Complacency with Crime and Dupont Public Safety/PSA 306 Meeting Reminder

Reminder: Dupont Public Safety Meeting/PSA 306 is Tuesday April 16th at 7pm at the 3^rd District Metropolitan Police Dept Headquarters at 1620 V Street. (Held on the 3^rd Tuesdays for Dupont and Kalorama-Sheridan issues.) Our community depends on good communications to and from our police. This is a roundtable meeting where we problem-solve. Bring an issue – no matter how minor. Or email me or our lieutenants to submit items for discussion.

 

Think about bringing an at-risk kid who might benefit from positive communications with police.

 

Complacency Warning: Try putting your various addresses (work, school, the bar you may wander out of late at night) into this crime mapping tool and compare incident totals: http://crimemap.dc.gov/presentation/query.asp. Someone moving from Foggy Bottom to Dupont searched at 1500 feet for last 60 days for both addresses. The Dupont house showed 68 crimes with 10 being violent and the Foggy Bottom 27 with 0 being violent.  Who’d have thought there would be such a major difference? That made me think that we get used to the crime we have around here.

 

Improving our crime problem starts by getting aware, asking questions as to why we have so much, and coming up with solutions for reducing it. If we had more people involved, we could better advocate for more resources. (Although PSA 306 seems to have better staff now than in recent memory.)  If Dupont had someone who advocated like Jim Graham does for Adams Morgan, we’d have more police presence.  (Of course, police presence is only part of the equation.) Get to know your neighborhood, neighbors, police, prosecutors, judges, business owners, school teachers, and politicians. As Thomas Jefferson said, "Eternal vigilance is the price of Liberty."

 

 

Rob Halligan

 

 

 

 

Complacency with Crime and Dupont Public Safety/PSA 306 Meeting Reminder

Reminder: Dupont Public Safety Meeting/PSA 306 is Tuesday April 16th at 7pm at the 3^rd District Metropolitan Police Dept Headquarters at 1620 V Street. (Held on the 3^rd Tuesdays for Dupont and Kalorama-Sheridan issues.) Our community depends on good communications to and from our police. This is a roundtable meeting where we problem-solve. Bring an issue – no matter how minor. Or email me or our lieutenants to submit items for discussion.

 

Think about bringing an at-risk kid who might benefit from positive communications with police.

 

Complacency Warning: Try putting your various addresses (work, school, the bar you may wander out of late at night) into this crime mapping tool and compare incident totals: http://crimemap.dc.gov/presentation/query.asp. Someone moving from Foggy Bottom to Dupont searched at 1500 feet for last 60 days for both addresses. The Dupont house showed 68 crimes with 10 being violent and the Foggy Bottom 27 with 0 being violent.  Who’d have thought there would be such a major difference? That made me think that we get used to the crime we have around here.

 

Improving our crime problem starts by getting aware, asking questions as to why we have so much, and coming up with solutions for reducing it. If we had more people involved, we could better advocate for more resources. (Although PSA 306 seems to have better staff now than in recent memory.)  If Dupont had someone who advocated like Jim Graham does for Adams Morgan, we’d have more police presence.  (Of course, police presence is only part of the equation.) Get to know your neighborhood, neighbors, police, prosecutors, judges, business owners, school teachers, and politicians. As Thomas Jefferson said, "Eternal vigilance is the price of Liberty."

 

 

Rob Halligan

 

 

 

Feel free to forward and to have associates ask to get on this list. Please advise if you’d like to be dropped from this list.

 

 

 

Dupont Public Safety/PSA 306 Meeting and Updated Links

Reminder:

 

Dupont Public Safety Meeting/PSA 306 is Tuesday March 20th at 7pm at the 3^rd District Metropolitan Police Dept Headquarters at 1620 V Street. (Held on 3^rd Tuesdays for Dupont and Kalorama-Sheridan issues.) Our community depends on good communications to and from our police. This is a roundtable meeting where we problem-solve. Bring an issue – no matter how minor. Or email me or our lieutenants items for discussion.

 

Think about bringing an at-risk kid who might benefit from positive communications with police.

 

 

Selected Crime:

 

March 6^th the dry cleaners on S at 18th was robbed at gun point. Last I heard the suspect is still at large.

