Park View, D.C.

Public Safety is something I take very seriously, and while much of the work I do is directly with MPD and individual neighbors, there are times when a more public approach needs to be taken if we truly want to have safe communities. A recent effort that I would encourage neighbors to participate in is with the Park View UNC which held a public safety working group meeting on Saturday August 26th. At this meeting neighbors began listing the public safety challenges that our community faces and started the process of identifying which agencies (i.e. MPD, DCRA, DOH, DDOT, etc.)  would need to be included to successfully address the community’s challenges. As an active participant in the meeting, I can report that it was one of the most productive meetings I have attended in some time. The next Park View UNC meeting will be at the rec center on Wednesday, September 6th, at 7 pm.

I do believe there is a lot neighbors can do to make their communities safer, especially if their elected representatives are working with them, supporting them, and helping to coordinate with all the people that are needed to solve the problems — both in the short- and long-term.

With all of this in mind, I regularly walk the neighborhood to report problems and look at the DC Crime Map to understand what the official statistics tell us about our community. Its a good way to report issues proactively and keep an eye on problem properties. In Park View, some of our challenges include vacant properties, entrenched drug dealing, and being split between the Third and Fourth Police Districts. Because of the latter I generally choose the location of 6th and Newton Place as an area close enough to the neighborhood boundaries to give me an idea of crime trends when using the Crime Map. Anyone can use the Crime Map to fine tune the data to their particular address.

In looking at 1,500 ft around 6th and Newton, for the past two month, the statistics show that crime is up by approximately 46% overall from the same period last year, with only thefts from autos and stolen autos going down. This, frankly, is unacceptable and leads me to some basic questions which include:

1. Does our neighborhood have the number of beat patrol officers needed?
2. How does the neighborhood being in two police districts impact the overall service?
3. How are plain clothes officers being deployed in the community?, and,
4. For deeply rooted social issues, do the behavior health people have the staff, resources, and authority to address addiction and homelessness issues? If not, will they ever?

In my opinion, the answer to these questions is an overall “No.” I believe PSA 409 could use more beat officers, the entire neighborhood should be in one Police District, and I would like to see a stronger relationship between our plain clothes officers and the community. Lastly, while I value the work of our government partners who focus on the social challenges in our neighborhoods, I don’t believe they are staffed at the levels they need or that they have the authority they need to really solve deep rooted problems.

I’ve included the chart below showing the crime stats for the last two months compared to the same period last year highlighting the areas with the largest jumps — those being robbery with gun, burglary, and theft. I’ve also included the map on where the incidents were recorded.