Reminder:
Dupont Public Safety Meeting/PSA 306 is Tuesday December 19th at 7pm at the 3rd District Metropolitan Police Dept Headquarters at
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.
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,
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
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
2. Tuesday, November 28, 2006- at approximately 4:30 p.m. in the 400 block of
3. Tuesday, November 28, 2006- at approximately 4:20 p.m. in the 400 block of
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.
Third District Sub-Station
Office: 202 576-7447
Fax: 202 576-3350
E-Mail: Patrick.Burke@
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.
Dupont Public Safety Meeting/PSA 306 is Tuesday November 21st at 7pm at the 3rd District Metropolitan Police Dept Headquarters at
Between the front page of the Post article last month on crime in the neighborhoods surrounding us and the new crime statistic website that should freak out anyone who does a search for crimes within 1000 feet of their house, school, bar, or work, I hope that motivated people to get involved in working with our policing agencies. You can now get a personalized mapping of the crimes around you or any where in the city. (http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/10/12/AR2006101201813.html) (http://crimemap.dc.gov/presentation/query.asp)
Mayor-elect Adrian Fenty Names Pick for DC Police* See below.
I’ve started to post the Public Safety list emails to a blog at http://dupontpublicsafety.blogspot.com/. I’ve got 2003 up there and hope to get to posting the rest of my past blasts.
An issue that I’ve been on for years (the abandoned house-related crime on Willard) got some coverage:
http://www.washingtoncitypaper.com/citydesk/2006/09/follow-that-story-pop-squatters.html
Interesting story possibly relating to the Swann murder:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/11/16/AR2006111601632.html
Nathan Johnson who has been convicted of breaking into numerous cars in Dupont. He’s been arrested again, released again, and not has not shown up for his court date again. So there is probably another warrant out for his arrest (picture attached.) We are fools to tolerate this. The US Attorney is ineffectual. The laws aren’t adequate so that the courts can get away with sentencing him as lightly as they have. If the Community Prosecutors office gets back to me with the details of the trial, I’ll ask for Community impact statements from you. More to follow on this.
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.
* Mayor-elect Adrian Fenty Names Pick for DC Police Chief MPD Cmdr. Cathy Lanier brings expertise in local policing and homeland security.
WASHINGTON-Today, DC Mayor-elect Adrian Fenty announced that he has asked 16-year law enforcement veteran and Metropolitan Police Department Homeland Security Commander Cathy Lanier to serve as the city's next chief of police.
"Commander Lanier has superbly served the residents of the
"I am honored that Mayor-elect Fenty has entrusted me with the safety and security of the citizens of the
Commander Lanier has been with the Metropolitan Police Department for more than 16 years and currently serves as the Commanding Officer of the Office of Homeland Security & Counter-Terrorism. Working out of the Office of the Chief of Police, she has taken the lead role in developing and implementing coordinated counter-terrorism strategies for all units within the department. In this position, she has been responsible for all counter-terrorism operations, including investigations in partnership with the FBI Joint Terrorist Task Force; developing and implementing all field training exercises, as well as conducting risk assessments and critical infrastructure protection of key sites within the nation's capital.
Prior to her current assignment, Commander Lanier served as the Commanding Officer of the Department's Special Operations Division (SOD) for four years where she managed members of the Emergency Response Team; Explosive Ordinance Unit; Aviation and Harbor Units; Horse Mounted and Canine Units; Domestic Security Unit; Special Events/Dignitary Protection Branch; and the Department's Civil Disturbance Units.
During her tenure as the SOD Commander, she established the agency's initial Homeland Security/Counter-Terrorism Branch and created an agency-wide chemical, biological, radiological response unit known as the Special Threat Action Team.
Commander Lanier spent more than 10 years of her career in the Uniform
Patrol Division. As the Commander of the Fourth District she created the Latino Advisory Council that later expanded to become the Latino Liaison Unit. She has also served as the Commanding Officer of the Department's Major Narcotics Branch and Vehicular Homicide Units in the Special Services Bureau.
