All,
I
recently did a ride along with the MPD Lieutenant in charge of PSA 501, and
wanted to share my observations with the community. While I obviously focused
on the problems in my single member district, this is pertinent to all of
Bloomingdale:
-
Crime is somewhat concentrated in the Southern part of the PSA around New York
and North Capitol, but apparently Bloomingdale is somewhat of a "squeaky
wheel," and is therefore able to garner additional police resources and
attention. Similarly, it was again reinforced to me that MPD is a metrics
driven organization that will focus on whatever garners the most complaints. So
while I'm not advocating dialing 9-11 for trivial reasons, I definitely
recommend doing so if you're witnessing illegal activity. It does not have to
fit within the narrow definition of an "emergency."
-
Residents should not be afraid to call for fear of being identified. They ask
if you would like to leave a name for follow-up purposes only. So it’s not like
the police are going to walk up to a drug deal in progress and out the
individual who called them.
-
I was struck by the number of individuals the police thought were high on
synthetic marijuana. We stopped to talk to at least two people who were passed
out even though they were sitting upright on people's porches along the 100
blocks of Rhode Island and Florida Avenues NW. Do not conflate the effects of regular
marijuana with synthetic marijuana. The latter is more akin to a hard drug, as
these guys were pretty much out of their minds and it appeared difficult for
them to even process someone was talking to them.
-
Several of the officers I met felt they were on weak legal ground for trying to
arrest people for selling or using synthetic marijuana given the way the
marijuana decriminalization law was written. After witnessing the behavior of individuals
high on this stuff, I would say there are definitely some loopholes that have
to be closed.
-
MPD has a reserve program, and I think it would be great if we had some
residents who were a part of it; as I firmly believe the best way to get MPD
attention and resources focused on our problems is to be as plugged into the
organization as possible. If you want more information about the reserve
program, go here: http://mpdc.dc.gov/page/mpd-volunteer-opportunities
Best,
Austin
L. Pearl
ANC5E08
Bloomingdale
2 comments:
Thanks Austin. Great information.
Thanks, Austin! Way to jump into your job as Commissioner.
I would like to add some comments about leaving contact information when calling 911. I find the experience varies greatly, depending on who takes the call. Sometimes I have been asked for my name and number, with no hint that it was optional to provide it. When I left my name and number one time, I had to repeat my number several times, then she had to repeat it, and by the time I got off the call, the man checking car doors on my block had moved on, and I don't think MPD caught up with him. While I had hesitated to call, it turned out the man had successfully found at least one car on the block open, and had stolen a GPS.
As for impaired drug users, did they give any advice as to when 911 should be called? I have seen 911 called and police and EMS check on incapacitated people, but wondered at what point should a neighbor call? Obviously, if they appear to be endangering themselves or some one else. What happened to the people who were passed out when the officers stopped to talk to them? When do they call for an ambulance?
Was there any discussion of what seems to be an uptick in home burglaries?
Again, thanks for reporting about your experience.
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