Friday, June 13, 2008
WP: Police End Checkpoint
Interestingly, the Post story says the police released numbers saying that only 46 of the more than 700 vehicles that tried to pass through the checkpoint were turned away. This differs markedly from some of the past numbers that have been reported in the media. For example, in a recent Post story a police spokesperson appears to be credited with stating that on Saturday the police turned away 26 of 50 fifty cars that attempted to pass through the checkpoint. So, for whatever reason, the numbers shift oddly. It could be that some drug deals were relocated to south of Florida, as there have been reports of a sudden and significant uptick in such activity. It could also be that police relaxed the criteria for refusing entrance, or that drivers who were just passing through simply avoided the neighborhood.
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13 comments:
It's good to see that the road blocks are gone...
But it will be a SAD day if the police presence goes away as well.....
In comparission to other neighborhoods, Trinidad is a small enclosed neighborhood that shouldn't be that difficult to have proper police presence in strategic locations....
Off topic, but did anyone else get woken up by a low flying helicopter circling with search lights at 4:30 this morning?? Maybe I'm the only one with my a/c off and my windows open....
This morning on the way to the bus I saw a cop keeping an eye on the intersection of Montello & Oates. Hopefully this sort of thing will continue.
Now if they can post some on Neal on the eastern side of Trinidad we'd see improvements over there as well...
Police checkpoints and presence will do very little, if nothing to reduce crime in the long run. In the short term I guess it might stall crime, but they're not going to increase police presence there forever, we all know that.
While I know that everybody is accountable for their own decisions and actions, I think with Trinidad the Landlords are mostly to blame here. They need to do a better job of taking care of their properties. They need to screen their applicants more thoroughly, especially if they are section 8. Don't rent your house out to a jobless mother with 5 kids living on welfare. Drive by the house a few times a month to be sure everything is okay and nothing crazy is going on in or around your house. Little things like that can go a long way and honestly I think that is a more realistic way of dealing with crime in Trinidad. Asking the police to patrol 1 or 2 square miles of the ghetto will just be an endless battle.
I think the dc gov't should get involved here and do yearly or quarterly house inspections for all houses that aren't owner occupied. Any violations will result in a fine to the owner of the house. For repeat violations just double or triple the fines. Nothing will get these lazy landlords moving unless you stick em' with a bunch of fines. Nobody likes to be fined, so the landlords will either a) take better care of their properties and pay closer attention to it or b) evict the tenants and do a better job of screening out the next applicant.
So are saying that if you are driving and you see a police car parked on the corner- you will still run a red light?
Ofcourse police presence helps- and it kills me everytime I see someone post against that belief. Yes I am all for solving the deeper rooted issues, but police presence fixes the surface issues that we all SEE in our neighborhood...
Notice how I said police presence does little/nothing in the LONG run. I don't think anybody is interested in temporarily reducing crime. Really what is the point of that? Seems like a waste of resources and money to me.
Police presence will TEMPORARILY reduce crime, maybe for a weekend or two but once they go back to their regular numbers serving the Trinidad area, crime level goes back to normal.
I think it's time for a long term solution here. I, and countless others are ready for it too. Your bush-like philosophy of "throwing more troops at the terrorists" will get you nowhere.
Did I mention anything "SHORT TERM" in my posts? I think not. Ive said that Trinidad is a small enough area where having sufficient coverage should'nt be that difficult.
I also didn't say that "police presence will solve all the problems", but what it will do is have the criminals thinking twice about committing crimes in the area, knowing the possibity of them getting caught has increased, as well as providing a sense of safety for the neighborhood.
Wouldn't you feel comfortable walking up Trinidad Ave at 12a.m. knowing that there was a police officer in eyes view?
Once we get the surface under control- we can then began to look deeper and come up with ways to improve all the other areas.
I would'nt call you Bush- but I can think of another B word I'd use instead.....
We have to start somewhere...GEEZE
Reading comprehension is key here..
If you'll re-read my original post, I wrote that making the assumption that increased police presence will not always be there. Eventually the number of police will go back to normal levels and crime will resume. So, again, what is the point of that?
Your bizarre "defensive" and somewhat childish posts shows me that you clearly don't have good reading comprehension skills, so please don't take offense if I stop responding to your humorous posts
So, in summary; 46 citizens had their civil rights violated, and not a single arrest was made. Yep! That's the kind of policing that makes DC the city it is today!
Actually, allow me to correct the previous post. 654 citizens had their civil rights violated, 46 had their civil right trampled, and not a single arrest was made...On the bright side, I'm sure lots of officers made some good overtime!
Civil Rights? PLEASE people. Quit this crap...
It is always a civil rights issue. If it was such a GROSS oversight in violation of 654 peoples civil rights why would DC do it?
Is a DUI checkpoint a violation?
Furthermore the reason for these checkpoints is for the thugs who commit voilent crime. The thugs are violating your civil rights not, Metro, Gov or any other group...
I saw/heard the low flying helicopter too. It woke me up and I had to sleep in the basement. They had a spotlight focused on something and kept circling. Never saw what it was in the news. Did anyone else hear it or read about it?
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