July 12, 2006
Morning Roundup: Crime Emergency Edition
Hey there, Washington. We're sorry to say there isn't a lot of cheery news this morning. For starters, the rain is finally back. Um, it should be over by Friday. That's optimisitic, right? In fact, the headlines this morning were so tough for us to swallow (see below), we feel the need to at least try to brighten up your day just by linking to Cute Overload. Because nothing says we love you like small furry animals.
D.C. Police Chief Declares Crime Emergency: You heard right. Police Chief Ramsey has officially declared a Crime Emergency for the District, which in practical terms means he now has greater authority to change police officer's schedules in order to increase manpower on the street without the 14-day notice typically required by the union. With 13 murders since the first of this month, many residents are upset and demanding action. The Post notes that the number of murders in the city so far this year, 94, is the exact same number we had this time last year — though robberies are up 14%. DCist definitely noticed a lot more patrol cars last night in N.W., which is we guess is never a bad thing — though the Post also quotes Officer Kristopher Baumann's concerns that officers will only be further demoralized by not receiving overtime pay — so maybe it's sometimes a bad thing. Our Crime Emergency status will continue for at least the next 30 days, when Ramsey will reevaluate.
Metro Only To Feel Safer: WTOP reports that no increased security or alerts will be in place on D.C.'s Metro after the series of deadly bombing attacks on the subway system in Bombay, India yesterday. In an effort to reassure passengers, however, Metro will be dressing transit police in brightly colored high-visibility vests, and playing safety-oriented station announcements more frequently. What color vests do we have to wear to make it feel less crowded and more reliable?
Commutes Actually To Be More Dangerous: As if drivers coming in to the District didn't have enough to worry about with beginning of Deluge '06 2.0 today, the Examiner has word that some large bumps on Roosevelt Bridge due to recent construction is causing some serious commute difficulties, with many drivers in some westboud lanes being forced to come to nearly a complete stop to avoid damaging their cars. D.C. Department of Transportation officials say it could take another 10 days or more to have the issue compeletely resolved.
Briefly Noted: Duke Lacrosse player convicted of Georgetown assault, receives 6 months probation; Damage to IRS Building won't be repaired until 2007; Officer investigating Georgetown murder reassigned after making a racially insensitive remark; Window washer rescued from 10-story building; More tourists were attacked on the National Mall.
This Day in DCist: We introduced you to both BuyIndie.net and Parisist, said goodbye to WPGC radio personality David Haines, and admitted to be a passing acquaintance of the struggling Nats.
Photo snapped by David I. Leavitt and placed in the DCist photostream on Flickr.
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Last night marked the 14th murder this month.
What the police need to do is get out of their cars and walk the beat more. I hardly ever see cops just walking around, especially in residential neighborhoods. If you go to NYC, there are cops walking around everywhere at all times, even in residential areas. I don't think there's it's just a coincidence that NYC's crime rate is approaching nil.
Just to clarify, the picture is of the courtyard renovation taking place at the National Portrait Gallery and American Art Museum.
Excellent point, Reid. Are MPD officers required to live in the District? If not, that could explain why so many do such a horrible job.
now I'm all worried about my bike being stolen. :frets:
It's good to know that during our "Crime Emergency" that our MPD resources are being put to a good use ... Can someone please explain this?
I walk out to my car this morning in the 200 block of N Street NW and what do I find? A parking ticket for "Curb, failure to turn"
Evidently, Officer Jones of MPD 5D Badge 1566 had nothing better to do at 2:53 AM on July 12 than to write tickets for EVERY car up and down my block ... well, almost every car. The one car belonging to an EMT that has a DC Fire sticker prominently displayed was spared a ticket - professional courtesy?
We are a half a block (and now right around the corner) from 2 open air drug markets and just a few blocks from this weekend's shooting .... and MPD has the time to write 15-20 parking tickets for a failure to turn the wheels toward the curb?
Does this make any sense? And they want even more of the taxpayer's money for more officers?
I don't think it's necessary for MPD officers to live in the District. Plenty of New York cops don't live in the same borough that they work in, especially Manhattan cops. That's about the same difference as a DC cop living in VA and MD. And more to the point, police officers generally are recruited from working class families (particularly ones already with one or more police officers). The working class population of the DC area is not concentrated in DC, but rather spreads out across the region. To artificially limit the source of good recruits based upon arbitrary state/district lines is not a good idea.
The only reason I can think of to require officers to live in the District would be to maximize their ability to catch a crime in their off-hours. That may have some merit, but I think the costs of restricting recruiting outweigh that.
Last night I noticed a police car idly circling the block (around 17th & New Hampshire, NW) for a few hours. At one point, the cop tailed a motorist down the street before yelling through a megaphone, "Drop the cell phone. NOW!"
TR,
He was out walking the streets. While he was doing it he was writing parking tickets. If only more cops would get out and walk the streets we'd be in better shape. Seeing a cop out there, even if he's writing tickets, is a good thing! It's a deterrent.
I'd bet that DC cops aren't paid enough to live anywhere near the city. Of course, I'm sure this IN NO WAY lessens their investment in protecting those that are.
