Police give Atlanta City Council year-end crime update

ATLANTA - Auto crimes -- thefts and larcenies -- are always a problem for Atlanta police.

On Monday, Chief Rodney Bryant zeroed in on a hotspot -- parking decks.

Bryant gave Atlanta City Council members a year-end recap of total crime in Atlanta.

"We are seeing parking decks get hit," Bryant said, "in Downtown, Midtown, and the Buckhead space."

Often these crimes occur in the middle of the night when thieves get past security gates and smash windows to quickly see what they can snatch.

But during 2020, thieves have also watched and pounced on motorists when they either go to their cars or arrive home and head to a staircase or elevator.

Bryant told members, officers have been assigned to check the decks. And they want police to be nimble -- go in on foot, bikes or motorcycles.

The chief reiterated a request to all motorists. Citywide, reports filed in car crimes show approximately seventy percent took place when keys or fobs were left in vehicles. Also, some cars were quickly driven away because the owner left them in park, but running.

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