We have been talking to community members and letting them know we need their assistance in reducing crime. The role of community members is extremely important to our success. I, as well as several of the officers, have noticed recently that the 911 Communications Center has been receiving calls in reference to suspicious persons and suspicious activity. These calls have ultimately led to arrests in several instances. Some of these arrests couldn't have been made without the help of the community. I would like to personally say THANK YOU to the community for becoming involved in providing much needed information to us and for helping us become more effective in our efforts to keep our community safer.

The bank robbery at Georgia's Own Credit Union on March 9 is a prime example. A customer walked into the credit union and noticed that the bank tellers were not at their teller stations and heard someone shouting "get over here" and "open the safe." The customer then immediately exited the credit union and called 911, while waiting in the parking lot for the police to arrive. Once the police arrived, the customer was able to give additional information about the suspect such as where he went, when he came out of the credit union and the type of vehicle he drove. This information was invaluable. The suspect fled the scene, refused to stop for marked patrol units with activated lights and sirens and was involved in multiple accidents with citizen and police vehicles. The subject was ultimately taken into custody. He was identified as Cepeda Broughton, 40, of Lithonia and was arraigned by a U.S. Magistrate Judge and indicted on a charge of possession of a firearm by a convicted felon. I am also proud of all the officers from the Conyers Police Department who were involved in this incident, and I appreciate the assistance we received from the Rockdale County Sheriff's Office and the Rockdale County Fire Department.

We have had an increase in the number of vacant houses that are located in the city. Our officers and code enforcement personnel have documented over 180 vacant houses. These vacant houses are a very easy target. Criminals will break in by kicking in the doors or breaking windows - typically this is done on the rear of the house so it is not as noticeable from the street. They cause property damage while breaking in, and once inside, the thieves typically rip out the copper with the intention of selling it to a metal recycling/scrap yard. A majority of these homes still have water service and once the copper is ripped from the walls, the water is free-flowing and causes extensive damage inside. These criminals will also target the air conditioning units.

Our officers have been diligent about checking all houses with a concentration on vacant houses and will document when they find damage or theft that has occurred. These officer generated reports account for half of the increase in burglary and theft reports filed this year alone.

Overall in the first quarter of this year (January 1, 2011 - March 31, 2011) our total Part One* crimes (such as robberies, burglaries, aggravated assaults) compared to this time period last year have increased by 22 percent. The majority of these crimes are thefts, which I have discussed above. I want you to know that we are working diligently on being proactive, and I will be posting our crime trend in my future columns in order to keep all community members up to date.

It is imperative for home owners to check on their properties or have a neighbor keep an eye on the property. In order to catch these criminals and combat this problem, we are going to need the community's help. I am asking that if you see anything that seems out of the place or if someone is lurking around a vacant house - call us and let us know so that we can check into it.
I would also like to tell you about a new messaging system called Nixle that we have already shared with business owners throughout the community.

The Nixle Community Information Service allows us to create and publish messages to be delivered directly to subscribed residents instantly via cell phone text message and/or email. Notifications can also be accessed online at Nixle's web site at www.nixle.com. We have well over 100 users so far. During a recent robbery, the department received several updates from the community as a result of Nixle messages.

Subscribers can choose the way in which alerts are received. The service is reliable and free to sign up. There is NO spam. Standard text messaging rates do apply. If you have any questions about Nixle, please feel free to contact Crime Analyst Kim Lucas at kim.lucas@conyersga.gov.

On a final note, the Conyers Police Department has made several promotions. I would like to congratulate Sergeant Ryan Peterson on his promotion to Lieutenant as well as Officer Vernon Sands, Detective Ken Swift, and Officer Travis Quimby on their promotions to the position of Sergeant.

* FBI's Unified Crime Reports category with homicide, rape, robbery, aggravated assault, burglary, thefts, motor vehicle thefts and arson