 

March 18^th, 1933 18th Street NW a gun robbery occurred at 8:15 PM:  Suspect entered the market (El Betel Market) and stated open the register while displaying a silver handgun.  Taken was $250 in cash.  No injuries reported. 

 

Yesterday we had an assault in the 1800 block of S Street NW.  The Defendant approached the victim and struck him several times for no reason.  The victim did not know the defendant and the attack was totally random.  3D officers canvassed the area which resulted in the arrest of the defendant at 13 and R Street NW.  It appears the defendant is not mentally stable. The victim was not seriously injured.

 

Crime stats and incidents can be seen at http://www.crimeindc.org/ and http://crimemap.dc.gov/presentation/intro.asp.

 

This listserv has been getting more active: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/MPD-3d/. MPD posts to that and responds to inquiries.

 

You can get MPD contact info here: http://mpdc.dc.gov/mpdc/cwp/view,a,1239,q,545016.asp (We are PSA 306).

 

 

 

Rob Halligan

 

 

Feel free to forward and to have associates ask to get on this list. Please advise if you’d like to be dropped from this list.

 

 

FW: Update... some good news... keep up the pressure... public meetings

In the below update, Matt Rhoades covers everything I had planned to send out and more in an update sent to a new East Dupont Group we’re calling Borderstan. The meeting announcements are Item 6. The Dupont Public Safety meeting tomorrow night and a Shaw meeting the Mayor, the new Chief, and CM Evans is Wed.

 

Rob Halligan

 

From: Border Stan [mailto:borderstan@hotmail.com]
Sent: Saturday, February 17, 2007 1:10 PM
Subject: Update... some good news... keep up the pressure... public meetings

 

To: Borderstan Neighbors

 

From: Chen, Julie and Matt

 

Please forward this e-mail to Borderstan neighbors and friends
who you believe want to be added to this e-mail list.

Borderstan: P to R Street and 14th to 16th Street NW

 

In this E-mail

1. Police Contact Information

2. Crime Statistics: Some good news from Lt. Scott Dignan

3. The Statistics: What they don't include (and how you can help)

4. Reporting Drug Activity

5. Leafleting

6. Public Meetings -- try to attend one (keep up the pressure for Borderstan)

7. Report from February 7 ANC 2F Meeting

8. Links to Information

Police Contact Information

• PSA 306 Commander: Lt. Scott Dignan, scott.dignan@dc.gov or cell 202-213-6001

• PSA 307 Commander: Lt. Michael Smith, mike.smith@dc.gov or 202-673-7401

• PSA 306, Sgt. John McDonald, johnc.mcdonald@dc.gov

• Focus Mission Unit (drugs): Officer Wilfredo Manlapaz, wilfredo.manlapaz@dc.gov

• MPD 3rd District Commander: Commander Larry McCoy, 202-673-6820

• Mayor's Ward 2 Liaison: Sean Howard, sean.howard@dc.gov or 202-727-1000

Crime Statistics: Lt. Dignan's Report

Here is some good news from the PSA 306 commander, Lt. Scott Dignan:

• "I received the crime statistics and they show violent crimes (Homicides, Sexual Assaults, Robberies, and Assault with a Dangerous Weapon) are down by -58% in PSA 306 and -33% in PSA 307.

• "These numbers are based on a thirty day comparison (December 2006 and January 2007). With that said it does not reflect the fear of crime in your neighborhood. The only way to judge this is from what I hear from you.

• "I have established two new beats in the neighborhood. First a permanent foot patrol, Officer Alton, who works the 3 pm to 11 pm shift with Tuesday and Wednesdays as his days off.

• "Also, I have directed some additional resources from the power shift (8 pm to 4 am) and they are to focus on the alleys, small walkways and engage those who seem to be out of place. Currently, the power shift has four officers assigned, all from 306 and 307.

• "In the near future I would like to have a mountain bike patrol and more foot patrols in the Borderstan area. Currently I have one PSA 306 officer scheduled to attend mountain bike training at the end of the month. Once he is trained he will be out in the neighborhood." -- Lt. Scott Dignan  

The Statistics

• Unreported drug activity. In addition, it is important to remember that these are reported crimes. The statistics cannot reflect unreported drug dealing and public drug use -- one of the biggest problems we have had in Borderstan. It is up to us to report suspicious activity, especially drug-related activity.

