PENS Dispatch

Welcome to the Precinct 5 PENS Web site. Here you will be able to keep up with current crime trends in your neighborhoods as well as the west Cobb County area. This site was developed as a tool to open the lines of communication between the Police Department and the citizens and business owners of West Cobb in a more effective manner.

Pens Bulletin

10-16-09

*** ARREST ***

510 Beat: 10-15-09, 0130 hrs, Morning watch officers responded to an entering auto dispatch in the Starr Lake subdivision. A look out was given and officers spotted the vehicle on County Line Road . Officers took the three suspects in to custody without incident. Their subsequent investigation resulted in the recovery of a stolen GPS unit and other stolen items that were returned to the owner. CIU 5 Detectives conducted interviews with the suspects and obtained additional information regarding the whereabouts of additional stolen property. The target areas of the suspects were the Camden Pointe Subdivision, Starr Lake Subdivision and Stonekirk Subdivision. Investigators conducted a successful search for the stolen property and they too were returned to the owners. As a result of the ongoing investigation two additional cases were cleared by the uniform arrest. Criminal warrants and a JCF were filed on the three suspects charging them with multiple entering autos and thefts. This was great team work by all involved!

Please do not hesitate to call 911 in cases such as this or if you observe any other suspicious or criminal activity.

Thanks again and STAY SAFE!

Sgt. Dong

Pens Bulletin

October 2009

Thanks to everyone who attended the Precinct 5 PENS meeting on September 29, 2009. I hope the information that was shared will be beneficial and assist in reducing the number of criminal cases that are reported in our zone.

Here is a summary of the crime prevention tips discussed at the meeting for those who were unable to attend.

Crime prevention - Burglary

• Remember to LOCK all doors and windows
• CLOSE your garage
• ACTIVATE your alarm system
• Owning a dog may deter offenders
• Install MOTION SENSORS on your exterior lights
• Remember to STOP YOUR MAIL / NEWS PAPER if you are leaving on a vacation.
• Keep an eye on your neighbor's property and REPORT SUSPICIOUS ACTIVITY.
• If you know of vacant homes in your neighborhood or own a home that is currently vacant, keep an eye on it and report any suspicious activity and watch out for appliance thefts.

Preventing Entering Autos (Thefts from Autos)

• LOCK your doors
• REMOVE all valuables from your vehicle when parked at home and /or when shopping (firearms, electronics, purse, etc.).
• DO NOT leave any items of value in plain sight (passenger seat, floorboard, etc.).

Remember to record serial numbers and photograph valuables such as firearms, electronics and jewelry.

Remember - call 911 and report any suspicious activity to the police.

MOST Importantly – LOCK YOUR DOORS to your HOME and VEHICLES!

I look forward to our next meeting and encourage everyone to attend. Please call me with any questions you might have, at 770-499-4185.

Thanks once again and STAY SAFE!

Sgt. Dong

09-03-09

Questions and Answers- What is the difference between a Robbery and a Burglary ? Often times there is confusion  between these two crimes. When you call 911 they are in need of the most accurate information. Robbery involves force or the threat of force directly to a person and burglary is entering a dwelling or other structure without authority to commit a felony or theft therein. The following are the Georgia code sections which define both:

Robbery (16-8-40)

(a) A person commits the offense of robbery when, with intent to commit theft, he takes property of another from the person or the immediate presence of another:

(1) By use of force;

(2) By intimidation, by the use of threat or coercion, or by placing such person in fear of immediate serious bodily injury to himself or to another; or

(3) By sudden snatching.

Burglary (16-7-1)

•  A person commits the offense of burglary when, without authority and with the intent to commit a felony or theft therein, he enters or remains within the dwelling house of another or any building, vehicle, railroad car, watercraft, or other such structure designed for use as the dwelling of another or enters or remains within any other building, railroad car, aircraft, or any room or any part thereof.

Example: You arrive home from work in the afternoon and enter into your house as usual. Upon entering, you discover items missing such as your flat screen television. You then notice that your back door has been kicked in. At this point you may want to retreat from your home and call 911 and have an officer finish checking your home to make sure there are no suspects still inside. The officer arrives to clear your home and confirms that there are no suspects inside. In this case you have been a victim of a Burglary, not a Robbery.

A Reminder: What you and your neighbors can do- The best thing is to remain active and involved. Stay alert to your surroundings. Notify the police if you see anything suspicious. Be prepared to provide accurate information to the 911 dispatcher such as good descriptions of the suspect's clothing, age, actions, vehicle descriptions (make, model, color, tag etc.) and direction of travel if they leave before the Police arrive. Also, remember school is back in session and students should be in school during the day. When you see individuals, who are obviously students, walking throughout the neighborhood during school hours, keep an eye on them. If they go to homes or yards or vehicles where they don't belong, call 911. Officers will respond and confront them.

When on vacation, stop your mail or have a neighbor check it. Have someone keep an eye on your residence but limit the number of people who know you will be away. Don't let your newspapers accumulate in the driveway and cut the grass before you leave. Keep shrubs and bushes cut and do not let them cover your windows. Don't make it easy for them and they will most likely move on.

Stay safe!

The Cobb County Police Department Needs Your Help

On July 24 th , 2009, between the hours of 4:00 A.M. and 6:00 A.M.; residents in and around Friendship Church Road, Wellsley Drive and Parson Greene Drive, were victims of a series of incidents in which a number of residents received damage to their property and one resident was slightly injured. The victims in these cases experienced rocks and mailboxes thrown through the windows of their homes during the night / early morning hours.

