It’s been a while, but the Metropolitan Police Department’s “All Hands on Deck” initiative is back this weekend. In fact, it started already. From 6 a.m. this morning to 6 a.m. Sunday, every available city police officer will be on patrol. This weekend’s initiative is well timed with protests planned for IMF and World Bank meetings, as well as the first really hot weekend we’ve had all year.

One other thing you may want to keep in mind: with officers out en masse looking to make more arrests and write more tickets today and tomorrow, the MPD’s recently announced plan to enforce the D.C. Council’s Anti-Littering Amendment Act by aggressively ticketing anyone caught throwing litter out of a vehicle, could be a major factor. Police posted reminders of the new policy to their email lists yesterday:

Starting April 10, 2009, the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) will begin a 30-day warning period to alert motorists of the littering violation and associated fines. Following the warning period, police will begin issuing actual Notices of Infraction (NOIs) to motorists caught littering from their vehicles. The fine for a traffic littering violation is $100 per violation.

So, we’re technically still in the 30-day warning period, but you can bet drivers will be stopped for warnings on this this weekend. And on the 3D email list yesterday, one resident wrote in to clarify whether the enforcement strategy includes cigarette butts. “Yes,” was the single-word response from 3rd District Commander George Kucik.