• What next? Lt. Dignan (and Lt. Smith in PSA 307-West Borderstan) needs our help to keep resources in Borderstan. Remember that attending public meetings is an important way of lobbying our public officials. Attendance at the January 27 PSA 306-307 meeting at district headquarters was quite good -- and it was noted.

Reporting Drug Activity

IMPORTANT! If you see drug suspect drug activity (one-time or on-going), report it to the "Mission Focus Unit," in addition to telling Lt. Scott Dignan. Officer Wilfredo Manlapaz is head of the Mission Focus Unit: wilfredo.manlapaz@dc.gov. This is one of the major problems we have had in Borderstan in the past year.

Leafleting

We have done some leafleting in the Borderstan microhood, leaving a flyer and safety tips on about 1/3 of the doorsteps or mailboxes that are accessible. To date, we have received eight new members for the e-mail list. Volunteers are most welcome!

Upcoming Public Meetings

1. PSA 306 Monthly Meeting: Tuesday, February 20 at 7:00 p.m. at 3rd District Headquarters at 1620 V Street NW. Meet our local patrol officers, including Lt. Dignan -- an excellent opportunity to point out concerns and issues specific to our microhood of Borderstan. Even if you live in East Borderstan in PSA 307 (east of 15th Street), you should attend.

2. Special Public Safety Meeting: Wednesday, February 21, 6 to 8 p.m. Council Member Jack Evans is hosting a special public safety meeting at United House of Prayer at 601 M Street NW. New Police Chief Cathy Lanier and Mayor Adrian Fenty will attend. This is an opportunity to bring public safety issues in our neighborhood, ward and city to light.

3. Dupont Circle Citizens Association Monthly Meeting: Monday, March 5 at 7:30 p.m. at the Anderson House, Society of the Cincinnati at 2118 Massachusetts Avenue NW. Mayor Fenty and Council Member Jack Evans will attend. This is another opportunity to bring public safety issues in our neighborhood, ward and city to light.

4. Meeting with Borderstan Churches: There is a special meeting on Saturday, March 3 at 4 p.m. at the Foundry United Methodist Church, corner of 16th and P Streets NW. Borderstan residents will meet with representatives of local churches and city officials to discuss the arrangements that churches make for homeless people -- and the relationship to public safety.

ANC2F Meeting: Feb. 7

The DCist Web site has a good summary of the Feb. 7 monthly meeting of the ANC 2F/Logan Circle meeting. Police Chief Lanier and a number of the MPD officers who serve Borderstan attended.

Links to Information

• The D.C. Metropolitan Police Department home page

• MPD 3rd District and PSAs

• ANC 2B /Dupont Circle home page. The single-member district commissioner for West Borderstan (west of 15th Street) is Ryan Butler.

• ANC 2F / Logan Circle home page. The single-member district commissioner for East Borderstan (east of 15th Street) is Charles Reed (chairman of ANC 2F).

 

 

Special Dupont Public Safety Meeting

The Dupont Public Safety meeting is being held at its usual time but in a different location than usual:

 

Tuesday at 7pm at Omega. Omega is a bar (or club) that is located in a carriage house in the alley named Twining Court. That alley is in between the streets of O, 22^nd, P and 21^st.

 

We moved this one meeting to Omega primarily to deal with some crime issues over there. If folks from other parts of the neighborhood wish to discuss other issues, we could have a break out session. The previous meeting we held at Omega was well-attended and resulted in the solving of several problems such as lighting issues that contributed to crime and to the MPD setting up an observation post on a roof-top that resulted in the break up of a drug dealing ring.

Lt. Dignan has come up with an agenda that has the topics of burglaries, effects of P Street streetscape, drug dealing, any further issues with school kids misbehaving on their way to the subway, P Street beach issues, etc.

 

Come out if you have anything that can help the police help us.

 

Wayne Bridgeforth did get arrested twice this week by Officers Servis and Clemens. Hopefully, the judge will hold him until trial.

 

Rob Halligan

 

If you don’t want to be on the Dupont Public Safety list just ask to be removed. Please forward to neighbors and businesses that may benefit. If you want to add someone just ask.

