An Open Letter to the Mayor & Atlanta City Council
An Open Letter to the Mayor and Council of Atlanta:
Lately, it seems, when you can’t fight crime with police officers you fight it with numbers.
“Things are better today,” you insist, and you reach back over the years to compare crime rates. Never mind the property crime increase here or another senseless murder there. You act as if this is all in our heads, perhaps being exacerbated by neighbors – and neighborhoods – too quick to react.
Madam Mayor & Council members – with all due respect – stop patronizing us. We are not children who are scared of the dark for no other reason than its darkness. Criminals are lurking in our streets and perpetrating horrible crimes on all sides of Atlanta. Maybe they are not killing or assaulting us as much as they did in your comparison years but they are breaking into our homes and our cars, they are robbing us of hard-earned possessions, and they are stealing our privacy, our peace, and our sense of safety with alarming frequency.
As a result, communities are coming together to better self-police. You’ve encouraged us to do so and we are on board. Yet, windows continue to get broken and more homes are being invaded. As this continues, glass isn’t the only thing damaged. So is our collective trust in you. When the “lesser” crimes don’t get the same attention as the “more serious” crimes, you leave the door open for more.
This is a cycle that we will not accept. There are hundreds of broken windows across Atlanta neighborhoods and there are not enough cops to do something about them. The furloughs have effectively reduced the force by nearly 20%. We all understand that times are tough but you must find a way to undo these public safety furloughs.
Fewer cops equal higher crime. Fewer firehouses equal worse fires. These are the basic equations of reality, not the sharp-penciled calculations of your statisticians.
As Atlantans Together, we expect – no, demand – better from all of you. We don’t want election-year promises about a safer tomorrow. You are in office now, you are spending our money now, and you must deliver now. All of you must put aside your differences and work together for better and more creative public safety solutions.
We represent a coalition of the aggrieved. Our grievance is about fewer police on our streets, slower response to fires, and the weakening of our public safety system in a time when we need it the most. We are determined to protect our families, our homes, our businesses, and our neighborhoods. But we need your help to do that. We will not let up until you find a way to help us make Atlanta safer, now.
Kyle Keyser
Founder, Atlantans Together Against Crime
www.atlantanstogether.org
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5 Responses to 'An Open Letter to the Mayor & Atlanta City Council'
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I’m a little confused as to how ATAC is coming together to “raise awareness against violent crime” yet this letter plainly acknowledges that violent crime is down (“maybe they are not killing or assaulting us as much as they did in your comparison years but they are breaking into our homes and our cars, they are robbing us of hard-earned possessions”), even with a reduction in the police force. I also find it ironic that this letter asks the city to “stop patronizing us” yet takes on a childish “do something about it” tone.
“There are hundreds of broken windows across Atlanta neighborhoods and there are not enough cops to do something about them.” Surely the ATAC is not suggesting that a limited police force crack down on broken windows. Half the stories about broken windows can unfortunately be attributed to lax security measures on the part of residents and property owners (leaving valuables in plain view in cars, leaving house windows unlocked, leaving valuables on tables right near the door, etc). Maybe we should start educating residents on proper preventative measures before we blame the police for burglaries, which naturally increase in any severe economic recession.
For more confusing citizen responses to Atlanta safety in other media sources, see this article: http://www.ajc.com/services/content/metro/atlanta/stories/2009/01/13/franklin_more_cops.html
Shirley Franklin wants to raise property taxes to hire 200 more police officers and what type of responses does she get (at least in this AJC article)?
1. Jason McDonald, who works around the corner from where a highly-publicized violent crime would “welcome [more cops on the street]” but is “skeptical.”
2. Scott Kreher, president of the International Brotherhood of Police Officers Local 623, “burst into laughter.” Instead of an educated response to the mayor’s proposal, he laughed and continued to describe how even if Franklin somehow were able to get the money to pay for more officers, it wouldn’t be possible to hire them before she leaves office at the end of this year. Why would he make a mockery of the very thing he is calling for? Because it will be hard work to accomplish? Is he rooting for or against his cause? In a separate letter, Mayor Franklin responded to him with scolding his public disapproval because it would discourage the public’s support for the very goal he is striving for, therefore making the task even harder. Shouldn’t we be working together with the mayor with a “can-do” attitude instead of exerting so much energy spouting complaints everywhere possible?
