GPNW CRIME UPDATE: Jogger Accosted in Park UPDATE
Grant Park Neighborhood Watch
Captain Gigliano from Zone 6 has provided us with additional information about the assault which took place yesterday morning on Boulevard near Confederate. A female jogger was on Boulevard near Confederate when a subject approached her from behind and grabbed her backside. She screamed, and the subject ran south on Boulevard. In response, police will be conducting sweeps of the park in the early morning hours.
The Grant Park Security Patrol (GPSP) is also taking action in several different ways to counter these recent incidents. GPSP has reached out to Captain Gigliano, Major Meadows, and Major Cavender at Zone 3. GPSP is also going to be looking to put more private patrol hours at the park during the times that crime is being reported. Meanwhile, the best way to help is to JOIN THE GRANT PARK SECURITY PATROL so they can afford more hours to pay for the Grant Park private patrol done by off duty APD officers. You can do so by following this link: http://gpna.org/security-patrol.
Always call 911 if you see anything suspicious.
There have been several other incidents reported that GPSP is currently verifying information on. We will provide verified information once we have it.
Additional incidents reported (not confirmed and still lacking detail):
- A man was dropping off a child in Cabbagetown at the Grant Park Cooperative Preschool and was attacked by two teenagers. No one was hurt.
- A man was accosted yesterday by three teens in Glenwood Park
- A man/men is/are exposing himself/themselves randomly in the park, but not on a daily basis.
Many neighbors are reporting these incidents to us on the GPNA Facebook page in an effort to help keep all neighbors safe. Keep in mind that in the age of Social Media we are hearing about incidents with more ease and frequency that otherwise would've been spread in a small network through word of mouth since most of these stories being reported are not sensational enough for news media. It FEELS like there is an uptick in crime, but overall crime is said to be down. Also, many of the incidents being reported did not occur in the Grant Park neighborhood, but are being reported to you by your neighbors out of general concern.
Please remember the basics:
-Do not leave anything valuable in your car ever, not even for a second if you're running into your house. This includes pennies, dimes, device charges, purses, laptops, etc.
-Don't talk on the phone while walking to or from your vehicle because it can distract you from what is going on around you. Stay aware of your surroundings.
-Don't sit in your car and conduct business. You'll get distracted and someone can walk up to your car and point a gun at you.
-Keep blinds closed in the evening so no one can see your television and everything you own.
-Report ANYTHING suspicious. Most of these crimes are committed by groups of youths that you know do not typically belong on your street.
-If you jog, refer to the tips in this article: http://bit.ly/RjmunW