For those of you that live in northern Park View or southern Petworth, you may have wondered what was up with the police helicopters last night. It’s my understanding that a liquor store on Georgia Ave. was robbed there was a robbery and the helicopters were part of the police response.
If anyone knows more about this incident, please share what you know.
The Washington Post reported today that:
With 2009 half over, the number of homicides reported by police in the District — 66 — is 20 percent below last year’s figure and is on pace to be the lowest yearly total in decades.
If the homicide rate continued through December, the total for 2009 would be 134. That would be 52 fewer slayings than last year and 47 fewer than in 2007. It would be 35 fewer than in 2006.
With some very high profile, and violent, homicides in recent weeks, its hard to keep this larger picture in mind. The city still has its hot spots, and 14th Street seems to have several of them. If one can say there is a bright side to these violent crimes, it would be that several of the perpetrators have actually been caught, arrested, and awaiting trial.
This is disheartening to me, but perhaps its only a metaphorical speed bump. In less that two weeks time, MPD has gone from the portable speed equipment on Rock Creek Church Rd, to the smaller black box with the cable across the road, to nothing.
To me, there can only be two reasons … but as has happened before, others may know more and be able to provide a better answer.
What I do know is this is a major concern, and a difficult problem to address. Starting with the intersection at RCCR and 5th/Park Place, speed accelerates east on RCCR and south on Park Place. That means that to truly solve this, it will take multiple jurisdictions to coordinate and work together, and that isn’t easy.
Last week, Mayor Fenty announce that the Consolidated Forensic Laboratory (CFL) construction contract selection package was sent to the City Council for review and approval. At the ANC1A meeting last Wednesday, a representative of the CFL dropped off the May 2009 newsletter that provided a few more details, and you can read more at the CFL site. The following excerpts are from the Web site:
The CFL will be a state-of-the-art research facility for the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) Forensic Laboratory, the Department of Health (DOH) Public Health Laboratory and the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner (OCME). It will coordinate crime, public safety and health investigations to help law enforcement solve crimes quickly without having to rely on other laboratories with competing priorities. The total project cost will be about $220 million, including specialized equipment.
The CFL will be built on the site of the former MPD First District Headquarters, at 415 4th Street, SW in Ward 6. The First District recently moved to the former Bowen School in southwest, paving the way for demolition. The firm-fixed price contract includes abatement and demolition of the old building as well as a 35 percent set-aside for Certified Business Enterprises (CBE).
According to Councilmember Jim Graham’s Web site, there is now a MPD crime camera at the dead end (soon to be opened up) at Kalorama and Champlain. While Graham acknowledges crime cameras are no substitute for an officer’s physical presence, he does believe it will help with the crime in that area.
I know that Ward 1 has had a tough time of it lately, relative to crime, and with only so many resources to go around, I think anything is a step in the right direction. I also strongly believe that MPD can not do it alone, and for a neighborhood to move in a positive direction is takes the active participation and cooperation of the citizens living in the neighborhood.
We’ll see if crime cameras actually do make a significant difference in crime deterance, but we are certainly no worse off for having them. Even if they don’t stop the initial crime from occuring, if they help catch and convict someone, it does prevent future criminal activity.
Petworth News has an interesting post on an accident last night caused by a car speeding away form police after it had been pulled over. The pattern sounds similar to other recent auto crashes in the area. Upon impact, the youths fled the scene. I find it particularly interesting that the new medians, which aren’t even complete, contributed to an accident whith oncoming traffic as the fleeing car turned into the wrong lane and, presumably, couldn’t cross over into the correct lane because of the medians.
For photos and more details, go to the Petworth News post here>>
June 7, 1912: The Park View Citizens’ Association adopted a resolution that the 30 policemen engaged at the White House should be returned to regular duty about the city, and that a special bodyguard should be formed for the President. The resolution was introduced by W.E. Loney, who said that the White House was the only government building in the city without a special police force.
As I posted on May 19th, MPD has finally decided to respond to complaints that speeding has gotten out of control on Rock Creek Church Road, NW.
While I’d been hoping for more, they did install one of their devices that alerts drivers of their speed on Rock Creek Church Road at Illinois Avenue. I’ve learned that these devices do more than just that, however. They also gather and store information about how many cars go by and what speeds they are clocking at the time. Those signs are not just for reinforcement of the speed limit.
While I was there, many cars were traveling around 30 mph, as you can see. I saw one clocked at 42, with the interesting thing on that one being that it was traveling northbound, meaning it was going uphill.
If you intend to be on or near the mall tomorrow, you may want to be aware of the road closures or events related to the Race for the Cure that will impact the Mall tomorrow.
Starting as early as 7:30, and lasting until 11:00 a.m., the race will have a major impact on the area. You can read the entire DDOT release below, or click on the map or link below to go directly to the race Web site for more details.
Road Closures for Weekend Events
Race for the Cure and Unifest Celebration Scheduled
(Washington, D.C.) The Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) has provided the following information about road closures for two large events scheduled this weekend: the Susan G. Komen Global Race for the Cure and the Unifest Celebration. Susan G. Komen Global Race for the Cure Continue reading
Here is some news that should interest anyone in Park View and Northern Columbia Heights. Inspector Edward Delgado has been replaced by Inspector Jacob Kishter, who will be taking over command of the Third District Sub-Station (PSA 302).
Inspector Kishter has been on the Department for 19 years and has served in a variety of different units. As a result, he is a well rounded leader who will use his experience to enhance police service in the Third District.
His past assignments include Patrol, Vice, Internal Affairs, Forensic
Science, and Police Communications.
Metrorail Disruptions Unknown Feed Washington Business Journal
Washington Kaleidoscope 