Who is eligible to join the East Atlanta Security Patrol?
Currently, the Security Patrol only serves households and businesses within the EACA membership boundaries. And within those boundaries, only those served by the Atlanta Police Department. However, you do not have to be a member of EACA to join the Security Patrol. The geographic membership area of EACA shall have a west border of Moreland Avenue, north to I-20. The northern border shall be I-20 to Flat Shoals Road, where the border will go east of I-20 to include that portion of the City of Atlanta east of I-20. From there, the eastern border will be Fayetteville Road to Eastland Road and its intersection with Moreland Avenue.
Why should I join the East Atlanta Security Patrol?
The main reason to join is to make for a safer neighborhood. Yes, we already pay taxes and expect police protection, but other neighborhoods like Grant Park have seen reductions in residential crimes of over 50% since starting a similar patrol. It is a fact of life that we don't have enough police officers to enable quick response to crimes occurring in our area. Joining the Security Patrol is a way for East Atlanta to have officers dedicated to our area who will respond to 911 calls immediately, and to provide a more visible presence in the community.
Who is the person in the patrol car?
The person cruising the neighborhood will always be an off-duty Atlanta Police Department officer in uniform. All officers work in Zone 6 and are familiar with the neighborhood. While we had hoped to have actual police cruisers used for the Security Patrol, there are a number of reasons that is not feasible. However, there is a magnetic East Atlanta Security Patrol emblem on each side of the officer's vehicle.
What hours will the Security Patrol operate?
The Security Patrol hours vary, but patrols of residential areas are mostly during daylight hours when the largest number of residents will be at work. We don't want to publicize the exact hours of operation, but patrols of member residences will not occur frequently at night or on the weekend. However, we are meeting with the Atlanta Police Department every two weeks to make certain that extra protection is offered during peak crime periods and in peak crime areas. Currently, we have about 30 hours of coverage per week. We will add more patrol hours as we get more members and more business sponsors.
Patrol hours for the Village area are based on the ongoing needs of the participating businesses.
How often will the Security Patrol drive by my house?
During a four hour shift, the patrol will drive by your house at least once, possibly more. If you're on vacation, the Security Patrol officer will have that information and will pay extra attention to your residence. The other thing that increases the likelihood of the officer driving past your house is the quantity of neighbors that sign up in a given area or street. Several streets have aggressively signed up members, and those areas receive at least two patrols per shift.
How quickly will a Security Patrol officer respond to my call?
If a Security Patrol officer is on duty when a member call comes in, the officer will proceed immediately to your house or place of business. This is likely to take no more than 5 minutes. For residential burglaries, an on-duty APD officer may not arrive at your home for 30 minutes or longer. Security Patrol officers are dedicated to East Atlanta and only to Security Patrol members; they don't have to respond to calls in other parts of zone 6 or to non-member calls in East Atlanta. Member calls are their first priority.
Who should I notify if I'm going to be out of town?
We recommend that you fill out this form and fax it to Zone 6 anytime you're going to be out of town.
We also recommend that you notify the Security Patrol no later than the Sunday prior to your departure date. At a minimum, please provide us with your dates of departure and relevant contact information. If you can provide us with a copy of the form you send to zone 6, that's even better. Our secure fax line is 866-274-1827. Regardless of the method of contact, we'll confirm that we received your vacation request with an e-mail or phone call.
If you don't have someone to pick up your mail and newspaper each day, you may fill out forms online to temporarily halt service. You can have mail held by going to the USPS website. You can stop the paper at the AJC website.
How do I contact the Security Patrol?
The Security Patrol can be reached several ways. You may submit questions or vacation notifications via the Contact link on the lefthand side of any page on our website. You may send an e-mail to securitypatroleaca.net. You may also call Myron Polster at 404-429-8815. Also feel free to ask questions at any EACA meeting. Regardless of the means of contact, you will receive a response within 48 hours. Please keep in mind that this is a volunteer effort. Everyone working to maintain and improve the Security Patrol has a fulltime job. We all love East Atlanta and want to make it a safe place for residents, business owners and visitors.
When will I receive my yard sign?
For new members, yard signs are delivered prior to the start of each entry date. Entry dates into the Security Patrol are the first of each month. If you sign up on March 10th, you will have your sign prior to beginning membership on April 1st.
Why can't I update my personal information online?
This issue was wrestled with frequently over the course of the past couple years while the formation of the Security Patrol floundered. To simplify things and eliminate the need to rely on volunteer programming staff or worry about the security of your personal information, we have set up an offline database to track member information and payments. This database also facilitates the creation of reports required to operate the patrol.
When do I receive my renewal notice?
Renewal notices are sent by e-mail approximately one month prior to the expiration of your membership. We send two more e-mail notices if necessary prior to your membership running out. Just before your coverage expires, we will make one final attempt to reach you by mail or by phone. Failure to pay by the renewal date will result in an immediate loss of coverage, the reclaiming of your yard sign and a refund of your initial fee of $15.
Can I pay using my online bill pay service?
Absolutely! In fact, we encourage you to do so since it costs us nothing while PayPal fees take away money that could be used for more patrol hours. It's also easier for us to administer since most payments will be sent to us electronically. If you bank with Wachovia, Bank of America, Suntrust or USAA (and many others), we generally will receive your payment the next business day.
May I add more addresses to your e-mail list?
Of course! However, we do ask that you limit the addresses to those specifically linked to residents of member households or owners and management of member businesses. Just contact us and we'll be happy to add an address to our list. Also, please be aware that the underlying database being used to maintain the e-mail list is shared with EACA. Some members have one e-mail address for the Security Patrol and another for the EACA newsletter. If that is the case, just let us know and we can consolidate both at one address. Or if you are a member of the Security Patrol and are not receiving the EACA newsletter, please let us know and we can add you to the EACA list.
