|
2008-04-24  ALPHARETTA AND ROSWELL REVUE & NEWS | | | by Jason Wright | |  |
May 02, 2008
ROSWELL -- Ana Martinez and her husband, Barbaro Hernandez, both 54, were walking March 1 to their Concepts 21 apartment when they were robbed of $100 in the middle of the complex's parking lot.
When interviewed by police after reporting the crime, Ana, who works at a local fast food restaurant, and Barbaro, who cleans offices for a living, said this was the second time in less than a year they had been robbed.
They were just two of the 10 victims hit that week in a quick spree, all Hispanic, all at Roswell apartment complexes and probably all robbed by the same suspect.
Fearing retaliation, the couple asked police not to press charges. Most North Fulton residents their age are thinking about how to spend their retirement. But they must continue to work hard, thankless hours in service jobs.
They didn't want to bring too much scrutiny on themselves, their families or their community.
For the Martinez's and many like them, this is reality on the other side of Roswell. Yes, Roswell, the 18th safest city in the United States.
It's not as though crime has risen dramatically. It's not as though dangerous criminals stalk the streets. But for a certain group of Roswell's population -- Hispanics -- simply living in Roswell puts a target on their backs.
Hispanics targets for crime
The numbers are telling. According to the 2006 Census, Hispanics make up roughly 17 percent of Roswell's total 88,500 population. But they are the victims of roughly half of all index crimes -- murder, rape, robbery and assault.
Nowhere is the split among races in Roswell more evident than with robberies. In 2007, there were 108 robberies with 139 victims. At least 76 were Hispanic. No other race even came close.
There were also more aggravated assaults against Hispanics than any other ethnic group, though the numbers were marginally closer.
And these were the crimes that were reported. Police say many of these crimes go unreported as victims unfamiliar with the American system of justice just keep quiet.
For example, two victims reporting a June 30, 2007 robbery at Concepts 21 -- one of at least four at the complex in two days -- told police another man was robbed at the same time by their assailant's likely accomplice. However, no report ever surfaced for that crime.
Imagine if this sort of thing happened at Martin's Landing or Sentinel on the River instead of Concepts 21 apartments or Aspen Pointe apartments -- it might be the biggest story in North Fulton.
But since the victims remain largely silent, it passes without much notice.
And it's not as though being Hispanic in north Georgia automatically means crime. Forsyth County's population is roughly 15 percent Hispanic, but crimes specifically against them are much less frequent, according to the police reports compiled each week by Appen Newspapers Inc. Crimes against Hispanics are not disproportionate in Alpharetta either, in which about 13 percent of the total population is Hispanic.
Culture, geography share blame
Lt. James McGee, a spokesman with the Roswell Police Department, said there is a multitude of reasons for the statistics, but it can be boiled down to a few simple factors.
** Many Roswell's Hispanics working as laborers or in the service industry generally carry their cash and are paid weekly. Some do not trust banks because they are unreliable in their own country.
Time the crimes right, and for society's vultures it's easy pickings, McGee said.
** Immigrants, especially the undocumented ones, are reluctant to draw the attention of authorities even when they are the victims.
"Let's face it, a lot of them are perceived to be undocumented or illegal aliens, and they get preyed upon because [criminals] think they're not going to report a crime," he said. "So it's fertile ground for anybody who wants to take advantage of them."
** Geography plays a part. Hispanics in Roswell live in lower income apartment complexes, and apartment complexes mean a transient population, This is fertile ground to search for victims predisposed to carrying all of their money with them.
"Roswell is becoming a large city, and where you have population density you're going to have crime," McGee said.
And those apartment complexes offer another attraction to criminals. They are near heavily traveled roads like Ga. 400 and Holcomb Bridge Road, which make an easy and desirable escape route for the criminals.
"It's very attractive to someone who is going to commit a crime," he said. "It's location, location, location -- just like it's easy getting into and out of the bank."
Cultural barriers
Amelia Turrubiates runs the Latin American Association outreach center on Grove Way in Roswell.
Just two months old, the Buford Highway-based group is bringing a much needed oasis of understanding and activism to families who come to Roswell looking for abundant work. Instead they are enduring a work environment wracked by a slumping housing market and drought-ravaged landscaping businesses. Crime is just an added "bonus" to their problems.
Turrubiates said a basic distrust of police and courts is something that comes from a lifetime of experience back home, and it takes a lot of work to make people trust a new system.
"In the majority of Latin American countries, you cannot talk to the police," she said. "I cannot say it is true of all of them, but it's fairly common that you find corruption. The court system is also corrupted.
