FW: Dupont Circle Public Safety Committee -Tues. March 18, 2003

Dupont Public Safety Committee Meeting - Tuesday, 03.18.03, 7 pm

Location: Third District Police Station at 1620 V St. Room assignment is pending.

The newly revived Dupont Public Safety Committee which is a jointly sponsored by the Dupont Circle ANC, DC MAP, and Dupont Circle Citizens Association is meeting on March 18th at the Third District Police Station at 1620 V Street. Please spread the word. People who would like to be problem-solvers or liaisons on particular issues can be made committee members.

This will be a forum to explore policies for improving the Public Safety (not for venting). Rob Halligan and Gil Hill are Co-Chairs. Rob Halligan is an ANC Commissioner from 2B01. Gil Hill is the Secretary of DCCA and long-time community activist. The first meeting was called off due to snow. Let's hope the second doesn't get cancelled due to the start of a war. (If the Iraq invasion starts, I imagine the police will be detained due to heightened terrorism concerns.)

There have been lots of meetings and press coverage of and on the police and Public Safety in our neighborhood, recently. The purpose of the joint committee will be to codify these concerns and come up with solutions. We would like to spend some time requesting more agenda items but would not like to spend time giving more examples of problems. Commander Pendergrast who is the commanding officer for the 3rd District that encompasses most of Dupont, Logan Circle, Shaw, Adams Morgan, and Kalorama has agreed to attend.

The list below contains problems and items for discussion that have so far been catalogued and that we think can be tackled by this committee. We'll do what we can to address these items.

Preliminary Committee Meeting Agenda

Introductions

Call for additional and future agenda items

Community Policing Communications
1. Contacting the police is too difficult.
Is standardization of method of communication the solution?
Messages frequently don't get answered
No officers have voicemail
Some officers have pagers, some cell phones, some hotmail, some dc.gov email, some mpdc.org email.

2. Officers are moved around so much that establishing relationships is too difficult.

3. What happened to the city's crime report update on web site, other methods of reporting

4. Communication between PSAs and between MPDC/Park Police, Civic Organizations

Community Policing Program Effectiveness

Status of Community Policing Program

911/311 system (reform may be beyond the scope of this committee). We'd like to hear updates of situation.

Status of 21 Street fire controversy

Reports of police not taking reports or treating "customers" with respect

Drug Dealing
Operation Gold Coast Follow Up
N and 20th
P and 22nd
Swann Houses
Connection to strip clubs and possible solution
Connection to prostitution
Getting at the demand - What's the profile of these drug buyers

Prostitution
16th and L
22nd and P

Orange Hat Patrols - George Britton

Neighborhood Watch

Restructuring PSA and District borders
Where does that stand?
What are new borders planned?

Citizen's Advisory Council (3D-wide) Need liaison and support
On 4th Thursday of every month in 3D from 7:30 - 9

Crime Statistics
Relevance and accuracy
Perception of community contrast

PSA meeting reform
Poorly attended ones could be done as break out sessions at this meeting

Community development's effect on Crime
Youth Education
Knowing your neighbors

Preventable Crime Education
Lighting
Putting laptops in trunks

Bicycle thefts at YMCA

Abandoned cars

Commitment to put duty officer on foot for one hour per shift

New police initiative to have police officers meet every person in their PSA.

Crime Forum

Committee email list