To Whom It May Concern: Cc: Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms (Atlanta) and Mayor Jannquell Peters (East Point, Georgia), Keisha Lance Bottoms, John Eaves, Mary Norwood, Kwanza Hall, Ceasar Mitchell, Michael Sterling, Peter Aman, Vincent Fort, and Cathy Woolard
During the weekend of September 9th, 2017 there was a violent melee at ATL Movies on Camp Creek Parkway that involved two large groups of teenagers shooting at one another in the middle of the shopping center created for our families to enjoy. To make matters worse, there were hundreds of teens running around the marketplace unsupervised without enough police and security present to keep the taxpayers of Fulton County safe from harm. Many residents recall seeing teens darting around and on parked cars during the melee with scared families literally running for their lives. All of this happened during a high traffic time for the Marketplace full of out of town guests and longtime South Fulton Residents and we have had enough. Other residents in the City of Atlanta have the luxury of having their concerns about crime heard and remedied; however, why are the residents of South Fulton not given the same? Since the inception of the Camp Creek Marketplace over ten years ago, we have hoped that it would be a place where families in South Fulton could shop, eat, and live in peace. However, with the influx of crime (i.e. car break ins, several violent car jackings, etc.) and lack of accountability (i.e. lack of private security in the Marketplace, not enough police patrols in the area, sparse clean-up efforts by management, lack of cameras covering every inch of shopping area, closing of the lone book store in the area, etc.) from many of the stores, many of the residents actually fear to bring their families to the stores and enjoy shopping in our community. However, instead of accepting the "uptick" in crime, we've decided to fight back by holding our elected officials, combined police forces (East Point Police, Atlanta Police Department), community, and business leaders accountable for:
1. Having a combined heavy police (i.e. East Point, Atlanta Police Department) AND private security presence at all of the stores in Camp Creek Marketplace who not only patrol the parking lots but also inside the stores to maintain order.
2. Ensuring sure that ATL Movies adopts a policy to deter juvenile crime similar to Atlantic Station Movie Theater that reads, " All youth under 18 must be accompanied by a parent. Curfew is 6:00 p.m. Individuals under 21 are not permitted on the property after 11:00 p.m. Juvenile groups of 4 or more will be dispersed."
3. The installation (and upkeep) of state of the art video surveillance for the entire Camp Creek Marketplace, similar to what Lenox Mall, Atlantic Station, and other "high profile" shopping areas in the metro area have to deter and document crime- in real-time.
4. Requiring that Camp Creek Marketplace is kept clean, safe, and accessible for the thousands of families who want to dine, shop, and live in the Camp Creek Marketplace on a daily basis. Currently the parking lot is strewn with litter and debris and the trash is overflowing- at several stores.
5. Exploring the option to make Camp Creek Marketplace private property to keep a stronger hold on how it is operated.
The only true way to hold to exact change is to make sure every family in South Fulton signs their name as we engage with our elected officials at our public safety town hall.
