Burglary 1000-Block Greenwood Ave
On February 16 at approximately 12:40 pm, police were dispatched to a residential burglary call in the 1000-Block of Greenwood Ave.  The victim reported that he had left the house before 5:00 pm the day prior to stay overnight with his girlfriend.  His two roommates were out of town, so he was the last person to leave his home.  When he returned to his three-level townhome this morning around 10:00 am, he entered the home and noticed that things were tossed about.  He spoke to his roommate by phone prior to calling 911.  His roommate (out of town) reported based on the victim’s description that a laptop and camera had possibly been stolen.  There were no signs of forced entry from either of two doors and no windows were damaged.  Police observed multiple items of value that had not been stolen on each level of the home – the only missing items had been located on the very top floor, accessible only by a narrow spiral staircase.  The victim stated that the whole house had been tossed / searched, but that his laptop was not stolen because it was under his bed covers.  There were no witnesses or video recording on scene.

Prowlers Reported
Several reports have been made by residents of prowlers walking around their property at night, checking doors and looking for opportunities. Please discourage this behavior by keeping outdoor lighting on all night - motion activated works well. Also make sure that doors and windows are locked and that alarm systems are engaged if one is available. Finally if you have video of prowlers around your property, please report this immediately to Atlanta Police Department via 911 and share the video with the police. Even though nothing was taken from your home, this video may help police to connect the dots on another crime. If you are a paid up member of the Virginia-Highland Security Patrol, please alert these officers as well. 

Just a reminder that the Policing Alternatives and Diversion Initiative (PAD) is available to assist with individuals who are experiencing homelessness, mental health issues and substance abuse. Rather than call the police, you can now call 311 during the hours of 7am to 7pm to request that a staffer come out and meet with the individual in need of services. This is not an alternative to calling the police in a situation where there is violence taking place or when the matter requires immediate response from Atlanta Police or Atlanta Fire Rescue. However, it is a good first step to moving away from punishing and toward helping.