Lanier has a bachelor's degree in criminal justice studies, from the University of the
Commander Lanier is 39 years old and the mother of one son. She comes from a family of public service. Her father retired a Deputy Chief in the
DCCA/ANC2B Joint Public Safety Committee Report
By
(The below will appear in DCCA's section in the Sept 10 Dupont Current)
During the Summer there have been a number of developments in the Public Safety arena that we would like to bring to the attention of
The first opportunity to do this will be September 16 at the 3rd District Metropolitan Police Department Headquarters (MPD), 1620 “V” Street, NW, where the DCCA/ANC2B Joint Public Safety Committee will meet at 7:00pm. There are many opportunities for action to prevent Public Safety problems and a number of them, including the following, will be explored at the meeting.
Formation of a “Neighborhood Watch” to identify and report Public Safety problems to the Metropolitan Police. Volunteer to be a Block Captain who conveys info to and from neighbors to MPD.
Complying with an MPD request to place house numbers on the back of houses so that they are visible from the alleys that run behind houses in Dupont. This aids MPD officers who respond to reports of crime (911 calls). We have conducted our own informal tour of alleys and find that compliance with this request is erratic. MPD officers tell us that it is vital for their success. Please put your house number on the back of your house.
Using the engraving machine at the available at the 3rd District to put your name on objects for identification in case they are stolen. Licenses and engraving for bicycles can be purchased from the 3rd District station for similar reasons. In addition, residents should record and store the serial numbers of important household items to aid in identification should they be stolen.
Prevention of Graffiti. The most effective way to prevent the spread of Graffiti is to remove it as soon as it appears. Residents must accept responsibility for this as soon as they notice it. There are 2 commercially available products that are quite effective, “Graffiti Eater” and “Graffiti Off”, if they are used quickly. The longer Graffiti stays on a surface, the harder it is to remove.
A new effort called “Secure The Call” to program out of date, but still useful, cell phones to call 911/311 needs to be initiated in Dupont. This would make it possible for residents who encounter Public Safety problems to call 911/311 to report crime when they are away from a landline phone. People could also use these phones like those “I’ve fallen and I can’t get up!” services.
In order to insure that repeat offenders are not let out on the street to repeat their crimes, the enforcement of “Stay Away” orders issued by the U.S. Attorney and local judges needs to be employed more effectively. To reduce the “revolving door of criminals” cycling onto Dupont streets we need to encourage our judges to hold in DC jail frequent and repeat offenders when they are awaiting trial. The Joint Dupont Public Safety Committee has been contacting US Attorneys and judges to implore them to consider the impact on our community when releasing particular suspects on their own recognizance. Please write the Chief Judge of the Superior Court for the
An effort to strengthen the DC laws regulating pawnshops was begun in the Joint Dupont Public Safety Committee because MPD believes the laws allow some pawnshops to function as fencing operations for stolen goods.
There have been a couple of reports of a Peeping Tom – pull those curtains!
The 3rd District Citizen’s Advisory Council, that reports to the Commander of the 3rd District (
We are pleased to report that due to lots of neighborhood participation and lots of good work by the MPD, a major crime problem on
Below are a couple Volunteering Opportunities:
1 - Chess Club for Junior High Students
The Mayor’s Ward 2 CORE Team presents a chess club for Junior High Students. The classes start Saturday, September 6, 2003 from 10 AM to 12 Noon at The Third District Station, 1620 V St. NW. Note: The class is limited to the first 20 students who sign up. For more information contact Stephanie Bragg at 202-671-1892. A permission slip needs to be filled out and can be obtained at the Station Desk in 3D.
0r 2 - For Love of Children (FLOC) is a non-profit organization committed to
helping families, and specifically children in the community. As a part of
FLOC's overall mission, the Neighborhood Tutoring Program (NTP) serves over
500 students in the Shaw community through one-on-one tutoring in a highly
structured and successful reading and math tutoring program.
We're looking for volunteers to tutor children and adolescents in the Shaw
neighborhood once or twice a week. The following program times are
available:
Saturday 10am-12pm (Elementary age children)
Tuesday 6:00-8:00pm (Teenagers--READING
ONLY)
Tuesday / Thursday 9-11am (1st - 4th grades)
Tuesday / Thursday 12:30-2:30 (8 and 9th grades--MATH ONLY)
Tuesday / Thursday 3:00- 5:00pm (1st - 6th grades)
Monday / Wednesday 4:30- 6:00pm (1st - 6th grades)
If you're interested in tutoring please contact us at 202-349-3509 or
ntp@flocdc.org.
Why we need your help!
