Mount Pleasant DC Forum

[TJinMtP]

An extraordinary surge of neighborhood burglaries that began in the summer has continued in recent weeks despite the implementation by MPD of a burglary action plan. 14 burglaries have occurred in the last month -- 3 coming over the weekend.

I would strongly encourage others to raise this issue at the PSA 301 police meeting tonight, details at bottom. (I will try to attend, though I may be prevented by a work deadline.) At the last meeting, there were representatives of the mayor, Councilmember Graham, and several MPD officers, but just two residents, counting Jack. More than one person attending remarked about the absence of neighbors, and I detected a feeling that the lack of attendance correlated to a lack of concerns.

So, first, I think it would be useful for many residents to attend the meeting and to express to city and MPD representatives that security in the neighborhood is our paramount concern. Progress is far more likely if they all recognize our strong view that the current level of burglary and other crime is flat-out unacceptable.

Second, I think it's appropriate to ask what exactly the MPD is doing to address this problem. The data show that this is an extraordinary wave of burglaries, and that calls for an extraordinary response. We were informed a couple of weeks ago that a burglary action plan of some sort has been put into effect. What does that plan consist of? Given the continuing surge of burglaries, it seems reasonable to conclude that additional steps are required. What are those steps?

Third, I think it would be useful to share with residents more information about how these burglaries are being committed. When I have asked the police for details, they have simply responded that there is no pattern. That may be the case, but I think we could benefit by knowing exactly how the crimes are being committed, as well as any identifying information about the suspects. That could help us anticipate and identify criminal activity. This information should be shared with everyone in the neighborhood -- few of whom visit this website. How is that to be done?

Details for tonight's meeting:

Metropolitan Police Department PSA 301 Community Meeting

Wednesday October 26, 2011
7:00 PM - 9:00 PM

La Casa Community Center
3166 Mt. Pleasant Street, NW
Washington, DC 20009
Come and meet Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) officers and other members of your community at a meeting of Police Service Area (PSA) 301. Neighborhood crime problems are identified and solutions discussed at PSA meetings.

Sponsor: Metropolitan Police Department, Third District

Learn more about the seven police districts
Contact: Lt. Micah Pate
[email address removed - log in to view]
(202) 506-0743

[Karelio]

Any way you can post this in the Yahoo group and the Prince of Petworth blog for maximum dissemination?

[TJinMtP]

I attended the meeting last night and, happily, so did more than a dozen others.

In my view, the most promising outcome of the meeting is a plan, outlined by Lt. Micah Pate, to facilitate better communication both from neighbors to the police and among neighbors. Lt. Pate stated that in the coming days, he will activate a new listserv for PSA 301 for residents to share with the police and each other their observations of suspicious activities, and their questions and comments about neighborhood crime issues.

To inform residents about the ongoing burglary problem and to publicize the new PSA 301 listserv, Lt. Pate will distribute to every house in the PSA a new flyer that informs neighbors about (1) the recent wave of burglaries; (2) making their houses secure; (3) suspicious signs to look out for; (4) what should be reported to the police; (5) specifically, instructions for joining the new PSA 301 listserv.

A wave of burglaries is extremely aggravating to residents and frustrating for the police. These criminals are confidently walking from house to house, often in daytime hours, with innocuous excuses handy whenever a resident answers the doorbell. If the eyes and ears in our neighborhood become more vigilant, and work collectively to identify the criminals, this spree will come to a quick end. Improved communication among neighbors and to the MPD could have lasting benefits, making the neighborhood safer in general.

Many thanks to Lt. Pate for taking these promising steps.

As for the burglary action plan that was implemented two weeks ago, if I understood it correctly, it consists of very little. It does not involve plainclothes patrols, nor any sustained increase in officers on patrol. Given the persistent, extraordinarily high rate of burglaries -- higher in the past month than any month in the past five years -- it is fair and reasonable for residents to expect the city and the MPD to augment their efforts commensurably. I do not pretend to know what are the next steps for enhanced policing against a burglary spree, but I would like to hear them.

Informing every resident of the problem and launching the PSA 301 listserv is a great start.

[TJinMtP]

This is to urge everyone to join a new listserv, established by Jack McKay in cooperation with the MPD, dedicated to sharing information about neighborhood public safety issues.

The idea for the listserv emerged from the recent PSA 301 community meeting about the recent burglaries in the neighborhood. The listserv aims to increase vigilance by spreading news of specific public safety problems, and to generate tips for the MPD about criminal suspects. Because the MPD 3D listserv is a bit broad for sharing this kind of info, it was decided to set up a public safety listserv just for Mt. Pleasant.

The only trouble is that you need to create a Yahoo account. When you set up your profile, you can direct the email to any other account. If you already have a Yahoo account, then just click on the link below, and PSA 301 emails will come to you.

Please share this with others in the neighborhood. It will be most useful when we achieve a critical mass.

Many thanks to Jack and Lt. Micah Pate for taking the initiative to set this up.

Ted

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/psa301/

[jack]

[Rebecca Shannon]

I don't understand the creation of a new Yahoo group to publicize crime in Mt. Pleasant when we have a Yahoo group already ([email address removed - log in to view]).

There is something going on here that I clearly don't understand and wish someone would explain to me. We have a Yahoo group just for Mt. Pleasant. It has far more active people on it than this forum. It is just for Mt. Pleasant, not for Petworth or Ward 1. I understand the value of both but ignoring one is just mindboggling to me.

Sigh. This type of stuff is just baffling.

[ilana-mtp]

@Rebecca:

How does one join the Yahoo group?

Thanks

Ilana

[Robin Kane]

[jack]

[TJinMtP]

[dsachdev]

Ted...prior to publicizing, I'm wondering if the name needs to change since our PSA is going away with the move to the 4th district....

[quote="TJinMtP"]