Is Midtown getting dangerous? (Atlanta, Buckhead: middle-class, apartment, high crime)

[sasori1122]

Home Park seems like some sort of muggers' paradise. I would never go there on foot at night in less I was in a large group (passing through to Atlantic Station for a movie or something). To the east, Midtown seems very nice, however around Ponce or North Ave it gets pretty bad. I can't walk down to Krispy Kreme without being asked for money at least twice and the area just seems to be bad. I'd avoid Centennial Place apartments at night, too, because they're so cheap they bring in some bad things (not to imply that everyone in low cost housing is bad). West Midtown seems to be getting nicer and nicer, although it still seems pretty empty and I don't think I'd want to be a pedestrian there at night, either.

Yeah, for the most part the surrounding areas aren't so good, but campus itself feels safe, more or less, all the time.

[Soulchild23]

Those lil incidents doesn't equal ga tech Being a dangerous campus and area... Just be lucky this wasn't virgina tech or columbine high school...

[gtgal2]

It can be dicey even walking in a large group - see the latest mugging of 5 people in Homepark on Thursday night. Not to say don't move in, just be aware of where you are walking, who is around you, and don't give people directions at night in the dark. ;-)

[gtgal2]

I know that the Midtown area is much much safer than it was 10 - 15 - 20 - 25 years ago - especially around the 5th Street/Tech Square area. I know it's even better along North Ave than when I moved here 7 years ago. The stories that get floated around by old GT alumni are actually true and really not that exaggerated.

However, the college students around Georgia Tech are an easy target for criminals and that is why the crimes around Home Park seem to be increasing (and they are/have been for a couple of years). So, easy targets, close to 'hood' areas, lots of side streets to move from neighborhood to neighborhood, and a lot of temporary/transient residents all make Home Park a great place for criminals. The 'permanent' residents have been talking about this problem for the last few years, but there are few of them in relation to the overall student population. The student population (which is a mix of foreign/international students) doesn't know when it is appropriate to call the police or that it IS ok to call the police for things like cars that park on their street and do not belong, or to call the police when people are trying to sell magazines door to door. So a lot of the preventive measures that most people who live in an established neighborhoods would have addressed en masse has not occurred with regards to 'smaller' crimes.

There aren't any easy answers to GT/Home Park's crime beyond just making the environment in the area one that obviously does not tolerate crime of any kind - and that means that everyone needs to be looking out for one another and being willing to call the police for even minor things and not to just accept the crime as something 'normal' and that should be tolerated.


However, I will give major major kudos to the GT Police and the Atlanta Police. I called them once b/c of someone banging on my front door - very threatening guy that had been around the neighborhood the entire day - and I called 911 and 4 police cars were at my house within 2 minutes.

The police care and would rather be called for preventive things rather than after the crime has occurred that harmed someone. We just need to do our part and not depend solely on the police for protection.

[wxjay]

Originally Posted by Soulchild23

Those lil incidents doesn't equal ga tech Being a dangerous campus and area... Just be lucky this wasn't virgina tech or columbine high school...

You don't have to have incidents like those to state that crime is on the rise on and near campus. Is it "dangerous"? Maybe not, but it is certainly "more dangerous" than it was 1-2 years ago.

[arjay57]

Home Park Going Hi-Tech - Atlanta News Story - WGCL Atlanta

[K-SawDude]

Originally Posted by arjay57

Home Park Going Hi-Tech - Atlanta News Story - WGCL Atlanta

Here's some wonderful free technology! That we're making you pay for!!!

Not to poo-poo the idea, because I'm elated to see any efforts to step up crime prevention in Home Park. But I could have done without the tone of faux generosity about a company clearly trying to make lots o' money here. (Which is their right, of course, but it's annoyingly presented as altruism or something.)

[arjay57]

Also, if you're getting mugged, are you actually going to have time to whip out your cell phone and dial 911-Atlanta? And then do you hold it up and say, "Ha, ha, Mugger Dude, I have just activated a remote controlled camera which is up on one of these telephone poles and may be capturing your every move!"

[darkone]

Originally Posted by arjay57

Also, if you're getting mugged, are you actually going to have time to whip out your cell phone and dial 911-Atlanta? And then do you hold it up and say, "Ha, ha, Mugger Dude, I have just activated a remote controlled camera which is up on one of these telephone poles and may be capturing your every move!"

You better not try to pull that one on a mugger ... you better check yourself before you wreck yourself. This technology would be best used for after the fact apprehension of criminals and reporting of suspicious activity.

[arjay57]

Originally Posted by darkone

You better not try to pull that one on a mugger ... you better check yourself before you wreck yourself. This technology would be best used for after the fact apprehension of criminals and reporting of suspicious activity.

True. You never know when one of those little nitwits might be carrying a gun. They don't have to have to know squat about firearms to cause harm at close range.