Starting salary for an MPD officer is 44. Enough to rent in much of the city certainly, and enough to buy in most of NE and SE.
I don't understand, does more police actually reduce crime? I heard a friend say that one time (why don't they just get more police?) But for some reason, I don't buy it.
What I think the city should do is provide incentives for officers to live in the District. Pay part of their down payment, provide discounted rents, whatever it is. Make part of their package incentives to live in the District. This could be both economically feasible for the district as well as enticing to the cops.
In my mind, there is little doubt that you will do a better job protecting an area you are more invested in. The cops will do their job (some well, some mediocre, some poorly), but I think they will be more involved with the community if they are part of it, and being involved/knowing the community is a key to any good police work.
Rich, I'm sorry, but ticketing 15 cars for "failing to turn the wheels to the curb" is a bit excessive ... especially when drug deals are happening 1/2 block away (on Kirby). You can walk the beat and pay attention to the surroundings without writing these types of tickets - even the spokesperson at MPD 5D called it excessive. The only deterrent it provides is another reason to leave the city.
Failing to turn the wheels to the curb??????
WTF? Is this for real? I'm 35, and in my entire life I have never heard of this law anywhere. Is this some DC-specific weirdness? I think I may vaguely remember from driver's ed when I was 15 that you turn the wheels to make sure the car doesn't slide out into traffic or something, but I've never heard of this being a ticketable offense. And I've CERTAINLY never seen people actually do this in any consistent way.
That ticketing is ridiculous. That in no way prevents crime. Ticketing jaywalkers, people drinking out of brown bags, people playing music loud at night out of parked cars, drug dealers, etc does.
Ticketing cars with wheels not turned to the curb does what? It shows the residents, at a cost per residen, that a cop was there. That's not the type of broken windows policing that helps... you need the criminals to get nailed with small infractions if it's going to send a message to them that there's zero tolerance for crime. Ticketing law abiding residents for not turning the wheel of their car to the curb while there's an open air drug market within a block or two does nothing to help rid the area of criminals or crime.
Do I have to explain this to MPD?
There is only so much blame we can place on the police. The justice system, especially for juveniles, is nothing but a revolving door. If you were a police officer, how motivated would you be to keep arresting the same people over and over again?
I also would like to comment on some previously related threads (I have been out of town and am catching up now). I think political correctness is getting out of hand in this city. It is a fact that most of the violent crimes are being committed by black males. Why do we have to pretend otherwise? In other cities it may be another demographic but here in DC it is a fact. We have every right to be concerned when approached by black males (especially juveniles) and should expect police to investigate if they are seen loitering anywhere.
Unfortunately there is an entire generation that is growing up without any moral or social conscience, where taking a life is a status symbol. These people need to be locked up for good (no more second, third, tenth) chances!
I've seen people ticketed for not turning their tires toward the curb. Of course, that was in San Francisco, where failure to turn can produce multiblock runaway-car shenanigans. Enforcing that law in DC is complete nonsense.
I'm guessing you got a ticket for the same reason these Chevy Chase residents did as noted in a previous DCist Morning Roundup
http://www.dcist.com/archives/2006/04/17/morning_roundup_363.php
An official in the police department's 2nd District, which includes Chevy Chase, said officers walk the neighborhood for several hours overnight and must have something to show for their work. When no crimes are being committed and there are no criminals to arrest, he said, ticketing illegally parked cars is productive work. "They have to show some type of productivity during the night," Capt. Willie Smith said. "We have anywhere from 30 to 40 officers working all night in the Second District, and there's two to four in that [area]. If they come in without any tickets, no arrests, no truck stops...they could be challenged by their superiors."
Good God, that "entire generation" crack is so needlessly melodramatic. I don't think anyone is pretending anything about who commits what crimes--and even if people outside of law enforcement do, those on the job can read the FBI Uniform Crime Report every year for the latest on crime and its demographics.
And that report will document--as it does year after year--that black Americans are, demographically speaking, the disproportionate VICTIMS of crime--which is something that most of the armchair generalizers from out in Laymanland conveniently forget to mention. So, along with rampant political correctness, let's be sure to add "poorly reasoned personal agendae" to the "Part of the Problem" column.
If they need to show productive work in my area (Truxton/Mount Vernon Square), I'll be glad to point out where the drug dealers work, the prostitutes pick up their tricks, and the DC (and out of state) drivers run red-lights and stop signs in our neighborhoods .... but wait, we've already done that for MPD over and over and over again ... and what do we have to show for it? More drug dealers, shootings, and condoms littering our playgrounds and school property.
Hey GhettoBurbs -
Yeah, I can totally see how that would need to be a law in San Francisco, where some streets literally rise at a 45-degree angle, and gravity can cause your car to come shooting downward if the parking brake fails. But I've never heard of that law anywhere I've ever lived.
In Chicago they give you tickets for offenses you never committed, though. And I have a friend who once got a parking ticket for supposedly parking illegally at an address that doesn't exist. He never actually got the physical ticket, however - just a summons like three years later from the city offering him a chance to pay the fine through some type of instalment plan. But that's Chicago, a city that takes its system of government from the pages of Baby Doc Duvalier. Shouldn't we expect better in DC these days?
