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Atlanta Community Press Collective Essentials

The Atlanta Police Department said that it “has not assisted any federal law enforcement agencies with immigration enforcement activities this year,” but records reveal that on at least 15 occasions, investigators scoured thousands of cameras to track migrants. An APD spokesperson said the now-retired detective who conducted the 12 searches using variations of ‘locate alien’ as the reason was working on a multi-agency Transnational Organized Crime task force unit investigating ‘an international fraud matter, again having nothing to do with immigration enforcement. #atlanta #atlantanews

The compromise between surveillance and privacy hinges on the promise that surveillance provides security and helps solve more crimes. In Atlanta, the data does not back up that claim.

Atlanta’s ‘Cop City’ is open, but the controversy around it isn’t over. This week: • An anonymous Stop Cop City protester was identified after ProtonMail shared data with authorities. • Jack Mazurek reached a plea deal in the Atlanta police vehicle arson case. • There was a motions hearing to dismiss domestic terrorism charges in Dekalb County • And more than $2.8 million spent by Atlanta defending the project in court. #Atlanta #StopCopCity #CopCity #AtlantaPolitics #newsupdate

An independent local news outlet just shut down due to lack of funding. Atlanta is amid a battle over Mayor Andre Dickens’ $7.7 billion TAD extension plan, and Atlanta Civic Circle—the only newsroom with a dedicated affordable housing beat—won’t be there to help scrutinize the deal. This is how news deserts form: one newsroom closing at a time. We’ve seen in other cities that when newsrooms close, they are not easily replaced. Now is the time to support local news outlets. Only community funding can give us the stability to continue publishing.

Atlanta commissioned the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to conduct a resiliency study of the city’s drinking water infrastructure after major water main breaks left large parts of the city without access to clean drinking water for days in Summer 2024. Atlanta Watershed Commissioner Greg Eyerly presented the findings of that study to the City Utilities Committee last month. The bottom line: Atlanta is not spending anywhere near enough on replacing the city’s drinking water pipes, and, unless that changes, the number of water main breaks each year will continue to rise.

Atlanta City Council Member Jason Dozier introduced legislation to prohibit the use of certain city trust funds to pay for consultants or lobbyists after ACPC published an investigation into the mayor’s office spending over $370,000 on consultants in support of the Neighborhood Reinvestment Initiative. Check the link in bio for more.

The Southern Center for Human Rights filed a lawsuit against the city of Atlanta over a failure to turn over records used to advise the City Council on the city’s sale of the Atlanta City Detention Center.

Dunwoody City Council has delayed a vote on its Flock Safety contract twice following concerns raised about privacy, data sharing, and security. At recent meetings, residents questioned oversight, raised concerns about how data is shared across agencies, and pointed to potential vulnerabilities in the system. The proposal returns for a third time today.

The Connect Atlanta surveillance camera network has grown eightfold since 2021, and there are over 5,000 Flock license plate readers in the Metro Atlanta region, according to the crowd geomapping website deflock.org. Officials say these cameras are critical in solving crimes, but data from the FBI shows the Atlanta Police Department’s clearance rates from 2021 to 2025 have not increased apace with the growth of the camera network. #atlanta #flock #surveillance

Atlanta spent more than $370,000 on consultants tied to the mayor’s Neighborhood Reinvestment Initiative. Public records show those consultants helped shape messaging, outreach and public engagement around the $5.5 billion proposal. The same records also show some of them publicly supported the plan—speaking at meetings, appearing in city videos and posting online—without disclosing their financial ties to the city. The mayor’s office says there are no rules requiring that kind of disclosure. The plan is still pending before City Council. Read the full story at atlpresscollective.com and support investigations like this by becoming a monthly donor today.

Atlanta City Council will be holding budget hearings throughout the month of May. The mayor’s proposed budget for FY27 dedicates nearly a third of the city’s $995M budget to the police department. Does this budget align with the budgetary priorities you want to see in Atlanta?

Millions of dollars from Atlanta's tax allocation districts have gone to the Atlanta Police Foundation to help fund the city's 28,000+ surveillance camera network. The city council is considering a plan to extend the lifespan of six of the city's TADs to 2056—a plan that would raise an estimated $7.7 billion if the city, Fulton County and Atlanta Public Schools sign on.

Correction: The Barna case was in the Middle District of Pennsylvania. There is no Northern District of Pennsylvania. Georgia State Patrol troopers met Neil Sardana and Maggie Birgel at the security check point in a Georgia State Capitol auxiliary building to inform them that they were banned—under threat of arrest—from the premises and from attending Public Service Commission meetings. It had been ten months since activists disrupted a lame-duck meeting in protest of a deal that was ultimately approved for Georgia Power by the then all Republican Commission.

