Does Atlanta need to change the way it reports car break-ins?

ATLANTA - Car break-ins are among the most difficult for police to solve.

In Atlanta, officers question the way they are instructed to compile the cases and they said a change is needed to give citizens a more accurate picture of what is going on.

At issues is an upscale condo in Buckhead, three prowlers captured on video damaged 19 vehicles searching for items to snatch. When the officer made his report, he wrote it out with one case number because all of the larcenies occurred in the same vicinity and address. The director of the Atlanta Police Union said some officers are complaining, believing the practice does not give citizens a true picture of crime.

A spokesman for Chief Erica Shields said the way APD compiles stats is not unusual and is permitted under the FBI reporting guidelines.