What part of Macon do you feel is the least safe?

“I don't feel safe downtown (Cherry, First, Spring, etc). The panhandlers really unnerve me. When I lived on College Street, they came to my front door asking for money. I never went out at night because I didn't feel safe much anywhere in Macon.”

Former Macon Resident – Debbie Bryan

“South Broadway - due to the drugs and gangs.”

Warner Robins Resident – Julie Jackson

“I've heard it rumored that the Shurlington (east side of Macon), was very unsafe. Also, like around the old Macon mall. The fact is Macon is not considered a safe place in many areas. Before they opened the new mall, I heard many people in my area say they never went to Macon if they didn't have to.”

Byron Resident – Judy Jones

“In my opinion, the least safe part of Macon is its residents' assumption that bright lines can be drawn between "good" and "bad" neighborhoods.  If we could visit, live, and shop throughout the city with the same attitude of awareness toward our surroundings--that is, assuming that we are safe but recognizing the need to be alert, careful, and in contact with law enforcement when necessary--crime would probably have to go elsewhere because it would have nowhere to hide.”

Macon Resident Laura Thomason

Perception is a powerful word—many times, our perception becomes our reality. And, like Doubting Thomas, we have to “see to believe” something if it differs from our belief. A recent report released by the Macon Police Department drives home the fact that Middle Georgian’s perception regarding the reputation of Macon is far from the reality.

Most people would agree with the first three opinions listed above about Macon and the safety of its neighborhoods—it’s not safe, especially downtown. But, according to MPD’s yearly crime statistics through July 2009, this perception is far from accurate.

The fact is, downtown Macon is getting a bad rap when, according to MPD Sgt. Melanie Hofmann, downtown Macon has one of the lowest incidences of crime. “Downtown is actually one of the safest areas in Macon,” Sgt. Hofmann said.

Macon resident, Brandon Thompson realizes that his perception might not be the reality. “Well, my first, spontaneous response would be that ‘downtown’ is the least safe area. However, that's not the full truth. I think downtown is a lot safer than it is given credit for. You'll be, without a doubt, be panhandled walking around downtown. While this is quite annoying, it is rarely dangerous.”

Many readers will be surprised to learn that those areas of Macon that they have deemed to be unsafe, in reality, are the safest communities.

For years, the prevailing opinion is that East and South Macon have the highest incidences of crime in Macon. However, nothing could be farther from the truth as evidenced by the 2009 crime statistics, which state that communities in East and South Macon have the lowest crime rate—1039 incidences in East Macon and 768 incidences in South Macon.

The two communities believed to be the safest, West and North Macon, actually hold the record for the two highest crime rates in Macon this year. In fact, with 1373 crimes, North Macon is only eight incidents shy of tying West Macon as the area of most reported crimes.

The figures breakdown as follows:

In a floundering economy, it is understandable that most Middle Georgians believe that crime has risen in the past years. However, according to the report released by the MPD, crime in all four Macon precincts has declined in 2009. Sgt. Hofmann attributes the reduction in crime to the collaboration between Macon communities and Macon police.

“Crimestoppers has been one of the most effective tools we have,” Sgt. Hofmann said. Crimestoppers allows citizens to provide anonymous tips to police while receiving payment for it. “Community members are actually the ones who can help control crime. We can’t fight crime if we don’t know about it,” Sgt. Hoffman said.

Andrew Blascovich, Assistant to Mayor Reichert, stated that although crime has decreased for the city overall, this is not the time to decrease efforts to make Macon even safer. “We are pleased to see the decrease in crime for the city overall, but know that armed robberies and violent crimes are a major concern. The Police Department has responded to this by forming working taskforces that work with business to be proactive and to crack down on those few individuals who commit these crimes in our community,” Blascovich said.

Both Hofmann and Blascovich expressed the need for ongoing public safety education. Hofmann cited several upcoming events for the Macon Police Department Youth and Intervention. “By reaching out to and working with our children, we can reduce crime,” she said.

