Georgia Tech Robberies (Atlanta, East Point, Dunwoody: home, middle school, university)

[elvez]

Originally Posted by Noc

It doesn't have to be this way. Raise taxes and hire more police officers. This is what turned NY around in the Giuliani Administration. At some point this rash of crime is going to have to be addressed. The problem is it won't be any time near an election year. People will never vote for the person who's going to raise taxes even if it means ridding crime from the city. GA turning into the old wild west will bring too much negativity before anything positive comes out of it.

Taxes are too high already in the City of Atlanta. Get rid of the waste first. People are already squeezed to death. My monthly water bill is ridiculous-Thanks Shirley!

[Mishap]

Originally Posted by elvez

Taxes are too high already in the City of Atlanta. Get rid of the waste first. People are already squeezed to death. My monthly water bill is ridiculous-Thanks Shirley!

Unfortunately the water problem didn't come from Shirley. Every mayor for the last several decades has been passing it forward. She's just the one addressing it...albeit inefficiently.

[DuchessOfKvetch]

Originally Posted by elvez

One of the kids is 17 and was apparently already a felon. I would like to see a story on the parents of these kids. I wish they could be charged as well. I'm sure dad was not around. Seems like one of the shooters of the bartender over on Memorial was also around 17. Unbelievable that kids that age are shooting people in armed robberies. I was working at McDonalds at that age. I'm sure they had a tough upbringing, but that doesn't excuse shooting someone. I guess there a plenty more of them since the robberies have continued after their arrest. Better start building more prisons.

How is this news? I've been seeing arguments like this one for the last 20 years. We've always had a problem with teenagers and guns/gang violence. I was robbed 15 years ago by some tykes who were shorter than me (I am 5'4") whose b@lls hadn't even dropped yet. You might ask where they're getting the guns from - certainly not from legal sources. Atlanta has done a pretty good job disrupting the organized gangs that centered around certain notorious housing projects, but that still leaves the small-time punk neighborhood gangs looking for thrills and easy money. And the police simply do not have the manpower to catch all these guys.

[DuchessOfKvetch]

Originally Posted by elvez

Taxes are too high already in the City of Atlanta. Get rid of the waste first. People are already squeezed to death. My monthly water bill is ridiculous-Thanks Shirley!

Yea. The problem EVERYWHERE is lack of money. It creates conditions leading to more property crime (for obvious reasons), but at the same time the cities can't afford to employ more security. Atlanta is forcing their officers to work LESS HOURS additionally.

It's one of the big debate subjects in this year's mayoral elections. Good ol' NYC itself is under a freeze too, after vowing to expand their police & EMS forces and raise salaries (since none of the cops could afford to live there). And a freeze doesn't just mean no NEW cops - it means that the ones retiring/quitting aren't being replaced either.

[iiiput]

Originally Posted by Noc

It doesn't have to be this way. Raise taxes and hire more police officers. This is what turned NY around in the Giuliani Administration. At some point this rash of crime is going to have to be addressed. The problem is it won't be any time near an election year. People will never vote for the person who's going to raise taxes even if it means ridding crime from the city. GA turning into the old wild west will bring too much negativity before anything positive comes out of it.

Raising taxes and hiring more police officers isnt the answer if the leadership at the top continues to be incompetent. Additionally, the leaders and the voters need to make pubilc safety a priority (or the priority - this is one of the main factors that led Giuliani to be successful). I'm not confident that either consider it a priority right now. Maybe this rise in crime will be the wakeup call that city residents need to get out and elect someone who can actually fulfill the duties of the office and make the city a better place instead of electing someone who is only looking to pad their wallet or resume.

[atlantagreg30127]

Originally Posted by elvez

One of the kids is 17 and was apparently already a felon. Seems like one of the shooters of the bartender over on Memorial was also around 17. Unbelievable that kids that age are shooting people in armed robberies. I was working at McDonalds at that age.

And anytime now, those 17 year olds will start producing kids, and just wait until the next generation - you'll have 8 year olds standing in the street with AK47s, stopping cars and carjacking them in broad daylight.

