We have always understood that patrolling by residents is serious business (even as we have tried to make the walks as fun as possible). And I can assure that the walks make a difference. I have heard many times from those who are tapped into the neighborhood underground that the walks drive those who wish to commit crimes away from the neighborhood, even if only for a time. They let the dealers and other petty criminals know that neighbors are concerned, neighbors are mobilized, and neighbors are watching. Criminals stay away from neighborhoods with those types of residents.
And as Teri Janine and Betsy have said, the walks are a way to meet neighbors, both those who attend the walks and others walking on the streets or sitting on their steps. The number one thing that any of us as residents can do to fight crime is to know our neighbors. Criminals come to places where the fabric of community is rent and torn. They slip through those weak spots because they know that residents are not focused or united. They soon learn differently in Bloomingdale.
So I cannot stress enough for people to walk with us, to walk more often, to walk longer. (In the '90s, safety walks occasionally went all night.) That's how we create a presence and we could even connect late night walks with the closing of our local restaurants to help assure the safety of the streets as people walk home late at night. And let me note that we as residents and 5D officers deserve some credit when you consider how many more people are out walking the streets late at night (after 11:00 p.m.) in Bloomingdale compared to three years ago. Yet we have not seen a comparable rise in robberies and assaults at those hours. Our good work is paying off and needs to continue.
See you this evening outside of Windows.
John
On Tue, Mar 26, 2013 at 12:54 PM, Betsy McDaniel <bloomingdame@gmail.com> wrote:
-- CM McDuffie is tweeting that he is talking to Commander Solberg. Hopefully, we will get a report at the walk tonight, and an email to the neighborhood soon.One tweet -Four incidents reported so far. Solberg stressed the importance of reporting incidents to MPD not just list serves.
BetsyOn Tue, Mar 26, 2013 at 11:08 AM, Kevin McGilly <kevin_mcgilly@hotmail.com> wrote:The detail that surprises me from the latest incident is this: "We called 911 two hours ago, but the police have not shown up yet." This should be reviewed with MPD. In my experience MPD has always responded promptly especially to serious incidents like an assault. Something went wrong here, and it would be good to get MPD's view on this. They should have a record of the 911 call, the dispatch, and a report of the incident from the responding officers.
From: patrickhudak@gmail.com
Date: Tue, 26 Mar 2013 10:11:19 -0400
Subject: Re: [BloomingdaleActionList] Tuesday - 7pm - Community Walk
To: bloomingdaleactionlist@googlegroups.com
CC: bloomingdame@gmail.com; anc5c04@gmail.com; kmcduffie@dccouncil.us; tclark@dccouncil.us; andrew.solberg@dc.gov; darla.sandula@dc.gov
Thanks Teri Janine. This is good to know.Hopefully, all of this engagement is resulting in an action plan by the MPD as well as CM McDuffie that will address the issue with the kids, which I see as a different animal from the other criminal activities. Perhaps this is already happening, and I'm just unaware of it. If such a thing exists, can it be distributed through email or posted on the BCA site?In other words, I'd feel better knowing that CM and MPD are proactively addressing the issue with a detailed plan that takes into account the unique challenges of dealing with crimes committed by those underage. Perhaps this is incorrect -- but I have a perception that they're responding to our questions in many different places but not making a proactive and detailed effort to address the issue head on. Again, can their plan be distributed through email or posted somewhere?PatrickOn Tue, Mar 26, 2013 at 9:45 AM, tj quinn <terijanine@gmail.com> wrote:Teri JanineBest,I agree that community walks don't actually stop crime. Nonetheless, they present a great opportunity to meet neighbors, build a sense of community, highlight issues of concern regarding city services, provide updates on crime trends in the District and in our neighborhood specifically and safety tips. But no, I don't expect that we'll be engaged in a big "take down" tonight...at least I hope not:)Patrick,We had MPD officers at our January & March meetings (in February, 5D MPD attended the community walk the night after our normal meeting). They also attended the ANC meeting last Tuesday (the night after attending the BCA meeting). Each time they were present we had lively discussions about crime in our neighborhood (including the spike in daylight armed robberies, home invasions, etc.). I specifically recall that during at least one of those meetings she's addressed a pack of kids attacking people - although I have no idea if what we're experiencing now is an escalation of that issue or completely unrelated. MPD is coming out tonight, then there's another opportunity with them this Thursday at the 5DCAC meeting and they'll be at the Bates Area Civic Association meeting Monday (as they were in January & February) at Mt Sinai Baptist Church, 1615 3rd Street, NW (Bloomingdale & Bates are in the same PSA). We will invite them to our April 15th meeting as well. The US Attorney, Ron Machen will be a featured guest during that meeting. I believe Mr. Machen is best suited to address questions regarding what constitutes self defense under the law. 5D MPD has been incredibly accommodating to our requests for community engagement. At one point last month, we had unknowingly asked our 5D MPD officers to attend meetings in Bloomingdale three nights in a row. Given how often they've come out to our community in the last three months and how many meetings they are already scheduled to attend before our next meeting, I'm not sure if calling a special meeting is the best step forward. Rather, I think we should focus on spreading the word that they'll be available to us tonight, Thursday, Monday and again on April 15th (along with the US Attorney). Nonetheless, I'll bring the question of holding a special meeting to the executive board during our next meeting.