Blascovich pointed to community education as a key to crime reduction and stated, “In the near future there will be a variety of new initiatives coming out to help promote not only personal safety, but also public safety as whole. One of our greatest needs is a pay scale and the Mayor is dedicated to implementing one as soon as possible. Also we are putting a greater focus on public outreach and awareness since this is one of the greatest ways to reduce crime and to also help solve existing cases.” 

Although there has been a decline in crime this year, Macon’s crime figures are considerably higher than other U.S. cities of its size. When compared to the FBI’s crime statistics for cities with a similar population, Macon doesn’t fare well. In comparison to four other U.S. cities, Macon places first in the number of crimes occurring in 2008, while it places second in the number of violent crimes in 2008.

According to Blascovich, “The Macon Police Department has worked to address the pressing problems we have currently in the city. This has been highlighted by the recent work done to focus on commercial robberies, which resulted in the arrest of the three suspects in the Riverside Drive Chevron murder and robbery.”

On Aug. 30, Dipak “Danny” Patel, 29, was killed during a robbery of the Chevron station located at 1257 Riverside Dr. According to police reports, two black males dressed in all black entered the store shortly after 10 p.m. One of the men displayed a weapon and received an undisclosed amount of money from the clerk. As the suspects began to leave, the gunman fired a shot killing Danny Patel.

After a press conference about the murder, police received several tips called in to Macon Regional Crimestoppers. According to Police Chief Mike Burns, three men were arrested for the Murder and Armed Robbery. Arrested were Maurice Murray Battle, 18; Korey Antione Stephens, 25; and Rashad Jeran Harris, 24—all three were residents of Crest Drive.

“I want to thank the Southeast Regional Fugitive Task Force, Macon Regional Crimestoppers, the District Attorney's Office, and my investigators. I also want to thank the citizens of Macon and Bibb County who stepped forward and gave information. I want to especially thank and give recognition to Sergeant Jim MacDonald and Investigator Ron Rodgers who worked many-many tireless hours on the case since day one,” Burns said.

Four days later, another murder occurred at a Macon convenience store. On Sept. 4, Jaymal Patel was waiting for his brother to get off work at the RaceWay convenience store on Mercer University Dr., near I-475. A man approached Patel and demanded his wallet, which was empty. After taking the wallet from Patel, the assailant shot him in the head. A 16-year-old was charged in the murder.

In response to the two deaths in Macon, as well as the July 15 murder of Baldwin County business owner Dilipbhai “Danny” Patel, Lina Food Store, the Indian community held a rally. Many Indian-owned businesses in the Middle Georgia area closed on Sept. 14 and over 600 people marched in memory of the men and to raise awareness that crime will not be tolerated.

According to Blascovich, “The march was a great moment for the community showing that we can all work together to reduce crime. We cannot be solely dependent on the police to reduce crime. The march highlighted this by showing that  we as a community are thankful to law enforcement for their work and that people are willing to stand up to criminals and make their neighborhoods safe.”

Further steps are being taken to increase the security of convenience stores. Blascovich said, “The police department is continually working to reduce crime in every portion of the city.”

Police have worked with local businesses to improve the patrols and security at convenience stores. Two taskforces have been implemented in the past year to focus on commercial property safety which, according to Blascovich, will continue to be a focus and concern for the MPD.

Most recently, a task force dubbed “Operation Safe Business II” was created, providing 27 additional officers to patrol the streets, conducting spot checks of service stations and convenience stores all over the city.

Bibb County Chief Deputy David Davis states that they are also working to insure the safety of convenience stores, “We at the sheriff's office will continue to work with all convenience store operators to help them make their businesses less prone to robberies and other crimes. Some of the crime prevention techniques we discuss include keeping an observant eye out for suspicious persons lurking about the stores, keeping adequate lighting in and around the business, and erecting bullet resistant glass around the clerk areas. We also ask them to keep the front windows near the cash register clear of posters and other signs so that passing officers can see the clerk and store patrons.”