A student at FLOC's alternative high school recently took her SAT. Her
score was a 530-combined. This score put her in the 70th percentile of
students in D.C. This means that 70% of students in D.C. score below 530 on
the SAT. And these are the higher achieving students who take the SAT.
Students in low-income areas of D.C. suffer the consequences of problems
with public schools, and the difficulties of growing up in an environment
that does not necessarily value education as a top priority. I'm writing to
see if anyone is interested in volunteering to tutor some of these students.
Shaw is a low-income area in NW where 51% of the households are headed by
single females, and 36% of children live in poverty. In Shaw 40% of high
school students drop out of school, and 41% of the residents have less than
a ninth grade education. Almost all of our students test way below grade
level, and many simply can't read. As you know, it's hard to get a good job
when you can't read. And it's even harder to move out of poverty if you
can't find a job.
Our Program Works!
Our program started in 1995 with 6 students. Over the years, our students
have flourished. Thanks to the hard work of everyone involved, students in
the program increase their math and reading levels on average by 1 year and
3 months for every 22 hours of tutoring. Think about that, come one evening
a week, meet for an two hours, and one lucky child has the opportunity to
improve their reading and math skills a full grade level and more in only
six months. It also helps that these are just such great kids.
Several students give back to the program in many ways. One special student
began with us as one of the original six students. She graduated from high
school in 2002 and is scheduled to begin her sophomore year at Marymount
University in the fall. She has been giving back to the program as a tutor
to an adorable student in our Saturday morning program for the past two
years.
We're now looking at reaching out to students across the city. But in order
to do this, we need more tutors. With your help, our organization seeks to
provide the children in our program with the tools and motivation necessary
to escape the cycle of drug abuse, crime, unemployment, and poverty that has
afflicted so many in their parents' generation. The ability to read well,
to excel in school, and the desire to learn are prerequisites to breaking
this cycle. We need volunteers to join us in this effort!
The Joint Dupont Public Safety Meeting will be held Tuesday the 19th of August at 7 pm at the Metropolitan Police 3rd District Headquarters.
Below is the August Meeting Agenda:
Neighborhood Watch - We'd like to expand on the recent success of catching burglars through neighbor communications of crime problems and descriptions of criminals by getting other parts of the neighborhood to get united. Come out to discuss getting a network block captains network functioning.
Renewal of the Citizens Advisory Council and elections for
Prostitution at 15th and L
Minor crimes of graffiti, plant thefts, homeless people harassing citizens, and trash trucks coming too early are driving citizen's nuts.
Pawn Shops as stolen goods fencing operations
Drug Dealing at 14th and T
Drug dealing SW of Dupont Circle
Preventable Crime Education - Lighting
911/311 system - MPD is collecting complaints on 911 and 311 experiences
On Saturday, August 16, 2003 between 9 a.m. and 3 p.m. the Third District will be displaying recovered stolen property in the community room. The property was seized in connection with the arrest of Gregory Scarborough on July 10, 2003 and includes such items as jewelry, electronics, music instruments, cameras, DVD movies and watches. If you were a victim of a reported residential burglary between December 2002 and July 9, 2003 we welcome you to attend. You must provide us with case numbers and a list describing the stolen items before you enter. For more information please contact DAVID SWINSON [invswinson@excite.com]at the Third District or via email.
The Joint Dupont Public Safety Meeting will start with getting an update
on the mini-crime spree on the 1700 and 1800 blocks of Riggs Place. The
police have been very responsive to the issue including posting a
policeman on the block nearly full-time since Friday. Having many of the
effected people in the room at the same time could help solve these
crimes.
The 6 to 10 reported crimes on these two blocks in 24 hours contrasts to
an average of slightly over one crime reported in the whole police
service area (half of Dupont) per 24 hour period. Depending on the
turnout for the crime spree issue, we may also get into a general
overview of crime in the neighborhood, the CAC, the PSA border issues,
various drug investigations, etc.
1620 V Street at 7 Tuesday.
Rob Halligan
Joint Dupont Public Safety Committee
-----Original Message-----
From: Rob Halligan (ANC 2B01 Commissioner)
[mailto:Rob.Halligan@DupontCircleANC.net]
Despite my expressed inclination to cancel the monthly Public Safety
meeting, I would like to hold it to concentrate on the issue in the
letter below. Many people are away, that room can be stifling, the CAC
decided not to meet until September, there's no follow up from meeting
with the Chief since he didn't show at the ANC meeting, and the new PSA
map reflected the changes we asked for, but a crime spree is a good
reason to share stories and get progress reports with citizen's and
police.
