D.C.’s new police chief, Cathy Lanier, is busy woman. Last night she told the standing room only crowd at the ANC2F meeting, which serves Logan Circle, some of Shaw, and nearby areas, that she had three meetings with community groups between 6 and 9 p.m. that night. Both frank and funny, the chief answered questions from locals and the ANC commissioners, and frequently cited the need for more police officers. She also discussed increased police visibility, as well as the possible redistribution of officers and the growing graffiti problem.
Police visibility was a main concern for residents. Though Lanier didn’t say they were returning to beat patrols, she and other officers mentioned an Adopt-A-Block program, where officers come to a specific block regularly and get to know local residents and business owners. The owner of Candida’s World of Books at 14th and Q Streets said she had been robbed numerous times, once at gunpoint in the middle of the day, and hoped for more regular foot patrols. Other locals expressed similar opinions.
Partially in response to this, Lanier and other officers mentioned the department’s staffing needs many times. Police service calls, such as calls to 911, burglar alarms, and other similar incidents that require an immediate response “are killing us,” she said. Because of the sheer volume of calls, especially in the Third District, it meant that there could be less crime prevention. Lanier has committed to adding 100 officers a year for the next 5 years; because of high turnover, with about 20 officers leaving the department each month, this means adding 30 officers each month.
In response to questions about graffiti, which has been on the rise in the Logan and Shaw areas, she advised people to report it to the city’s service center at 202-727-1000 or online. A local resident said that the faster people report the graffiti, the faster it is cleaned up and the less likely the tagger will return. The city will also remove graffiti for free on private property with the owner’s permission.
