WHERE CRIME LIVES

30318: Atlanta ZIP Code Rates No. 1 For Residents In State Prisons

Two menacing Rottweilers sleep in the northwest Atlanta home of Dexter
Callahan and his 76-year-old mother. Iron burglar bars cover the windows
and doors.

"There's a lot of bad folks in this neighborhood," says Callahan, 35. "They
stole a Santa Claus and a wreath . . ."

". . . right next door," his mother says, finishing the sentence.

Forget about Beverly Hills 90210. This is Atlanta 30318, arguably the
meanest address in Georgia.

A recent analysis by the state Department of Corrections found more Georgia
prison inmates come from 30318 than any other of the state's 965 ZIP codes.
Currently, 1,352 inmates in Georgia claim 30318 on Atlanta's northwest side
as their address, almost 2 percent of the state's prison population.

The analysis shows that just 25 ZIP codes in Georgia --- less than 3
percent of the total --- produce 25 percent of the state's inmate
population. Most of the ZIP codes are in urban areas heavily populated by
minorities and racked by poverty, low education levels and single-parent
households. Atlanta alone accounts for seven of the 25 ZIP codes.

Still, the No. 1 ranking for 30318 surprised Larry Perrino, a probation
officer who has dealt with thousands of convicted felons in the area during
his 25-year career.

"The 30318 ZIP code is made up of different demographics, you have affluent
black communities in that ZIP code as well as low-economic housing,"
Perrino said. The ZIP code isn't only Perrino's territory, it's also home.

'Choose Freedom'

The Department of Corrections did not compile the data simply out of
curiosity, or to stigmatize those communities. Prison officials are
starting a program in those ZIP codes dubbed "Choose Freedom" aimed at
reducing the number of people placed in state custody.

"We want to begin a community outreach program that targets these at-risk
communities in a preventative fashion, so what we're really going after are
the kids," said Brian Owens, executive assistant to state Corrections
Commissioner James Donald.

Owens said Donald asked his staff researchers, Tim Carr and Sarah
Spaulding, to compile the data after attending a November speech in Atlanta
by comedian Bill Cosby. Donald was inspired by Cosby's message of taking
responsibility for problems in the African-American community, which ---
coincidentally --- was delivered at Frederick Douglass High School, ZIP
code 30318.

"We know where the problem is, so why --- as Mr. Cosby says --- aren't we
more proactive in stemming the causes of the problem?" Donald said in an
interview Friday. Donald said he borrowed the "Choose Freedom" theme from a
similar campaign in New Jersey.

The prison system will soon begin running print, radio and television
public service ads throughout the state warning young people about the
consequences of crime and the realities of prison. It will use real-life
testimonials from convicts to drive home the point. The department hasn't
budgeted extra money for the program, but instead hopes to rely on existing
resources and the generosity of public and private donors and sponsors.

"Our kids aren't educated about what happens to you if you commit an
offense in this state," Owens said. "They don't realize that for the seven
deadly sins [murder, kidnapping, rape, aggravated sodomy, aggravated sexual
battery, aggravated child molestation and armed robbery] you do a minimum
of 10 years' hard time in this state."

Housing projects

It's easy to see why ZIP code 30318 produces more prison inmates than
anywhere else in Georgia. Inside its borders are some of the city's most
notorious housing projects, including Bankhead Courts, Hollywood Courts,
Bowen Homes and Herndon Homes.

Corrections Department data, some of it culled from Census Bureau
statistics, shows that 31 percent of the ZIP code's residents live below
the poverty line. Sixteen percent of its residents are single women with
children younger than 18. Only 8 percent are married couples with children
younger than 18.

Oscar Wright, 37, knows he has been part of the problem. The Bowen Homes
resident has done prison time for cocaine possession. Wright is on probation.

"All I did was help bring it [the neighborhood] down by what I was out
there pushing . . . I don't take any joy in that," Wright said this week
during a visit by Perrino, his probation officer.

Wright wasn't surprised to learn that the streets of 30318 are a breeding
ground for felons. "Drugs, prostitution, stealing cars --- within a 2-mile
radius, all that's going on right now, as we speak," said Wright, who is
now working as a commercial painter.

Wright said he is working hard to change his lifestyle and overcome his
mistakes. He said he often talks to young neighbors about his poor choices.

