The Past Three Years Present a Complicated Story
By Larry Compton, CPNO Safety Officer
We are fortunate to live in an exceptionally safe neighborhood with great walkability and beautiful public parks. Despite this, residents of Candler Park experience incidents that impact their safety and property. I have analyzed data from 2021, 2022, and 2023 to help you understand neighborhood crime trends. This analysis uses data provided by the Atlanta Police Department’s Open Data Portal.
A good way to measure relative “safety” of a neighborhood is to consider a crime category known as “crimes against persons.” These include assault, robbery and other such crimes. By this measure, Candler Park is exceptionally safe. The year 2023 closed out with 14 crimes against persons while the 2022 and 2021 counts were 10 and 9 incidents respectively. That is not to say, of course, that we are free of violent crime. There was, for example, one homicide in Candler Park in 2021 and another in 2022. Regardless, most crimes against persons in Candler Park are assaults.
Residents of Candler Park primarily experience “crimes against property.” Crimes against property, as defined by the FBI and the APD, include burglary, theft and vandalism. This analysis will consider crimes against property since most Candler Park incidents fall in this category.
Motor Vehicle Incidents
The predominant property crimes in Candler Park involve motor vehicles. The most common crime in Candler Park is categorized as “theft from motor vehicle.” This crime involves stealing an item stored inside a motor vehicle. See Table 1 for a listing of theft from motor vehicle incidents in Candler Park.
Trend analysis clearly shows a large drop in theft from motor vehicle reports. A comparative review of incident maps as shown in Figure 1 indicates that a significant incident reduction in the Little Five Points and Dekalb Avenue business areas occurred from 2022 to 2023. Please continue to keep your cars clean of bags and other visible valuables. Also, remind guests and visitors of clean car practices.
When it comes to stolen vehicles, however, the news is not as good. A significant increase in stolen vehicles occurred in 2023 when compared to the previous two years. Having your vehicle stolen isn’t just inconvenient and costly, it can also lead to other incidents. Thieves often use stolen vehicles to commit other crimes. See Table 2 for a list of stolen vehicle reports.
The citywide increase in stolen vehicles between 2022 and 2023 is +60%; this increase is evident in the Candler Park data. There are known vulnerabilities with KIA and Hyundai vehicles that likely contributed to this trend. One additional difference from 2022 is that more vehicle thefts occurred in the neighborhood interior away from main thoroughfares. (See Figure 2.) Also, as of this writing APD has logged four stolen vehicle events in 2024 for Candler Park. This number is half of the total for all of 2021.
CPNO is currently conducting additional research on stolen vehicles in our neighborhood for trend analysis. Consider using a wheel lock device or “club” if your vehicle is vulnerable. Additionally, consider storing key fobs far away from vehicles and not near a door or window. A signal blocking container like a Faraday bag or small metal box can also prevent key fob relay attacks. (A key fob relay attack uses electronic means to capture door unlock and car-start key codes. Criminals may then replicate a key fob to unlock and start a vehicle.)
Residential Breaking and Entering Incidents
Although burglary (breaking and entering) is classified as a property crime, incidents that involve your home can deeply impact family and personal sense of safety. This summary breaks out residential burglaries from business burglaries. While residential breaking and entering is rare in Candler Park, we did see an uptick in incidents in 2023 – see Table 3. Consider home alarms and/or house-sitting services if you are away from your residence for extended periods or over holidays.
Conclusion
As CPNO moves to a digital publishing platform, my hope is to provide more timely safety updates to the community. Your feedback on this analysis or any other safety concern is welcome – please contact safety@candlerpark.org.
Larry Compton, a long-time resident of Candler Park, is the CPNO Safety Officer.