ATLANTA — One year after the Buckhead Village Precinct opened, violent crime in Zone 2 is down 21 percent, officials said.
The precinct is located at One Buckhead Plaza at Peachtree Road and West Paces Ferry. Many people working in the area are glad it's there.
“I think it definitely helps, makes the area look more safe in general, said Morgan Lenon who works at Jeni's Splendid Ice Creams on West Paces Ferry Road, which is across the street from the precinct.
She said in one year, they’ve noticed a difference.
“Beforehand there were a lot of people hanging around downstairs underneath (in the parking deck) and we don't see a lot of that anymore," said Lenon.
The precinct opened at the end of last June with 12 officers. Some were on patrol responding to traffic calls and others were on bicycles, like Senior Patrol Officer Bennie Baskin.
"The good thing about a bike is that you can get through a lot of these areas fairly quickly," said Baskin.
Over this last year, Baskin and other bicycle patrol officers from this precinct have made thousands of business drop-ins, hundreds of suspicious person stops and made dozens of arrests.
"We’ve caught suspects from being inside stolen cars, we’ve caught suspects attempting to get away and flee traffic accidents. It’s very, really easy to catch a lot of these shoplifters coming out of these businesses when you’re on the bicycle," said Baskin.
Captain Ben Vayens said traffic patrol wise, the numbers are even higher.
“We’ve conducted over 14,000 traffic stops in Zone 2 -- which is a huge number. That’s over 1,000 stops per month," said Vayens.
They've also issued almost 14,930 traffic citations, impounded 800 cars and made 368 traffic arrests.
"Which frees up our other officers for quicker 911 response time," said Vayens.
When the precinct opened, the goal was to have 24 officers by the one year mark. So far, they’ve only reached 15.
However, Baskin said their impact is still being felt in Buckhead and beyond.
"It’s starts to humanize police and people. They’re able to see that we’re just like them," said Baskin.
Lenon said they live having the officers nearby.
"If we ever need them, they’re like 500 feet away," said Lenon.
Vaynes said they hope to hire nine more officers by December.