I was asked to start a separate thread for people interested in discussing setting up a possible additional meeting about crime. This is purely a discussion thread, and I'm going to get it go freely unless someone violates one of the basic civil discussion guidelines. to be clear, I'm not organizing anything, and there have been (and will continue to be) public meetings about recent crimes. I encourage people to attend those meetings.
Maybe if people missed those meetings they could use this thread to ask questions of those who did attend.
12 comments:
I sent a lengthy message to a lot of folks yesterday and got a good response.
MPD is well aware of some of the issues raised here-- and not aware of others. There seems to be a real willingness to work with the community.
It should be noted, however that there's a disconnect between the people who do not feel that things are going well and the MPD. I was told that my e-mail was very unique because most of the feedback they receive about our neighborhood is positive. Contrary to popular belief, it is important to voice your concerns or else there will be no action.
Cathy Lanier has directed that addressing our concerns be a priority, so I have hope that we'll see some action. I spoke at length with Commander David Kamperin this afternoon and he has pledged to work with us as well.
Kamperin encourages everyone to subscribe to the MPD1D list serve and also to attend community meetings. There are a few in the near future:
• Feb 4th report on car-jackings with Chief Lanier; 6:30 and Options Charter School
• Feb 10th 6:30 discussion on nuisance properties in general but other crime issues- Prospect Learning Center
Kamperin also offered that MPD would be happy to do other meetings as we desire. If there's interest, maybe we can set up a small group meeting with MPD at Sova or something.
He also noted that a new lieutenant (whose name I missed) was just installed in our neighborhood. He indicated that she already has made some changes with regard to foot patrols, but that we will likely see more changes in the near future.
I would also be interested in starting an "orange hat" patrol. If anyone else is interested, please let me know.
Terry
I would like to sign up for the alert DC text messaging service. I hate to sound ignorant, but what neighborhood would I select to get updates on the area closer to H and 8th?
I think it's a crime that car was ever licensed and allowed to drive the streets of Maryland or anywhere else.
Terry,
PSA102 meets the second Tuesday of every month at the Sherwood Recreation Center. Our new Lt. Vendette Parker attends these meetings, provides updates, and listens to community concerns. The next meeting is Tuesday, February 9, at 7pm.
The February 10 meeting is one of a series of citizen-organized meetings about a specific nuisance property that has long-plagued the rest of its block.
Here is the info for the 1D listserve:
groups.yahoo.com/group/MPD-1D/
Thanks Terry. Your comments are very helpful.
not sure is anyones mentioned this yet or not, but why not have the 5th District reps and the 1st District reps hold a joint meeting with citizens?
On crimereports.com there's been robberies just over the line (Florida Ave/Benning) and could be related. Makes sense when the border is so close that we make sure both police districts get involved.
Terry,
Please be aware that messages on the MPD 1 listserv are monitored before posting. Some negative message may not be posted.
The crime map is a wonderful tool. Maybe the best one to see patterns of crime. Use it often, but again, I know for a fact, that some reported to the police crimes do not appear on the map. However, most do.
At the last car jacking meeting, Cathy Lanier was awesome. She was responsive and direct. For results, try to get her or Diane Groomes to attend your meetings.
Finally, the alerts really don't work that well. Most of the one that you receive are in NW, and the bad event on your block will never get a alert... well once in a while they do. But try it anyway.
anon 4:21- you may want to check the neighborhoods that you've selected for alerts. I get local alters all the time.
Did you get an alert for the young man killed boarding the bus on H street? How about the woman shot at the bus stop at 13th & H? The fireman stabbed at Martini Lounge? If so, what neighborhood did you sign up for?
One important point about the Feb 4 (this Thursday) meeting about carjackings at Options:
In mid-December, a meeting was held at Options on the subject of the carjacking spree. This meeting was originally requested by people who live on the 1200 block of E Street, which seemed at the time to be the epicenter of the spree. They asked the police to focus on the area near there (i.e. within ~3 blocks). Consequently, its focus was on carjackings in the area rougly between 10th and 15th, south of H and north of Constitution. The police came with maps of that area showing carjacking locations, and came prepared to discuss what they were doing in that area. At the end of the meeting, everyone discussed ways to track progress; it was decided to meet again, in early February, to follow-up the results of that first meeting and evaluate how things are going. This Thursday's (Feb 4) meeting is that meeting.
I mention this to make clear that the meeting wasn't intended to be a general discussion of crime in NE, or even carjackings in NE. At the first meeting, a man was present whose wife was victimized by an attempted carjacking near their home in the 600 block of E (IIRC). He was frustrated that the maps distributed by the police didn't extend to where he lived, that his PSA lieutenant was not present, etc. He had serious, justifiable issues with the way the police had handled his case, he wanted to talk about it, and the meeting seemed to him to be neglecting his area. The police present (particularly Lanier, Groomes and Kamperin) listened to his complaints, apologized, and promised a response; but as far as the meeting focus was concerned, they said "we were requested to prepare for a meeting with this specific focus, and that's what we did."
I'm not trying to dissuade anyone from attending; I just want to make clear what the focus of the meeting has been intended to be. If you go expecting 5th District personnel to be present to discuss the carjackings that occurred on Bladensburg, for instance, you're likely to be disappointed, because 5th District personnel are highly unlikely to be present.
Good point Chris.
Thanks.
But maybe that's the problem. The police tend to focus on small areas such as hot spots within PSAs. Maybe we should ask for a H street corridor meeting that includes all PSAs that fall within a 3 block buffer area H between North Capitol and the river.
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