Taking different paths

Down the street from Wright's home, in the shadow of the Georgia Dome, is
"the Bluff." The garbage-strewn, graffiti-marked neighborhood of
dilapidated homes gained infamy in 1997, when 13-year-old Michael Lewis,
who went by the street name "Little B," shot to death a man waiting in a
car with his two small children outside a convenience store.

The 13-year-old had survived on the streets, unsupervised by adults,
skipping school and dealing drugs. Lewis, once a resident of 30318, is now
serving a life sentence in a maximum-security prison.

It's not uncommon to see able-bodied young men congregate on street corners
and front porches in the middle of the day in some 30318 neighborhoods ---
some of them talking on cellphones.

"What folks do you know that just sit outdoors" in cold weather, Perrino
asks as he steers through Bowen Homes. "See those two standing right
there?" Perrino points to two men standing outside a laundromat. "They're
selling dope."

When Perrino stops to pump gas at a station on Donald Lee Hollowell
Parkway, an addled woman begs him for change. The woman is incoherent, with
ragged clothes, disheveled hair and bad teeth --- probably strung out on
drugs. "I went to high school with her," Perrino, dressed in a dark suit
with a shiny badge hanging from a chain around his neck, says with sadness
in his voice. "We graduated in the same class."

Perrino requires his probationers --- convicted felons sentenced by a judge
to attend group sessions twice a month. They talk about topics vital to
keeping probationers out of trouble, including employment, child support,
HIV and AIDS education and marital relationships. When Perrino visits
probationers at home, he asks if they're working, staying out of trouble
and keeping up with their responsibilities.

But Perrino knows what he's up against. It's difficult for a $6-an-hour job
loading boxes in a warehouse to compete with the lure of a quick $600
earned selling drugs.

"It's an uphill battle to get people to understand it's not the thing to
do," Perrino said. "Just one bust can mess up your life."

THE TOP 25 ZIP CODES OF GEORGIA PRISONERS

Out of the state's 965 ZIP codes, these 25 contribute 25 percent of the
state's prison population.

1. Atlanta (30318)

2. Savannah (31401)

3. Atlanta (30315)

4. Decatur (30032)

5. Augusta (30906)

6. Milledgeville (31061)

7. Augusta (30901)

8. Atlanta (30310)

9. Griffin (30223)

10. Atlanta (30316)

11. Rome (30161)

12. Albany (31701)

13. Savannah (31404)

14. Valdosta (31601)

15. Savannah (31405)

16. Atlanta (30314)

17. Atlanta (30331)

18. Brunswick (31520)

19. Marietta (30060)

20. Columbus (31906)

21. Atlanta (30311)

22. Columbus (31903)

23. Columbus (31907)

24. Waycross (31501)

25. Albany (31705)

Source: Carr & Spaulding

Graphic includes map locating the ZIP codes mentioned in the text and inset
map highlighting 30318 in Atlanta. / WALTER CUMMING / Staff

TOP 25 ZIP CODES

ZIP Code / Area...... No. of inmates.. Percentage of population below
poverty level

1...30318 / Atlanta........ 1,352..................31

2...31401 / Savannah........1,244..................39

3...30315 / Atlanta........ 1,188..................41

4...30032 / Decatur........ 1,144..................16

5...30906 / Augusta........ 1,090..................18

6...31061 / Milledgeville.. 1,088..................17

7...30901 / Augusta........ 1,012..................45

8...30310 / Atlanta.......... 964..................30

9...30223 / Griffin.......... 912..................18

10. 30316 / Atlanta.......... 860..................22

11. 30161 / Rome..............826..................16

12. 31701 / Albany............774..................38

13. 31404 / Savannah..........750..................21

14. 31601 / Valdosta..........732..................31

15. 31405 / Savannah..........708..................16

16. 30314 / Atlanta.......... 686..................37

17. 30331 / Atlanta.......... 678..................19

18. 31520 / Brunswick........ 616..................27

19. 30060 / Marietta..........602..................17

20. 31906 / Columbus..........560..................23

21. 30311 / Atlanta.......... 556..................25

22. 31903 / Columbus..........552..................32

23. 31907 / Columbus..........552..................10

24. 31501 / Waycross..........532..................25

25. 31705 / Albany............532..................29

Source: Georgia Department of Corrections