Davis stresses the importance of having a surveillance system that is properly operating and shows clear images. “The images we observed and downloaded were instrumental in us having a successful resolution to the recent homicide at the Raceway station in unincorporated Bibb County on Mercer University Drive,” Davis said.

A newly formed organization, Middle Georgia Asian American Business Community Association, will provide training for business owners on the use of security cameras and plan to hold self-defense classes in the future. But many business owners are not waiting for the Sept. 22 class to make changes.

Andy Patel, owner of a Warner Robins convenience store, has already installed security cameras in and around his store. His employee said that while she was nervous last week about her safety, the cameras have done much to make her feel comfortable once again. “Our customers are all so nice,” she said. “I can’t imagine that we would have the same trouble that the other stores have experienced.”

Although the MPD has reduced crime in 2009 and, most recently, have stepped up efforts to combat crime within the community, the Mayor’s office encourages citizens to take an active role in fighting crime.

“Citizens should take part in their neighborhood watch, if they don’t have neighborhood watch they should join with neighbors to form one. The MPD can assist in this matter,” Blascovich said. “Everyone can do their part; let the police department know concerns. They can be proactive instead of reactive. Policing is a fluid process that is open to change and input.”

Communities interested in creating a neighborhood watch can get assistance by calling (478) 751-7400.

Comments (2)

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written by Sheryl Freeman, May 30, 2010

Whoever did the statistics needs to base it on people who live there and not on some pipe dream of getting people to move in. I was raised in Macon and left my alcohol addicted/abusive ex husband when I was 27. The abuse continued AFTER I left him and even my children would call the pollice, the Macon Police Department would do NOTHING, I asked them to please arrest him for public drunkedness as each time he was so they could put him in jail for 2-3 days and I could get some sleep and physical wounds heal but no they wouldn't. They'd say each time 'you have to leave now' to him, he'd ride the city bus downtown and back and beat me up again for calling the police. I lived on the busline as DFACS said I'd have to sell my car to live off the money from selling it because it would take 3 or 4 mos to process my AFDC application. He would show up anytime at all hours, I lived in Atlantic Cotton Mill village then on Mailey Avenue and my neighbors helped me more than the police, but they as I believed those hokey commercials about how you should call the police if you're abused/assaulted, it's rubbish with Macon Police, this of course only helped my ex and egged him on to do more harm to myself and my children. Eventually we stopped calling, what's the point they don't do anything. I got off AFDC I went to CSRU to see if they'd ever gotten any child support at all since I'd never recieved anything but AFDC for myself and our 4 children. They told me after pulling up the records from the master computer downtown in Macon that they had indeed received 2 payments of over $400 each but had 'accidentally' given the money back to him and showed me his signatures on the Child Support checks they had given back to him after taking the money from him to start with. He never had custody of the children, I did. I was flabbergasted yet again, he almost killed me the last beating which was on Valentines Day breaking 1/3 of my teeth which of course has over time caused me to not be able to eat properly, I'm pretty sure I have stomach problems in addition to mouth problems swallowing bacteria constantly. My children are adult aged now, it has been 10 years but we are still haunted. It would be nice if someone could help us get remuneration for our pain and suffering due to the boys club mentality that I'm sure still exists in Georgia/slave states of the southern vicinity. In the meantime, Krispy Kreme may be the safest place.

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written by Benny, December 13, 2009

In 1973, there was a rash of convenience store robberies in Macon. The mayor or police chief came up with an effective solution, which did not last long enough. There would be random stakeouts by the police, who were instructed to shoot on the spot if a robbery occurred. This also was to apply to any officer who happened to come up on a robbery in progress. Robberies vanished. BUT, someone complained(ACLU-types), and the course had to be abandoned. We know what works. Just do it. Do not make the plans public.

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