DCist Jason: All victims of crimes or potential victims of crimes regardless of race/gender etc need to be vigilant. In DC this translates to being very suspicious of black males (especially juveniles). The only personal agenda I have, if any, is to have the people commiting violent crimes put in jail and kept there (whether they are juveniles or not).
Excellent point, TR. I can't tell you how many times I've heard or read people who echo your sentiments. You know how they say the first step on the road to recovery is admitting you have a problem? Well, the MPD needs to face facts and admit they have a problem in this area.
Wow, 14 stiffs eh? Makes me glad the MPD has been writing seatbelt tickets.
Personally, I haven't heard much about all this hoo hah -- mostly due to the fact that I live in an area (not far from 16th street) that for the most part seems insulated from the senseless violence that seems to pop up in other quadrants of the city that are dominated by other groups. Flame away.
The throat slitting is just plain ridiculous and makes me insanely angry. This is what small unit tactics and personal protection training is all about -- making sure that when and if something like this happens to you someday, you and your graphite baton turn the poor sucker into a bloody pile of pulpy, pants-peeing, crying flesh who can't get up because his shins have been snapped.
I don't feel bad for any of you pimps and thugs who cry and bitch and moan about inequality. Not one Iota. It's come to the point when I smile whenever I read about some sucker who gets blown away by a store owner, knowing that his peers will think twice before doing it again. While many DC residents like to live in a fantasy world where they think everything would be just fine if the Man went away, they are deluding themselves and more than likely will be in for a rude experience some day.
Take the state out of the picture (or, in the case of the MPD, make them impotent through various means) and human beings will be in your face at the drop of a hat, pointing a gun and making demands that you don't like. Failed states indeed.
On NewsChannel8 last night they were interviewing someone about the murder in SE and I noticed he had two teardrops tattooed under his eye. That's classy, ask a two time murderer about murder. Nothing like going to the experts!
On NewsChannel8 last night they were interviewing someone about the murder in SE and I noticed he had two teardrops tattooed under his eye. That's classy, ask a two time murderer about murder. Nothing like going to the experts!
Hear, hear, Angry! Isn't it time for licensed citizens who have taken required training to be able to carry weapons to defend themselves?
YEah, I watched the video that came with my nunchuks and everything!
And after I got my bo staff, I watched a bunch of Ninja Turtles episodes. Why can't the police get off my white back already?
Seriously, when was the last time a shopkeeper blew away a robber in DC? I don't remember anything in any paper or on any TV newscast I've seen, and Fox would be all over that like flies on tarpaper. Are you sure you haven't been watching the Sean Penn/Robert Duvall vehicle "Colors" by mistake?
Yeah, I watched the video that came with nunchuks and everything. And after I got my swords from HSN, I watched a bunch of Ninja Turtles episodes; but the police are all over my white ass whenever I try to let people know I intend to defend myself.
Seriously, when was the last time you saw a news report on a shopkeeper shooting a robber? I haven't noticed anything in newspapers or on TV reports - and Fox would be all over that like flies on tarpaper, even if no one else.
yah, that's what we need rednecked/pencilnecked yahoos carrying guns to shoot ghetto thugs...
Jesus F'ing Christ, guns are a big part of the problem we have. Yeah, that's just what we need - a whole lot of drunken fratboys wandering around the Georgetown bars with guns... riiiiiiiighhhht...
Ach, hoist by my own double-posting petard
Jim, you never hear about shopkeepers shooting robbers in DC because shopkeepers are law-abiding citizens and unable to legally possess firearms in the District. Luckily for criminals, the law doesn't apply to them...
Jim/Jason, if there were a regulatory/licensing system for handguns in DC, the government could require that any license applicants be of a certain age and receive certain number of hours of certified training in firearms use and safety. They could require all applicants to provide address information and a sample round previously fired from the gun for ballistics comparisons to shells recovered from crime scenes, so the police would know whose door to go knocking on asking questions. Hell, they could even require licensees to "check in" every 6 months, showing that they still possess any firearm registered to them, or explain why they don't. Finally, they could prohibit the carrying of guns in certain areas or establishments, so Jason's "drunken fratboys" wouldn't be permitted to carry inside bars.
Remember, as we've seen in sharp focus this month, irresponsible criminals are already illegally carrying essentially untraceable guns, not subject to any of the above limitations. You tell me how a strict licensing scheme for law-abiding District residents who want to defend themselves is any more dangerous that the status quo.
Yes, and as we've seen in sharp focus this week, criminals may kill you even when they are not carrying guns. They may slash your throat, or stab you.
And yeah, I know that there have been several crimes recently that involved thugs robbing people at gun point. And yeah, I know that none of the he-men crying for their guns on DCist would ever be intimidated by guys wielding knives, but I would.
So I think that painting the crimes and deaths this month as a wonderful rationale for relaxing the DC handgun ban is not only a canard, I think it's a pretty distasteful political ploy.
But I'm sure that you fellas, like Kay Bailey Hutchison, are just looking out for my best interests.