The Cobb County Police Department encourages all citizens to notify authorities when observing suspicious behavior or witnessing a crime. We respectfully request that any citizen that may have any information surrounding the crimes mentioned please contact Precinct 5. With the participation and assistance of our residents we can effectively work to solve, prevent, and reduce, incidents of this type.

Please be on the lookout for a black Ford F-150 with tinted windows and a red Ford F-150. The drivers of these vehicles could possibly be involved.

If you have any questions, concerns, or can provide information to assist in solving these crimes please do not hesitate to call.

If you have an emergency or need immediate assistance please call 911.

Thank you for your support

Capt. Dale Bolenbaugh

Sgt. Craig Dong

Cobb County Police Department

Precinct 5

Main - 770-499-4185

Pct-5 PENS Meeting Discussion Information

The first PENS meeting for Precinct Five since the program reorganization began was held last night in the general meeting room at the precinct. We had a modest turnout with approximately twenty folks attending. Possibly the reason for the modest turnout was the fact that it was held on a Wednesday night which is a church night for many of our residents. I suspect we also lost a few due to it also being the night for the American Idol finale on television. I assure you that I will give more thought to when the next meeting is scheduled with possible target evenings of Tuesday or Thursday. We will also propose a future daytime meeting for those who cannot make the evening meetings.

After an introduction of the command staff for the precinct, a brief explanation and discussion of the PENS program was held. The features of the program were provided and a discussion of what the citizen could provide was held. For those who wish the details of the program, they are as follows:

The purpose and objective of the Cobb County PENS program is to establish an email contact method with representatives of our West Cobb home owners associations (HOA's) and local business leaders to facilitate direct two-way communications between Precinct Five personnel and the community concerning matters of safety and security.

What the program provides to the community .

• Public Information Releases as they pertain to West Cobb County.
• BOLO (Be on the lookout) information.
• Updates on crimes occurring within our Precinct's geographical area.
• Information on noted Crime Trends for our area.
• Information on Crime Prevention techniques.
• Rumor Control.
• Emailed information for ongoing emergency or dangerous situations for specific beat areas within the Precinct.
• Regular meetings held to allow community feedback and suggestions on the operation of the PENS Program.
• Coordinates with other Departmental prevention and/or investigative units.

What the program provides to the Police .

• Community involvement in active crime prevention.
• Questions from the community which can be answered for the benefit of the entire community.
• Positive interaction with community residential and business representatives.

Restrictions.

• Restrictive two way communications between Precinct Five representatives and the           recognized official PENS representatives is imperative to control excessive emails and avoid overloading the system. Email overload will place this project in peril and devalue the effort intended.
• Only recognized PENS HOA representatives will be asked to serve as points of contact between Precinct Five and her communities.
• Sharing of the PENS email address to anyone not recognized by the Precinct Five PENS coordinator is forbidden.

If there remain questions as to the practice or procedures of the program, please let me know and I will try to provide an answer that best answers the issue.

Citizen Expressed Concerns

We had quite a few questions over a wide range of topics last night. Questions regarding kids hanging around at lake properties in various communities, motorized carts being driven on the roadway with unprotected kids on board, and speed humps being place inside subdivisions for speed control were asked. A summarized answer to each is provided below.

Let's address first the easy one. Speed Humps – A traffic and speed survey has to be completed via the Cobb DOT prior to any consideration for placing speed humps inside a subdivision. For more information on the requirements please contact the Cobb DOT at (770) 528-1600.

Additional service numbers for the Cobb DOT are:

There were several questions regarding unwelcome persons hanging around lake properties inside subdivisions that are drinking and leaving behind litter . In order to correct any issues with what is being done on lake properties owned by the residents of a community, we must first respond to the area to check it out and determine if any illegal activity is being conducted. It is also necessary that we have a community contact available to determine if the desire exists to issue a criminal trespass warning or if arrests are desired. Please give us a call any time this activity is observed so that a unit can be dispatched to check it out and identify the involved parties. Also please provide a contact name and number for a representative of the community.

Lastly, a concern regarding the use and restrictions of motorized carts inside a subdivision was raised especially where small unprotected children were being ridden around clinging to or in front of an adult driver. Again, this is a situation that needs to be addressed in person by an officer on the scene. When seeing something like this, please call 911 and have an officer dispatched to check out the situation. Also keep in mind that certain motorized carts being driven on the roadway must conform to existing licensing and registration laws. Carts being driven on private property have few restrictions.

Speeding in subdivisions : This seems to be an issue brought forward every time we open the floor for discussions. Each time our citizens ask what they can do to alleviate this perpetual problem. The short answer is: CALL THE POLICE. We need information from you in order to assist with combating this issue. We need to know what time the violations are occurring, what type and color are the vehicles involved, do you know the driver or participants? Providing this information will assist us in targeting the speeders and bringing the speed problem to an acceptable resolution.

For speed issues you can utilize any or all of the following methods of communicating the problem to the police department:

Cobb County E911 Communications Center :          Dial 911 from any telephone

Cobb County Police Department Website:               http://police.cobbcountyga.gov/

Cobb County Pct-5 PENS Website                         http://p5.police.cobbcountyga.gov

Cobb County Police Precinct Five:                          (770 )499-4185

Cobb County Police Traffic Services:                       (770 )499-3987

We hope this information is helpful. If you have any other need for contact information, questions in need of answers, or problems to report, please call us or send your questions using the “ contact us ” link on the Pct-5 PENS website.