Enacted a few years ago to help deter crime in the area, the Midway Woods Security Patrol program is patterned after similar programs found in neighborhoods like Medlock Park, Belvedere Park, Candler Park/Lake Claire, Kirkwood and others. The patrol is staffed by off-duty DeKalb County police officers, and is designed to provide security to fill in the gap in police support since police cannot be in our neighborhood at all times.
Officers patrol the neighborhood, and conduct drive-by checks of participating homes during their shifts, which occur at different times, including late night hours when the most crime is occurring in the neighborhood. They are in contact with 911 during their shifts and can respond to all calls and house alarms, arriving within minutes. You can request a safety survey of your property and schedule security checks if you will be out of town or on vacation,
The security patrol has also proven to be an effective way of communicating with and facilitating dialogue with the DeKalb County Police Department. All patrol officers in that department receive anti-bias training.
To join (or renew), fill out the registration form found on our website — https://www.midwaywoodsassociation.org/safety or at https://forms.gle/pqdrBLRLbHaPan526 — and make your payment using PayPal or by check. Membership costs $160 per year. (Other neighborhoods charge $200 to $360 per year.) The more members who sign up, the more monthly patrol hours the program will be able to offer.
Please note that without enough members to fund a full year of patrol shifts we will be unable to continue the program. Please consider joining or signing up for another year if you have not already done so!
If you are curious about joining but have questions, please contact us at midwaywoodscommunications@gmail.com.
Neighborhood Safety Tips
As we kick off the security patrol membership drive, we thought it would be a good opportunity to remind everyone of simple safety tips we can all take to help deter opportunistic crime in our neighborhood.
As warm and welcoming as we like to think that our neighborhood is, we do see the occasional crime, with vehicle and shed break-ins being the most commonly reported.
For your home, make sure that there is:
- Sufficient lighting in your yard (such as: motion lights, flood lights, motion sensor lights).
- Surveillance cameras (Ring or Nest) are very helpful.
Ensure that cars and other vehicles:
- Are locked at all times.
- Are empty of visible belongings.
To protect yard equipment:
- Keep these items in a locked location (shed, garage, crawl space).
- Have locks on fence gates and doors.
- Have sufficient lighting in your yard (such as: motion lights, flood lights, motion sensor lights).
Crime in the neighborhood can be tracked at https://www.crimemapping.com/map/ga/dekalbcounty.
The Dekalb County Police Department Non-Emergency Number (an alternative to calling 911) is (678) 406-7929.
You can also check out these crime-prevention tips from the Dekalb County Police Department.
We hope these tips help in keeping everyone’s home safe and secure.
(“Midway Woods Security Patrol” graphic created using https://inkpx.com/word-art-generator)