By Chris Balch
On July 26, 2012, David McReynolds, a Grant Park resident, was found shot to death near the intersection of Hill Street and Grant Park Place. Police are investigating and have very little information regarding this incident. Please, everyone, be aware of your surroundings and anyone near you. If you believe something is suspicious, call 911. Do not panic, do be aware.
Some other reminders for your personal safety:
There continue to be personal electronics snatch-and-grabs. These crimes are occurring in the park and also at some of the local coffee shops, so please be aware and do not leave valuables unattended. Recent scientific research has shown that people on their mobile phones are less aware of their surroundings: a finding that thieves have known for some time.
This is a time of year when we see an increase in auto thefts and larcenies from vehicles. Please keep cars clean of valuables and do not leave spare keys in the glove box or console. Vehicle larcenies continue to be a problem, especially near the restaurants along Memorial Drive. These are happening at all times of the day and night. It is not okay to leave valuables in the car even during lunch.
There has been a spike in vehicle larcenies around Cherokee and Memorial. These are happening during the day. In addition, the west side of the neighborhood has seen a number of residential burglaries. Please call 911 if you see something you think is suspicious. Most major crime is down across the Zone, but neighbors and visitors should not let their guard down.
We hope that all our GPSP members are having safe travels over the summer. Members in good standing may contact GPSP with their schedules and our officers will take extra time to patrol around your home. Please send us the dates of your travel, your emergency contact information, and the names of anyone who will have access to your home.
Thanks to all our members for your continuing support of GPSP. Remember to notify GPSP if you are changing email addresses. If GPSP does not have your correct address, you will miss crime alerts, invoices, and more. Members who join online can verify their payments at the Security Patrol section of www.gpna.org and also edit email addresses there. Otherwise, send your new email address to grantparksecurity@mindspring.com.
We continue the process of going to an all-electronic notification system, so it is important to let us know of any changes. If you are still receiving a paper copy of the newsletter and invoice, we ask that you consider the switch. It has greatly streamlined the work done by our volunteers.
Major Keith Meadows is the commander of Zone 6, which includes most of Southeast Atlanta (including Grant Park). Please leave messages for him at the Zone 6 precinct: 404-371-5002.
In case you are not familiar with GPSP, we are a nonprofit corporation run by volunteers. Membership costs $40 each quarter or $160 annually. GPSP uses that money to hire off-duty police officers to patrol the streets of Grant Park. During each patrol, the GPSP officer will usually pass each member’s house at least three times. If members let GPSP know that they will be out of town, additional attention is paid to their houses while they are away. Since GPSP began over twenty years ago, burglaries in the neighborhood have dropped by 70 percent, and some of that dramatic decrease can be attributed to the work of the GPSP officers. The more members GPSP has, the more patrol hours can be scheduled–so please join! There is now a convenient online payment program. Just go to www.gpna.org and click on Security Patrol at the top. Please let GPSP know how easy/hard or useful you find the online system as it is regularly being tweaked.
For information about joining GPSP, please email Chris Newman at grantparksecurity@mindspring.com or link to the GPSP site by going to www.gpna.org and clicking on Security Patrol at the top.
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