Dupont Public Safety/PSA 306 Meeting Reminder

Reminder:

 

Dupont Public Safety Meeting/PSA 306 is Tuesday December 19th at 7pm at the 3^rd District Metropolitan Police Dept Headquarters at 1620 V Street. (Held on 3^rd Tuesdays for Dupont and Kalorama-Sheridan issues.) Our community depends on good communications to and from our police. This is a roundtable meeting where we problem-solve. Bring an issue – no matter how minor. Or email me or our lieutenants items for discussion.

 

 

Rob Halligan

 

 

Feel free to forward and to have associates ask to get on this list. Please advise if you’d like to be dropped from this list.

 

Public Safety Lookout and Request for Action

1) Last week’s City Paper well-summarized how I feel about the apparent inability of our justice system to effectively function for repeat minor offenses. There have been 26 cases against Nathan Johnson (mostly for breaking into cars around Dupont) in the past 6 years. I’ve personally witnessed him breaking into a car and got him arrested for it. He could be responsible for half the car break ins in the neighborhood. How the US Attorney and our judges have allowed this to continue is beyond me. The US Attorney’s Community Prosecutor liaison wants us to send Community Impact Statements to her, Marilyn Morey (Marilyn.Morey@usdoj.gov), in the next few days. Those statements will get to the judge for Johnson’s upcoming sentencing.

 

Dupont Forum Members (who get the emails in digest form) can get the file attached Community Impact form file at http://groups.yahoo.com/group/DupontForum/files/. For others, the form is attached.

 

What we really need is to get the legislature to pass law making it a felony to break into a car and to ratchet up the sentencing so that someone convicted of breaking into cars numerous times goes to jail for a long, long time. Please write CM Phil Mendelson (PMendelson@dccouncil.us), the Chair of the Judiciary Committee asking for that new law.

 

http://www.washingtoncitypaper.com/display.php?state=new&id=268&navCenterTop

 

 

2) These incidents were a bit out of our area but close enough warrant attention:

 

November 29, 2006
SEXUAL ASSAULT SUSPECT (S) SOUGHT
The Metropolitan Police Department is seeking the public's assistance to identify and locate the person or persons responsible for a series of sexual assaults. It must be emphasized that there is no conclusive evidence they are related, however the suspect descriptions in these cases appears to be similar.
In each case, the suspect has reportedly grabbed a female victim while walking and subsequently attempted to sexually assault the victims. In two (2) of the incidents, the suspect reportedly produced a knife. It appears at this time that none of the victims were physically injured.
The reported incidents are as follows:

1. Monday, November 27, 2006- at approximately 5:25 p.m. in the 500 block of U Street, N.W.
2. Tuesday, November 28, 2006- at approximately 4:30 p.m. in the 400 block of Elm Street, N.W. ( knife used)
3. Tuesday, November 28, 2006- at approximately 4:20 p.m. in the 400 block of T Street, N.W.
4. Tuesday, November 28, 2006- sometime between 4:00 p.m. and 5:00 p.m. in the 400 block of Warner Street, N.W. (knife used)

In each of these cases the suspect has been described as a black male, between 18 and 21 years old, 5'6" to 5"10 "tall, light to medium complexion with a short cut "Afro" hairstyle. The suspect is further described as having beady or squinty eyes and may have something wrong with his mouth or jaw. The subject was described as wearing a gray hooded sweatshirt with black stripes, a long sleeve tee shirt and blue jeans. This subject should be considered armed and dangerous.
Anyone who has information regarding these cases is asked to call police at (202) 727-9099.
Inspector Patrick A. Burke
Metropolitan Police Dept. Washington, DC
Third District Sub-Station
750 Park Rd. NW Washington, DC 20010
Office: 202 576-7447
Fax: 202 576-3350
E-Mail: Patrick.Burke@dc.gov <mailto:Patrick.Burke@dc.gov>
Commitment to Excellence!

 

You can read this story and view a composite sketch of the suspect on CSNA's website at http://csnadc.org. Thanks Bryan Martin Firvida.

 

3) The Ward 2 Dems are sponsoring a Public Safety forum Saturday 9am – 4pm at the Foundry Methodist.