your neighbors. If I had to make an educated guess... Home Park is suffering from proximity to English Avenue - an area even most long-time residents of Vine City are afraid to wander into at night.

There are several neighborhood community-watch websites that stay active in trying to disseminate information on local criminals, too. Kirkwood Neighborhood Organization (http://www.historic-kirkwood.com) is one of the best... they actually list the names and DOC #'s of real offenders, and at times even numbers of their parole officers. Please refrain from bringing the quality of the forum down by making blanket racist statements, when we should be concentrating on targeting the specific thugs causing the problem.

I'm not saying there is a real benefit to armed citizens...just saying they exist and stories like this tend to reinforce their argument. If the muggers do attack an armed person...it's a roll of the dice at best but is bound to happen given the # of attacks and who's actually prepared. Students can't carry on campus but plenty of non-students live in the area as well and are fully allowed to carry concealed w/ permits. There are enough armed people out there that eventually there will be an encounter...

Robber shot, killed by victim in E. Atlanta | ajc.com

Vigilante justice won't really deter anyone except escalate the level of violence likely in muggings.

Midtown Blue haven't really stopped much of anything...there are still panhandlers, dealers/gay hookers on Crescent/8th, and that stabbing a few weeks back. It's a big cost but I see half the time the officers are relaxing in their offices on 999 Peachtree watching the game. The dealers are still out in the open blocking up traffic on the Crescent corner and last week a hobo was sleeping in front of F2O. Only good news is maybe the Pine St homeless shelter will be finally pushed to relocate somewhere less detrimental to home values.

[DeaconJ]

Originally Posted by Mishap

Campus is a lot tougher to crack...there are fewer entrances and exits, less cover, and more cops and possible witnesses. I'm glad there have been fewer incidents on the east side of campus on my walk home but I have no illusions of safety there. Problem is there are likely more than one group of robbers out there preying on students.

Attempting to rob the wrong person is bound to happen sooner or later given how brazen these guys are. My brother's friend lives on the west side of tech and the best way to describe him would be armed to the teeth. Given how much firearms training the guy's been attending lately, I'd venture to say he's waiting for some idiot robber to make his day. Probably not the ideal situation to have a shootout w/ some punk muggers but incompetent police are a serious problem in this city. There have been murders almost nightly in ATL these past few months and the % of suspects is damned near zero.

Nightly murders? That would be around 180 murders, my friend...Atlanta is nowhere near that number.

[mceis]

Yep, does a lot to combat the stereotypes. It's so sad that Atlantic Station has turned into thug central.

I wonder if Atlanta will ever be able to have a popular scene without gangstas taking it over and ruining it for everyone. I remember visiting Buckhead in the early/mid 1990's. The thugs came in and brought their guns. What a great culture...

[hookem89]

@ Dutchess of Kvetch

Home Park is not part of Georgia Tech campus, thus people who reside there can do whatever they want, such as owning guns to protect themselves.

[Atlantasfinest]

Originally Posted by mceis

Yep, does a lot to combat the stereotypes. It's so sad that Atlantic Station has turned into thug central.

I wonder if Atlanta will ever be able to have a popular scene without gangstas taking it over and ruining it for everyone. I remember visiting Buckhead in the early/mid 1990's. The thugs came in and brought their guns. What a great culture...

You must not visit Atlantic Station that often because it is hardly "Thug Central". Where do you guys get these crazy assumptions from? I probably visit Atlantic Station 4 times per month and everything is fine there.

[Highriser987]

Originally Posted by Merin

I hope this doesnt start a war, but I kind of blame the undesirables hanging around Atlantic Station. And now since school is out I fear things will only get worse.

Agree!

[reet4587]

Originally Posted by Atlantasfinest

You must not visit Atlantic Station that often because it is hardly "Thug Central". Where do you guys get these crazy assumptions from? I probably visit Atlantic Station 4 times per month and everything is fine there.

Agreed -- I've read this claim multiple times here and I don't know where it comes from. We're at Atlantic Station at least once a week in the evening for groceries at Publix or Target and to have dinner at a toddler-friendly place like Moe's or the IKEA restaurant.

I've never seen or experienced anything bad there and in fact we've found it to be a good place to go with our son to walk around and people watch. There are always other kids there too when we're there.

We're usually gone by 8:30pm so I don't know what goes on late at night (yes, I'm such a fuddy duddy that anything after 8:30 is 'late at night' to me), but I have a hard time believing there's a Jeckyll & Hyde type change in atmosphere between early evening and night. I read about the after-hours break in at the shoe store there a few weeks ago and that sucks, but it doesn't make me want to avoid the place, especially since I've always had good experiences there.

Now if you want to talk about the parking deck ticketing system -- that's when I'll have some complaints.

[DuchessOfKvetch]

Originally Posted by OhioNative

Not arguing with the thugs and waiting for the ACTUAL cops did not help that kid that got shot by the robbers, even after he cooperated. In too many cases recently, calling 911 just lets the cops know where to send the coroner.

Would arguing with them or pulling out a gun have helped him NOT get shot? The shooters already had an itchy trigger finger. If you look at actual homicide reports in Atlanta, most armed robberies do NOT result in death or even shooting. These cases are not the norm and they need to REMAIN outside of the norm.

Also, in most cases we really don't -know- what happened on the scene. The victim might've done or said something to antagonize his attackers, and not been forthcoming about it to the police. This is unlikely, but trying to "argue" with someone who is armed and already cranked up adrenaline (if not other substances) is a Bad Idea.

If you are going to argue for guns being helpful, insist that the neighbors take up sniping.

My vote is still for preventative measures. Once the gun comes out, the game is sort of over.

[DuchessOfKvetch]

Originally Posted by hookem89

@ Dutchess of Kvetch

Home Park is not part of Georgia Tech campus, thus people who reside there can do whatever they want, such as owning guns to protect themselves.

I know, but a number of students live in Home Park. They're not going to be heading towards or leaving campus armed, either way.

One thing I've noticed, in almost every armed robbery report I've seen that involved a shooting, the victim was alone. Just not making yourself LOOK vulnerable goes a long way.

[Shagbark Hickory]

Agreed 100%.
Give the robbers what they want without resisting and without pulling out a gun and you just must live to tell about it.