Join ACPC on Tuesday, July 1st for Flock Forum, a community event on Zoom. Our first guest is a member of SASSI (Southerners Against Surveillance Systems and Infrastructure), a collective across the South researching and mapping surveillance infrastructure. Free and open to all. RSVP link in our bio. #FlockSafety #AtlantaNews #LocalNews #FlockSurveillance #CivicEngagement #ACPC #AtlantaCommunityPressCollective #SASSI #AtlantaCivics #AtlantaEvent

A grand jury indicted three people in Cobb County over a 2022 protest tied to the “Cop City” project. Georgia AG Chris Carr alleges that the group damaged and set fire to part of a Brasfield & Gorrie building—the lead contractor on the project ect at the time. We’re working to obtain the full indictment—stay tuned for updates. #atlanta #copcity #stopcopcity

Amid Grant Park’s pick-up basketball games and families out for a stroll on Saturday afternoons is a curious cast of characters meeting to discuss ICE and other serious issues. From 2-4 p.m., the little group shares a tiny stage made from a cardboard box. They also share a voice box. They are the animal puppets of puppeteer Mary Eddie, a young organizer who has made The People’s Puppet Show her mission since mid-December. The Show’s mission is to use entertaining puppetry as a vehicle for informed conversations with neighbors about political issues affecting their everyday lives—and what they can do about it. Read the full story on atlpresscollective.com or click in the link in bio.

Dunwoody City Council has approved a $15,000 contract with police technology company Flock Safety after months of delays over security and privacy concerns. The vote comes after negotiations over data use, cybersecurity issues and revelations that Flock employees accessed private camera feeds connected to the city’s network. Most residents who spoke on the contract during public comment sessions voiced their disapproval. The city council also approved a new master services agreement—the overarching contract that governs its relationship with Flock. The new agreement is intended to address some of the concerns raised by residents and city officials. by @mattacpc photos by @maybud12 Read more at the link in bio.

From Aug. 16 to Aug. 22 organizers, both new and experienced, are holding events across the country for the National Week of Action Against Automated License Plate Readers.

Photo story by Alyssa Pointer. Slide 1: (left) Bobby H., shows a sign he uses when asking people for money at a stop light on Windsor Street in Atlanta. (right) People attending a FIFA Fan Festival watch a soccer match between Brazil and Scotland at Centennial Olympic Park in Atlanta, June 24, 2026. Atlanta has one of the most visited FIFA Fan Festival designated sites within the three countries hosting the events. Slide 2: (top) Atlanta Policing Alternatives and Diversion Initiatives (PAD) workers hand out food during a July 4 cookout. (bottom) PAD workers and volunteers and interns pack up food after hosting an Independence Day cookout at their facility. Slide 3: (top) Fans and supporters of the Morocco soccer team celebrate after the team beat Haiti during a FIFA World Cup match in Atlanta, June 24, 2026. (bottom) People leave Mercedes Benz Stadium following the Morocco/Haiti match. Slide 4: (top) Items left behind at a now-cleared unsheltered encampment located feet away from The Beacon on Cooper, a rapid housing residential property created for members of Atlanta’s unhoused community in Atlanta. (bottom) The remnants of the unsheltered encampment. Slide 5: The exterior of the Beacon on Cooper, a rapid housing residential property created for members of Atlanta’s unhoused community Slide 6: (top) An individual eats during an Independence Day cookout at the PAD headquarters. PAD is serving free meals during their extended hours of operation with the FIFA World Cup. (bottom) A sign displayed in the lobby of PAD shows their extended hours during the FIFA World Cup. Slide 7: Morocco fans celebrate after their team’s victory over Haiti. Slide 8: Bobby H. asks drivers to spare money near a stop light on Windsor Street. Bobby is living at the Gateway Center, a residential program for the unhoused, after a divorce left him living unsheltered. The Gateway Center helped Bobby secure employment but did not provide immediate bus fare. His job is located in Lithonia and bus far costs about $30 per week. In addition to the bus fare, Bobby provides financial assistance to his daughter and her two children.

Photo story by @alyssapointerphoto Click link in bio for the full story. As people from far and wide come to Atlanta to watch the 2026 FIFA World Cup, local organizers have raised questions about the city’s readiness to handle the influx of visitors while ensuring the city’s at-risk residents are cared for. David (fourth panel), 57, is one of those residents. He said he has faced intermittent bouts of homelessness over the past three years. Last year, the city launched its Atlanta Rising plan to end unsheltered homelessness for 400 unhoused residents ahead of the World Cup. Partners for Home, the nonprofit charged with carrying out the city’s homelessness initiatives, claims to have housed over 400 unsheltered residents. On Friday morning, David washed his clothes with a bar of soap beside Atlanta Rescue Fire Station 1 before heading to a nearby church for breakfast.

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Photo story by @alyssapointerphoto Click link in bio for the full story.