Park View, D.C.

WUSA9 Report from the meeting. Click to play

Saturday’s Park View Crime meeting had a good turnout with about 55 neighbors in attendance in addition to Police Chief Cathy Lanier, Ward 1 Council member Jim Graham, and ANC 1A Commissioners Kent Boese (1A08), Bobby Holmes (1A09), and Lenwood Johnson (1A10). Other officers and DPR staff were also at the meeting.

While the meeting was planned weeks ago by resident David Do and was mainly to focus on community crime and inform residents on what they can to not be a victim of crime, the recent spate of hate crimes this month were clearly front and center. The attack on a Park View resident at 9:30 p.m. Monday, March 12, at the intersection of Georgia Avenue and Irving Street, N.W., was particularly violent. The 29-year-old victim was beaten while the perpetrators called him anti-gay names as he began to walk home. He is in the ICU with a broken jaw.

At the meeting, Chief Lanier informed the assembly that the majority of thieves are going after the easy targets. They look for people on their cell phones talking or texting and not paying attention to their surroundings. Similarly, they will steal anything of value left in a vehicle. Stolen items include soccer cleats, basketballs, and spare change.

MPD Chief Lanier addressing residents at the Park View Recreation Center

Chief Lanier also told the community that if they see something that doesn’t seem right,they should follow their instincts and call 911. This led to a discussion on how resident can stay informed or find out more about MPD meetings and alerts. They following resources were shared:

Northern Park View (north of Park Road) is in MPD’s 4th District and Police Service area 409. The community can stay informed about crime by joining the MPD-4D listerv.

Southern Park View (south of Park Road) is in MPD’s 3rd District and Police Service Area 302. The community can stay informed about crime by joining the MPD-3D listerv.

Chief Lanier suggested that residents in our neighborhood join both as the perpetrators are often the same people in both areas and the crimes are similar in both Districts.

Residents who also want to stay informed about crime statistic in their community can also do so with the following online tools.

• crimemap.dc.gov
  Create your own data query, download detailed information on crime, and get a mapped response. The Sex Abuse category represents a subset of the most serious sexual abuse cases reported to MPD.
• capstat.oca.dc.gov/mapping/
  This application was designed as a tool for quick mapping of general information on crime incidents, service requests, public space permits, building permits and schools.

When reporting crime you do not have to leave your name and number with the operator and can remain completely anonymous. You can also send tips to the cops via text @ 50411.