"You have to understand, any immigrant who comes to America is going to bring what they have learned with them -- it's like a bag they are carrying on their shoulders."
The climate of fear is also fueled by the national immigration debate. Many victims are so afraid their immigration status will be called into question that the thought of ever going to the police is preposterous.
"They are alone here, they are scared," Turrubiates said. "At home they have a large family -- it's a big network, and they help each other."
McGee said because of the fear of trouble with authorities, a lot of crime goes unreported. But Roswell's police are trying to make inroads into the targeted community.
That means undercover operations, meeting with groups like the Latin American Association and letting people know immigration status has no bearing on victim hood.
Church one haven
Father Guillermo Cordova is a Catholic priest with the Archdiocese of Atlanta. A native of Medellin, Colombia, Cordova is no stranger to serious crime.
He spent two years at St. Andrew's church in Roswell leading the Hispanic ministry. He routinely counsels both the victim and criminal.
He said most immigrants come to the U.S. believing it represents a beacon of hope that simply doesn't exist at home because of crime, drugs and a decimated economic system. Thus, they are often caught unaware when they are victimized in their new home.
Cordova said due to the language barrier and anti-immigrant images on television, the church's programs are usually the only place Hispanics feel safe. He said Roswell's police can take advantage of this connection and partner with popular churches -- not just Catholic -- to make the most impact.
"If police would work with the priest, the [priest] could bring them in," said Cordova. "The church provides a safe haven for Latinos to approach the police which in turn, could yield [valuable] information."
McGee agreed that building those ties in the community is the key to the problem.
"Our biggest deterrent, believe it or not, is the folks out there," he said. "And we try and tell them, 'Today it's your neighbor, tomorrow it's going to be you.'"
-- Appen Newspapers' Tony DeFeria translated portions of interviews for this article.
| |
Reader Comments
These are our reader's opinions and thoughts.The opinions on this site are posted by our readers, and are not edited by Appen Inc.
Out come the wolves
May 05, 2008 | 04:03 PM
Why does an article that doesn't exactly conform with your belief of the issues immediately need to be attacked?
Yes, illegal drivers get in DUIs. Those drivers maim, kill and destroy lives -- and papers write about them when they do.
In fact, this very paper, this very writer, did do a story on how illegal drivers cost Forsyth County manpower and money.
Here it is:
http://www.northfulton.com/Articles-i-2007-05-10-156485.112113_Unlicensed_drivers_busted.html
And if there is a rash of drunk, murderous drivers in North Fulton, i'm sure that will get covered as well.
Think clearly friend. Erase that irrational fear and hate from your heart. You'll find it makes the world a much easier place to live.
lars
Crime Story
May 05, 2008 | 12:06 PM
If you want to write a hispanic related "hit home" story about victims, write about the number of Georgians who have suffered property damage, personal injury or death at the hands of drunk illegal aliens behind the wheel. While you're at it, research how many of those alcohol related cases actually resulted in convictions and how many of the drivers were repeat offenders. Or, you could look into how many Georgians (myself included) have had criminal cases literally vanish from the judicial system because the person who commited the crime is here illegally and the 'system' doesn't want to deal with the hassle.
Another Reader
crime story
May 05, 2008 | 05:09 AM
Your story was excellent. Well written. Good stuff.
a reader
Fighting the illegal alien invasion
May 02, 2008 | 04:59 PM
Immigration has direct massive negative consequences on today's and yesterdays economy. It is all encompassing your Jobs and economic growth, energy independence, health care access, education and an overcrowded prison system. All these issues are impacted by the 12 to 30 million illegal immigration invasion. This issue is all encompassing because illegal aliens are no longer taking jobs Americans wont do. A case in point, is the arrest of 12 illegal aliens working at the Newport News shipyard in Virginia. They were earning above average wages of $28.00 an hour, which any of the thousands of US taxpayers enemployed, would be willing to work for?
A few states now are representing the American taxpayers, such as Arizona, Georgia, oklahoma and Rhode Island, instead of the special interest lobby. It's taken forty years of complete inattention or betrayal by Washington and timid Governors, Mayors and their lieutenants. Now they must face up to the fact that the majority of taxpayers are sick and tired, of being a welfare system for big business who hire cheap illegal labor.
Find out the unsuppressed truth at these websites: GRASSFIRE, NUMBERSUSA, JUDICIAL WATCH, LIBERTY POST, IMMIGRATION NEWS INDEXER, UNIPAC and VDARE.
Brittanicus
| |
|
|