There have always been "problemed kids" since the dawn of time. But there's a difference between typical run of the mill bad kids and dangerous kids. The kids doing these crimes are dangerous kids and should be treated like adults, even if they're under 17. Once you use weapons in a crime, you should be labeled "adult".

[Noc]

Originally Posted by iiiput

Raising taxes and hiring more police officers isnt the answer if the leadership at the top continues to be incompetent. Additionally, the leaders and the voters need to make pubilc safety a priority (or the priority - this is one of the main factors that led Giuliani to be successful). I'm not confident that either consider it a priority right now. Maybe this rise in crime will be the wakeup call that city residents need to get out and elect someone who can actually fulfill the duties of the office and make the city a better place instead of electing someone who is only looking to pad their wallet or resume.

The notion of new leadership was a given and all or most posters here know all the leaders from the top down need to be removed for one reason or the other. I just went right in on the grim reality that the people will need to get used to the idea that taxes would probably have to be raised to fund more officers. The ratio of officers to people is appalling for a city this size. I think most people know it and the crooks definitely know it.

Cutting spending is a great idea if it can be done but that takes time in and of itself. I don't think Atlanta can wait for the leaders to watch the numbers to determine if they have gone down far enough to be able to hire more officers.

The bottom line is more officers are needed and of course a competent Mayor who is going to put the quality of life in Atlanta as one of their top priorities.

[AcidSnake]

Originally Posted by Noc

The notion of new leadership was a given and all or most posters here know all the leaders from the top down need to be removed for one reason or the other. I just went right in on the grim reality that the people will need to get used to the idea that taxes would probably have to be raised to fund more officers. The ratio of officers to people is appalling for a city this size. I think most people know it and the crooks definitely know it.

Cutting spending is a great idea if it can be done but that takes time in and of itself. I don't think Atlanta can wait for the leaders to watch the numbers to determine if they have gone down far enough to be able to hire more officers.

The bottom line is more officers are needed and of course a competent Mayor who is going to put the quality of life in Atlanta as one of their top priorities.

I think it is possible to keep taxes at the same rate and still hire more police officers. The problem is that many of the city councilmen & women including the mayor herself refuse to hire competant accountants and Financial Officers that can do the job.

A good Chairman/CEO should be able hire executives that are intelligent and empowered to act independent of their bosses and unfortunately with typical southern boobery politics, people tend to hire their friends and relatives who often have little experience with the executive jobs they are entrusted to work. These same politicians also tend to micromanage things a bit too much, which also doesn't help with any so-called "reform" efforts.

Also, no one of power in the city government wants to sacrifice a good portion their budgets for the greater good, but yet all claim to want do what's best for the city. Atlanta/Georgia politics, I tell ya...

[BringBackCobain]

Its obvious why Atlantic Station is attracting thugs. I bleieve it is possible to have a "popular" destination in Atlanta without attracting thugs, but in this city the place is always skating on thin ice. Any additional factor could cause the place/attraction/area to become thug-central. I have seen this first hand as a native of 24 years. There is a constant battle against the thug element in this city.

In the case of AS, here is what they did wrong: they put a development close to the westside ghettos of Bankhead, English Ave, etc. Then WITHIN the developement they built low-income apartments (some accepting section-8). Then they provided a free shuttle to MARTA. Then they marketed it as the "place to be." With a combo of all this, it was doomed to be thug-central from the beginning.

Maybe without the low-income apts, it could have worked. Or without a free MARTA shuttle. Or in a different area of the city. Or in another city. But all these factors together creates a thug-area.

Its like when a person opens a club in midtown/buckhead/downtown, or anywhere "close-in", plays hip-hop music, and doesnt charge a cover. it wont belong before shootings begin to pop-up. Once again, these three factors work together.

Also, it could just be that those Centennial Place apartments are starting to age, and becoming a thug-haven just like the projects they replaced.

Either way, once again the idiots who run Atlanta are to blame.

[Mattie]

GA. Tech is going to have to press this issue with the city. Nobody will want to send their kids to a school in what is being publicized as a dangerous area for students, myself included. Our youngest was planning on applying there this year, but we are having second thoughts. I realize the campus is considered safe, but it isn't realistic to expect students to confine themselves to the campus. The administration has to go to bat on this issue, and fast.