On Tue, Mar 26, 2013 at 9:10 AM, Betsy McDaniel <bloomingdame@gmail.com> wrote:
Patrick, and all-For me, one of the great things about the walks is that it also acts as a meeting. It is a great opportunity to share information with the officers and our neighbors. The group can actually walk to the the locations where these incidents have occurred, observe who is out and about, notice any obvious safety issues... If they are all in the same general area, it is good for residents and officers to know this, and see the spots. And, the walk just happened to have already been scheduled. Having an all hands on deck meeting would be great, too. The BCA Executive Board can discuss it at the next meeting.In an earlier email to Commander Solberg, I copied these incidents and I asked that whoever attends this evening come with tips. Officers almost always have words of advice during the walks. . I assume Jennifer also exchanges info with MPD when she schedules the walks.Since the beginning of the year, MPD is invited to every BCA meeting to make a report. As of the last meeting, these incidents of a teenager group attacking people had not been reported. But there has been a lot of useful exchange between the officer and the membership, including tips.Last year, there was a problem in Eckington, and CM McDuffie took a walk there, along with some other agency representatives. I think he made a walk up in the Langdon area recently. I'll include him on this email, as well.Thanks!BetsyOn Tue, Mar 26, 2013 at 8:45 AM, Patrick Hudak <patrickhudak@gmail.com> wrote:
Thanks for the reminder, Betsy.To me, the safety walk seems almost comically out-of-touch in light of the issue: kids mugging people. I seriously doubt a walk is going to impact the situation.Wouldn't it make sense for the Civic Association to call an emergency meeting that included Councilman McDuffie as well as the police to talk about what they're doing to stop this and what actions we can take? For example, if an adult gets into a fight with a group of attacking kids and one of the kids gets seriously hurt, does the law shield the adult or is he or she at risk of prosecution?I'm looping in Teri Janine, the Civic Association President, and Mark Mueller, my ANC, for their thoughts.PatrickOn Tue, Mar 26, 2013 at 8:27 AM, Betsy McDaniel <bloomingdame@gmail.com> wrote:
Neighbors -
For those of you have not been checking the blogs recently, there are multiple reports of people being attacked in Bloomingdale by a group of teenagers.Please join the regularly scheduled community walk tonight and demonstrate that we will not allow our neighborhood to be threatened like this. We also need to let MPD know that we will not tolerate this in our community.I don't know how many people are on this list, but if everyone could make an effort to attend, and invite at least one person who is not on the list to join them, we could have a great group. (Dogs and children are welcome.) I have no idea how many officers will attend this evening. It is normally one or two. I have asked Commander Solberg to send a strong presence tonight. It would be great if we have enough neighbors to break into groups and cover more territory, as has been done sometimes in the past.Posts below recount multiple incidents:newest incident:Wanted you to know that my housemate was attacked/mugged by the group of kids this evening at the corner of 2nd and T Streets. She believes they were younger than high school kids!! She's physically okay, but they did hit her and tried to grab her purse and gym bag, while screaming "give us your money". We called 911 two hours ago, but the police have not shown up yet. Residents really need to be aware if walking out in this area!!
older incidents:
Betsy
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