Hope to see you at 1620 V Street at 7 Tuesday the 15th.
Rob Halligan
319 1313
-----Original Message-----
From: Rob Halligan (ANC 2B01 Commissioner)
[mailto:Rob.Halligan@DupontCircleANC.net]
Sent: Friday, July 11, 2003 12:02 PM
To: Detective Swinson; Frank Hill; Larry McCoy
Cc: Gil Hill; Marco Santiago; Bill Glew; Bob Meehan; Carol Mitten;
Darren Bowie; Irv Morgan; Ramon Estrada; Scott Major Giese; Stuart
Dwyer; Vince Micone
Subject: Request for MPD Stakeout on 1700 block of Riggs
Commander McCoy, Lieutenant Hill, Detective Swinson:
Below is a description of crimes and suspicious character sightings on
the north side of the 1700 block of Riggs in the past 3 days.
Considering their frequency, pattern, severity, and brazenness I request
a police stakeout on this block.
Attempted break-in Tuesday - have no details, a sign was posted for a
short period describing.
2 doors getting broken in Wed. Burglars went all through the houses
stealing things. Maybe was at 2:30 pm.
3 descriptions of 3 suspicious black males. In one they knocked on a
door asking for someone who didn't live there. In the other they were
snooping. A third description had them chasing someone.
Thursday night a black male was looking in back windows.
Thursday night 3 cars were broken in to.
Friday morning the same house was broken into again.
This pattern of re-breaking into houses has been seen before. The
burglar who was arrested Thursday must not have been responsible for the
above.
If anybody in receipt of this email has more or clarifying information,
I would like to hear about it. Please make police reports or call 311. I
was in the process of canceling my monthly meeting with the 3rd district
Commander because many of the regular attendees are out of town. I think
we should have the Joint Dupont Public Safety Meeting at 3rd District
headquarters (1620 V Street NW at 7:00 pm) Tuesday the 15th with this
crime spree on the top of the agenda. Any one in receipt of this email
is welcome.
I've been trying to get more police patrols of this block for months.
(Since I live on the block, it may have seemed self-serving). The police
need crime reports and suspicious activity to justify deployment. Now
you have that.
Rob Halligan
Joint Dupont Public Safety Committee Co-Chair
202 319 1313
Please write me if you don't want to receive such emails.
My experience of the past 2 weeks confirms 2 things we already knew: the DC Police can be fantastic and developing communication lines between police and citizens is invaluable. The police response to the mini-crime spree has been excellent and the coordinated communication of the leads to and from the police helped get one man arrested and 3 under surveillance. This shows that we can make a difference in our community. This also means that to get great results from the police the citizens need to work at it being involved.
Officers Ackerman, Wilcox, Flynn, and Forbes, Detectives Thompson and Greene, Lieutenant Hill and
One man was a arrested for stealing things out of a garage. We suspect he also broke into the cars in the
The 3 men who were breaking down doors and burglarizing houses during the day have been identified. They have been tied to over 20 similar break ins - 18 on Capital Hill, several in Adams Morgan and
Responses to my emails were coming in from people who had seen them posted on numerous listservs and who had had them forwarded several times. If anyone would like to be on some of several lists, please contact me. There is the Joint Dupont Public Safety Committee List, the Dupont ANC list, the DCCA Alert list and my ANC district constituent list.
We could emulate the email list that we used in my surrounding blocks in all of the police district and we'd be a lot safer. This could operate through block captains of a Neighborhood Watch. One neighbor can communicate with other neighbors on what's going on such as an increase in car break ins or doors getting broken down so that people can be on the look out. We'd hope that person would develop a relationship with the police on that beat. I got dozens of descriptions of potential burglars, correlating stories, and status reports. If someone filters through the noise and responsibly communicates good info to the police and their neighbors problems get solved.
We'll be working on setting up a Neighborhood Watch system in the Joint Dupont Public Safety meetings on the 3rd Tuesday of every month, that is, this August 19th at 7pm at the 3rd District Police headquarters at
Rob Halligan
319 1313
