Crime in Petworth - A Special Report

Last night, the Kleiner and the Kleinette attended a special Ward 4 community meeting at the MPDC Northern Regional Operation Command center hosted by Ward 4 Councilwoman Muriel Bowser held in response to a spate of recent shootings, and centered around a question-and-answer session with MPDC Chief of Police Cathy Lanier. Let us begin by saying that the most remarkable fact of the meeting was probably its very occurrence; that the police and the politicians responsible for the safety of the area would feel it necessary to hold such a meeting in response to violence that, as recently as a few years ago, would probably have been considered par for the course in the neighborhood in question.  This demonstrates both  increased civic engagement on the part of the neighborhood's residents and increased responsiveness to public opinion and welfare on the part of the responsible insitutions. In the face of the saddening violence in our community, these kinds of meetings are positive for the future of Washington, D.C.

Brief remarks from Councilwoman Bowser commenced the meeting that began roughly on time and was attended by roughly 75 citizens representing a diverse cross-section of gender, race, and age. In attendance beyond Bowser and Chief Lanier were Lt. Michael Farish of Homicide, several ANC Members, representatives of Metro Police, the Ward 4 Safety Advisory Council, and the entire 4D Command Staff. Also present were multiple reporters taking notes and two television cameras, one handheld and one mounted. The cameraman operating the tripod-mounted camera said his footage would be distributed to Channels 4, 5, and 9.

Councilwoman Bowser quickly ceded the floor to Chief Lanier, who opened by discussing the details of the three recent incidents in question:

• A nighttime shooting in the parking lot of the Safeway at 3830 Georgia Ave NW, in which an assailant emerged from behind the Safeway, directly approached a group of youths in the parking lot, fired one shot that struck and killed 15-year-old, then ran away. Chief Lanier said she was at the scene within 10 minutes of the incident.
• A homicide on the 1200 Block of Crittenden St. NW about which the police are still gathering evidence.
• A police chase on Uphsur St. NW in which a Segway-mounted police gave chase after 3-4 shots were reported during an attempted auto theft. The police reportedly abandonded their Segway to pursue on foot and fired a single shot, which struck an armed suspect in the shoulder. The suspect managed to re-acquire their weapon and run off, but Chief Lanier pointed to two arrests made in relation to this incident.

Chief Lanier stated that the police have no evidence connecting these incidents.

Chief Lanier over the course of roughly 45-60 minutes of questioning, managed to project responsiveness to, and empathy with, the concerns of the citizens present, while also pointing to several programs and statistics the Chief beleived demonstrated effective police efforts. Unfortunately, the venue was a large gymnasium, so even though only the front third of the room was being used, the echo and lack of electronic amplification made it difficult to clearly hear all the questions being asked or the entirety of Chief Lanier's responses, but we feel we captured a clear-enough picture to report interesting dicussions and findings.

Some of the programs and methods Chief Lanier pointed to were:

• Police analysis of gunshot incidents in which no individuals were struck.
• Undercover operations involving Vice and Intelligence in Districts 3 & 4.
• Anonymous tiplines: 1-888-919-CRIME for calls, 40511 for texts (VIOLENT CRIME ONLY).
• Non-anonymous cash reward tipline: 202-727-9099.
• Prioritization of violent crime (Chief Lanier noted that MPDC does not pursue civil immigration violations).
• Monitoring of "hot spots" with crime cameras and regular foot patrols.
• Cameras
• 14th & Quincy St. NW
• 3700 Block Georgia Ave NW
• 4th & Shepherd St NW
• Foot patrols
• 3700-4000 Blocks GA Ave - 8AM-4:30PM
• Crestwood (Mountain Bike) - Noon-8PM
• 14th St. & Spring Rd. - Noon-8PM
• 3700 Block GA Ave - Noon-8PM

The most notable statistic cited by Chief Lanier was that homicides in the District are currently one-third lower this year over last, which would lead to the lowest annual homicide rate in DC in 30 years. This statistic was later confirmed (more on that below).

The residents brought a number of major concerns to the attention of Chief Lanier, most notable of which were:

• Gang violence and the cycle of violence in which young residents are recruited into territorial gangs.
• In reponse to this Chief Lanier cited a large increase in gang-related arrests attributable to a greater focus on undercover operations and intelligence gathering.
• "Nuisance properties" where high volumes of drug- and drug-related crimes are committed.
• Chief Lanier noted that the police keep a list of such properties and are working with the Attorney General to find ways to seize such properties.
• The dearth of cameras necessary to watch dangerous areas, leading to cameras being moved regularly.
• In response to this, Chief Lanier cited a $26,000 per-camera cost, but did not break that cost down into equipment, installation, maintenance, or monitoring costs.
• The inability to keep regular offenders off the streets.
• This seemed to be one of the most pressing concerns of the attending citizens, along with the persistence of the "nuisance properties," which one citizen said contributed to an "atomosphere of lawlesness." Chief Lanier's reponse to this was interesting - she encouraged ordinary citizens to contact prosecutors and judges, primarily through letter-writing campaigns, regarding specific individuals who the community feels the justice system has been too lax on, specifically singling out AUSA Jelahn Stewart, the DOJ Community Prosecutor for 4D. The inability of the DC justice system to keep arrested individuals, even individuals arrested with handguns, off the streets seems a ripe target for further investigation.

For the most part, the questioning was direct and serious, but civil; one resident thanked the police for their hard work and nobody registered any disapproval, and at no point was there any yelling, argumentative exchanges or cross-talk. The residents demonstrated some clear and pressing concerns, to which Chief Lanier seemed-equipped to respond and put in a proper perspective. After an hour of questioning, Chief Lanier left and Councilwoman Bowser handed the floor to two representatives of Metro police. By this point, however, roughly a third to half of the present citizens had left, so the Kleiner and Kleinette decided to exit as well.

However, we were lucky enough to have an off-the-record conversation with a senior police official outside the ROC as we made our way to the Georgia Ave-Petworth Metro station. The official confirmed the one-third year-over-year reduction, but expressed a healthy degree of wariness rather than citing their own achievements, specifically citing other cities which saw similar drops followed by large increases in homicides. The official also offered more personal thoughts, relating common-sense strategies for young residents to reduce the risk of becoming victims of crime:

• Don't flash expensive electronics or listen to music players or phones when walking late at night.
• Don't walk around alone and drunk.
• Make eye contact with individuals you pass on the street.

The official also expressed a personal belief that the cycle of crime and violence was organically terminating. They specifically singled out the Petworth area as an area that was once a working-class but stable and livable neighborhood as one where the children and grandchildren of those working-class blacks that built the neighborhood fell into a cyclical pattern of drugs, crime, and violence, but that the trend was slowing to a halt and showing the beginning signs of reversal.

The information handed out by Councilwoman Bowser noted that a "Status Meeting" would be held December 3rd, 2009; if you found this report informative and interesting, let us know, as it will encourage us to continue attending similar meetings. Also - please let us know any context you may have to this meeting that will help everyone to gain a larger perspective on trends in our community.  Is there anything that we missed?