Some may write off the recent wave of crimes happening in
Bloomingdale as the typical "start-of-summer delinquency" spree known
to long-time D.C. residents -- but that would be a mistake to do, I
believe. Your listserv has now reported once too often on shockingly
similar armed-robbery incidents (all involving resembling-description
assailants, identical 'silver' handgun descriptions, and proximate
locations). I and many others must have noticed the similarities -- I
wonder if the MPD has, as well?! This is on top of your
"regular" stolen-package kind of stuff: we have now had more than our
share of unacceptable crimes -- actually violent attacks, including one on my
block on Randolph Place, N.W., as well as the
armed robbery ("man shot in face") at Crispus Attucks Park,
etc. I can simply quote the headlines from this listserv to make the
point: "Two Sexual Abuse Offenses on the Unit Block of R Street
NW" / "MPD: Armed Carjacking This Morning at 5:33 am at 1st &
Florida Avenue NW" & “Truxton Circle: Woman robbed at gunpoint while
unloading groceries from car occupied by child."
The list goes on, sadly.
As the MPD appears purely
reactive, rather than proactive, in this respect (note the multitude of
closely-timed events in nearby areas, indicating a probability of repeat
offenses in a clearly under-policed area), it is incumbent upon the residents
and their elected representatives to take charge and demand more safety
measures.
ANC rep Teri-Janine Quinn
already responded positively to my earlier message on our block's listserv, and
I believe with her and other ANC reps' help, we can and should navigate
neighborhood politics to go about putting this on the agenda of our city
leaders and the MPD. In addition, perhaps a "Tweet Campaign" of
us (concerned Bloomingdale residents) can help? Something like tweeting
"#ProtectBloomingdale" "#PoliceWard5" or some
similar (admittedly corny-sounding) hashtag, tweeted at the @DCPoliceDept
account, by dozens and dozens of B'dalians, might to the trick? I don't
know. I'm just throwing out brainstorming ideas.
Other ideas would be: (1)
Safety cameras as deterrent and also for evidentiary purposes; (2) more foot
and bike patrols (rather than police cruisers), irregularly scheduled; (3) more
plain-clothes officers patrolling so as to actually make a difference and
witnessing real-life behavior, vs. temporary behavior when uniformed patrols
are visible; (3b) related to that, can the MPD use "decoys" in the
affected areas, not to "provoke/entrap", but to secure evidence? (4)
home-security systems with cameras; (5) more people turning on their front
porch lights at night, manually or automatically on a timer; (6) we used to
have a neighborhood watch effort, I think. I never participated, but it
may be time to revive that concept.
Let me be clear: I am not a
fan of experiencing a surveillance state. I do not want
to live in an Orwellian "1984"-style country. And I cringe at
even the nomenclature "neighborhood watch," as it reminds me of
horrors like the Trayvon Martin tragedy when done wrong. But I
don't see another alternative to having violent crime on
our streets. When mothers with babies are robbed at gunpoint, my neighbor
has rocks thrown at him in broad daylight, and a gun goes off in a construction
worker's face in the afternoon next to a neighborhood park with kids, the buck
stops.
In sum, it is ludicrous that
we have five-times more parking enforcement personnel presence on our streets
than MPD officers to "serve and protect" us. That ratio needs
to be flipped around.
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