3. Randall Cobb, Midtown homeowner, says he feels Atlantans are being asked to bail out the city. We ARE the city, of course we have to bail ourselves out. Want less bureaucracy? Start voting in local elections. For instance…
4. Elected Councilman Jim Maddox voted against Franklin’s property tax increase to fund more police, and plans to do it again, citing his constituents’ “concern[s] about tax increases.”
Which is it, Atlanta, are you saving up for weekend dinners at any number of outrageously expensive Midtown restaurants, or for your personal safety, which seems to be so concerning that it’s driving you to vague rhetoric, not practical problem solving?
Court
24 Feb 09 at 1:10 AM
Court, I appreciate your response. Crime prevention and public safety is an incredibly nuanced issue. There are lots of factors that influence it – both positively and negatively – and there’s no clear solution.
As ATAC grows and we continue to work towards this issue, we will indeed be offering specific solutions. I’m looking forward to building our platform and offering specifics from across the board.
In the meantime, we believe the first step the city can take is ending the furloughs. I know it’s hard on the city given decreased revenues but that doesn’t mean there isn’t a creative solution to the problem. I think they need to figure it out (after all, we elected them to do so, yes?). If they can’t then sure, we’ll start demanding specifics. But if you or I can offer something better then maybe one of us should run for Council or Mayor. I’m not going to let our elected officials off so easily.
To speak to your points about raising taxes and such, this city has a long history of corruption and financial mismanagement. That’s fact. When the city can’t even close its books for the previous budget year how can one justify giving them more money? How can you trust it will go where they say it will? That’s not an official ATAC position but rather what I perceive to be a general sentiment (and great questions in my personal opinion).
Thanks for replying. I hope you’ll continue to offer your perspective.
Kyle
24 Feb 09 at 12:39 PM
Wow… Court you either work for Shirley Girl or you are retarded. Come to the city, sit down with some officers for a day. You apparently live outside of the city and if you say that you live inside you are dillusional. Yes crime can be prevented, but guess what if you give a seasoned criminal the opportunity (ie the homeowner is not home) that criminal will get in. It does not matter how well you secure your residence. It does not matter how great your security system is. You will become a victim. The probability of you falling victim to a property or a violent crime is less likely if you live next to shirley girl, because guess what she has 24 hour security outside of her home. She has a officer with her 24 hours a day. Do you? You can seriously sit there and provide statistics, quotations, whatever—- sit and talk to the officers and find out the truth…. you are so oblivious to the truth…. I pray that you do not fall victim to anything other than a stubbed toe, because that responding officer my have to travel two to three miles further to put a bandage on it. And if you do live inside of the city and your house is ablaze pray that you do not live near one of those fire stations that is “brown out.”
I seriously could ramble on for hours and may be I am, but really….. City council, the mayors cabinent, the mayor, and anyone responsible for policy making (budget CFO where did you go) is responsible for our current public service cancer.
Sorry I rambled but stupidity is not an excuse…. Get out and see the truth…. I do…. I am the officer that is suposed to protect you (I love my job and love helping people–no tools, no back up, no pay increments for five years, and morale…. wow….. we have been kicked and we are bleeding out slowly…..
telly
24 Feb 09 at 9:57 PM
ATAC is coming at this problem from city wide angle to try to affect change on our city government while at the same time trying to motivate people to get involved in their local communities. There are groups out there for people to get involved with that are working in a positive manner to create stronger and safer communities.
I am a member of SAFE, Safe Atlanta for Everyone, which is a based in the East Atlanta and Ormewood Park areas. We are an across-neighborhood organization focused on identifying, promoting and facilitating actions individual members of all communities can take to improve public safety. Our goal is to educate and empower the individual so they can get involved in their neighborhood in a positive manner to increase public and personal safety.
http://www.safe-atlanta.org
Lewis
26 Feb 09 at 12:09 AM
Court,
Your tone and your note are quite frankly offensive. You are attacking all of the people who disagree with the Mayor as though Shirley is some kind of saint and the rest of us are fools. Our experience of living and working in the city of Atlanta, is that crime, fear and danger are on the rise and that Mayor Franklin and some council members are unresponsive. It is their job to respond to the citizens and voters of the city, not to stonewall, furlough and attack the messengers.
The notion that you can hold public safety hostage to tax increases is standard fare for collectivist bureaucrats who care about the size of the city budget and not the citizens. Time to get responsive to the people who live and work in this city who deserve public safety and governmental responsiveness.Public safety does not hinge on a tax increase.
Enoch
11 Mar 09 at 8:00 PM