Diversions from policing as usual: A more caring city with Atlanta’s 311PAD?

ABSTRACT

Within the framework of “caring cities,” we report findings from a case study of two central and contested neighborhoods in Atlanta, Georgia (Peoplestown and Summerhill) using a descriptive spatial analysis approach. The purpose was to unpack how everyday citizens can embody the ethics and practice of care through the Citizen Relationship Management (CRM) tools developed by city leadership. In this case, we examined Atlanta’s 311PAD program. Has Atlanta’s 311PAD program resulted in a more caring and inclusive city when it comes to citizen engagement? What barriers to adoption could be removed to ensure these programs successfully cultivate a more caring, just, and inclusive city? Findings show that since the implementation of 311PAD in 2021, only 13 PAD referrals have been made in these neighborhoods, compared to a much higher volume of 311 calls. We speculate that calls may not have been categorized accurately and the level of 311 conflict calls not diverted to PAD may be partially the result of rapid gentrification.

KEYWORDS:

• Caring cities
• citizen-driven
• police diversion
• Atlanta

Acknowledgments

We acknowledge the editors and anonymous reviewers, for their thoughtful and comprehensive review of our paper. We are very grateful!

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Notes

1. Eminent domain refers to a governmental entity’s ability to take over privately owned property.

2. The sample used in this study was determined by a nonrandom process: volunteer participation without identifying the reporter or their home location. Reports were filtered by the presence of an address and the ability to locate that address within the city of Atlanta and the two study neighborhoods. Using these data, we do not know who participated, but simply where a report was submitted.

3. The authors acknowledge the COVID-19 pandemic between these time periods and opted to refrain from addressing the impact on these programs. Other researchers are examining the use of CRM systems as a disaster management tool.

4. Our spatial analysis relies on ATL311 reports with a valid location (see Table 3). Although the citywide use of ATL311 increased between 2018 and 2022, the proportion of records with an address decreased significantly. In our initial examination of the original ATL311 records, two thirds of the reports from 2018 included some form of address or location, whereas fewer than half of the reports from 2022 contained a valid location. Not all ATL311 reports require geolocation, as many reflect a simple request for city information. Additionally, some reporters may not divulge such personal information. Reports without an address were frequently related to inquiries concerning the municipal court (“When is my court date?”) or the DCP (“Permitting” or “Applications”), for which an address is not required.

5. Percent of total population who responded as Black or African American as their only race. This includes only those from the Black or African American population who are not Hispanic or Latino. Esri calculated field: round(100*(P0020006/P0010001),1). Blocks with no data values represent commercial, recreational, or industrial blocks within the study area.

6. Percent of total housing units that are vacant. Esri calculated field: round(100*(H0010003/H0010001),1).

7. The method of reporting to ATL311 also impacted the presence of a valid location (see Table 3). In 2018, of the 510,432 reports to ATL311, more than 84% of contacts with ATL 311 were made by phone (427,106). Despite campaigns using the ATL311.com website and mobile app, the percentage of ATL311 reports in 2022 was still dominated by phone calls (86.8%). Additionally, reports sourced by phone (or fax) were increasingly less likely to include location information (63.2% without address information). Nearly 90% of reports from digital sources (social media, website, and mobile apps) contained an address, and almost all in-person reports (from city council or by walk-in) included a valid location. Thus, the discrepancy between the inclusion or omission of location information among ATL311 reports managed by the customer service representatives (primarily by phone) compared to digitally submitted reports may be attributable to the technical aptitude of reporting citizens; citizens who prefer the mobile app or website may feel comfortable locating and leveraging the informational resources on the ATL311 or City of Atlanta website. However, the lack of location information associated with phone-based reports may also result from training limitations for the CSC staff, as several records related to location-specific problems were identified among the non-addressed reports.

8. In March 2021, the ATL311 system was updated to a different schema and coding system, requiring two separate processing methods for each study year. The two schemas were reconciled and individual field values for the department and source fields were updated to ensure the values were comparable between the two systems. Attributes identifying the report’s nature (KBA and SubKBA) significantly differed between 2018 and 2022, requiring additional processing and standardization, which may have impacted categorization. Further, the absence of a descriptive summary field in the 2022 reports limited fine-grained assessment.

9. Although attempting to anonymize individual reports, aggregation does not account for the repeated reporting of issues (e.g., multiple reports for a single pothole or missed garbage pickup). Our case study merely aimed to unpacks where different reports are being made and what issues are being reported, compared to where the ATL311 system was used to initiate a PAD referral.

10. Concerns regarding homeless encampments (multiple people living in a semi-permanent location outside) are directed by CSC to the Mayor’s Office of Constituent Affairs, which works with Partners for Home (Atlanta’s Continuum of Care) to address these concerns. https://www.atlantapad.org/community-response-services.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Emeline Renz

Emeline Renz just completed her MIS degree at the Urban Studies Institute at Georgia State University and serves as an instructor of Geographic Information Systems in the Andrew Young School of Public Policy. Leveraging spatial, analytical, and mixed-method practices, her research aims to examine patterns of citizens’ participation in their urban environment through formal and informal channels. Emeline holds a graduate certificate in Applied Statistics from Pennsylvania State University, an MA in Geography from the University at Albany, and a BA in Sociology & Psychology from Skidmore College, and is a faculty affiliate at the Atlanta University Center’s Data Science Initiative.

Rafia Mallick

Rafia J. Mallick is a third-year PhD student in Sociology at Georgia State University. Rafia holds a BA in Sociology from the University of Punjab (2007). She earned her MA in Applied Public Policy and Research from Hofstra University (2011) and holds an MA in Sociology from the University of Oklahoma (2021). She has worked as a research assistant and data analyst for different community-based projects in Pakistan, New York, Oklahoma, and Georgia. Currently, Rafia works as a Graduate Research Assistant at GSU. Rafia’s research interests focus on the assimilation of immigrants in the United States, anti-Asian racism, the production and reproduction of ethnic enclaves, patriarchal traditionalism, religiosity, deviant behavior, collective efficacy, and pedagogical learning approaches.

Deirdre Oakley

Deirdre A. Oakley is a professor of Sociology and an affiliated faculty member of the Urban Studies Institute at Georgia State University. Her research focuses on how urban social and racial disadvantages are often compounded by geographic spatial arrangements, much of which are embedded in historical legacies. She is the editor of Alternative Urbanisms and Social Deviance (GRL, 2022). In addition, she recently completed a successful three-year term as the Editor in Chief of City & Community, the flagship journal of Urban Sociology. Dr. Oakley has provided congressional testimony about public housing to the Financial Services Committee. She received her BA in American History from Bowdoin College, MA in Urban Geography, and her PhD in Sociology from the University at Albany.