Atlanta Police believe they may have a handle on thefts from vehicles in the Buckhead area. Zone 2 commander Maj. Van Hobbs on Feb. 5 told members of Buckhead’s Neighborhood Planning Unit-B that thefts from vehicles in January 2013 were down 14 percent from the same time period in 2012.
Atlanta Police struggled throughout 2012 to combat a steep rise in the number of thefts from vehicles that were a major factor in an overall increase in crime of 8 percent in the area for the year.
According to the APD’s weekly reports, Buckhead saw increases in thefts from vehicles in every month of 2012, before falling below 2011 levels in January of this year.
Hobbs says the decrease is a direct result of efforts by APD.
“We started a process over the holidays where we saturated the area with a holiday detail,” Hobbs told NPU-B Board members. “We looked at the areas where more cars were being hit and increased patrols up and down Peachtree and Piedmont and other major thoroughfares. And that’s seemed to work out pretty well.”
Despite the downturn in vehicular larcenies, robberies and aggravated assaults have seen a significant increase in the first month of 2013.
“We’re pretty much even for the year,” Hobbs said of his precinct’s overall numbers. “What killed us was the commercial robber that’s been hitting the Walgreens and Subways. We’ve got some new leads on that, and we believe we know who the individual is.”
Police have previously said they believe that as many as eight recent armed robberies in Buckhead may be the work of a single man. Hobbs declined to name the person suspected in the robberies.