Sandy Springs Police Targeting Apartment Crime/Issues in 2012

This year, Sandy Springs Police will start a new initiative targeting crime in local apartment communities.

“We’re looking at it as a long term project,” said Sandy Springs Police Chief Terry Sult. “We’ve been talking to [apartment community management] for a number of months…We’re trying to look at it from a holistic approach as opposed to a crime approach."

The initiative will include collaboration with Code Enforcement and Sandy Springs Fire Rescue.

Apartments are four percent of the land mass in the city, yet nearly 36 percent of emergency calls for service come from rental communities, according to Sandy Springs Police Lt. Steve Rose.

A specific group of officers will study and define problems in apartment communities. They will identify code enforcement violations, that might include lights; fire hazards such as grills on balconies; occupancy and more.

“Part of it is we want to hold owners responsible for keeping codes up and if not fine them,” Rose said. “We want the quality of life to be good and people to be able to go home and feel safe.”

Some communities are safer than others. WSB-TV News reported, Monday, that residents at Edgewater at Sandy Springs Apartments on Roswell Road are weary after burglars hit eight apartments in December. A resident said she is reluctant to leave home fearing a break-in.

“The big goal for 2012 is to target the problem areas,” Rose said. “And that means you’ve got to bring people to the table who may not want to be at the table.”

For instance, the police want apartment residents to engage in the conversation and help, just as homeowners are involved in community policing.

Sandy Springs Patch has reported that r, believing they will help the economic recovery. Many of the 70-plus , according to Jahnee Prince, Sandy Springs Economic Development Manager. Recently several communities have been purchased or taken over by new management and upgraded.