Mount Pleasant DC Forum

[zrathore]

I live in the condo at 1901 Ingleside Terrace. Last night some thugs got into our garage and broke into two cars. One resident had two laptops stolen from his locked car, which was in a locked garage. We think they accessed the garage through our stairwell, which unfortunatly was never finished by our developer (separate story for another day). It seems that these thugs have more and more courage, and must have scoped our joint out before making their strike. I hate calling for more police presense only when something happens in my back yard, but this is getting to be a bit much in our neighborhood. This type of break-in is more dramatic. WTF?

[flydhest]

That alley seems like a tough nut to crack, as there is no through traffic. think there should be a streamlining of the garage building process partly because people complain so much about parking issues, but also because I believe that if there were greater traffic in the alleys, these type of brazen crimes would be reduced. Probably not eliminated, but likely reduced.

Shared garages seem like an extra difficult problem, as each person must rely on others to keep doors closed and secure.

I wish you luck.

[jack]

A similar incident took place on our alley (running from Lamont Street to Park Road, between 19th Street and Walbridge Place): burglars forced their way into a garage, then broke into the car, stealing the radio and CD player and sound system. Zrathore's alley is especially isolated, but I think we're all vulnerable, dead-end alley or not.

-- Jack

[zrathore]

The only way these thugs could have gone in, is by walking down from Ingleside/19th street and then accessing the garage from there. I suspect they didn't come from the alley, because the alley door is always locked. The door from the street side is not. Lesson learned I guess. But still a shame.

[jack]

[zrathore]

Yes, that is why I mentioned that it is disturbing. They had to have had scoped out the place prior to....the door from the alley is locked. While the condo was being developed and before we got our act together, our stairwell from the alley to Ingleside Terrace was an open gateway. We began locking the door back in September of 2004, but I guess these thugs found our weak link from the other side. Never under-estimate these punks.

But it should be noted the increased level of effort on part of these guys. This wasn't a simple act of crime. This was calculated and thought out over time. Citizens UNITE!

[Nippyfish]

While unlikely, you can't discount "an inside job" either. We have a locked (key AND combo) bike room in our building that had bikes stolen a few months ago. Seriously, I never would have guessed we have a thief among us before the incident.

[new2mp]

I hesitate to offer this, I'm confident I'm not the first, but I've been wondering it over the last several months. With alleys as escape routes for criminals (namely those who rob folks on the street and take off on foot) and as areas where crimes can take place that require more time (auto-break in, etc), I was wondering if the city has given any thought to close-circuit tv cameras in the alleys.

I know all the invasion of privacy issues, but perhaps even Jack - who I regularly do not see eye to eye on when it comes to matters of law enforcement - would be supportive of cameras as they may lead to more convictions. Think of it as a permanent witness to crimes.

Also, and I will quickly admit purely anecdotally, it seems in many instances crimes committed in public places late at night (parking lots, gas stations, etc) often lead to arrests because there is camera footage.

To get this done would require a bit of money, certainly, but from a citizen level what would need to happen? Petition? Agreement in writing? What?

Big Brother arguments aside - because I don't know of any case anywhere that's found a citizens rights to have been violated by a closed-circuit tv camera focused on a public area - what is preventing this from happening?

[jack]

[brodyburks]

I'm not totally sure of the nuances offhand, but there seems is resistance, if not legal prohibition, barring the city government from using closed circuit cameras. There are a handful of cameras already scattered throughout the city, but they are only turned on during signifigant protests, and then they operate under heavy restriction. Unless somebody pops up that knows offhand what the restrictions are, I'll try to find out if the restrictions are statutory, legislative, or congressional.

This isn't to say it's not a good idea to install one on your property if you've been victimized. Personally I'm opposed to implementation of city operated cameras, but a resident who lives on ingleside or one of the other remote alleys seems to have a pretty compelling reason to monitor their property. I'm all for that.

[Tina]

I'd hate to be the resident who, having set up a camera for his or her own purpose, finds that it wasn't working (out of juice or tapes) at some crucial moment that becomes a big community issue. I don't know anything about the regulations....just musing about how we might be able to pull something like this off. Is there a better way to do it than to rely on individual residents?

What about school property? Are there, or could there be, cameras at Bancroft, which has in the past been a huge magnet for late night shenanigans.

[zrathore]

Jack, I know this info is elsewhere, but can you provide us with the numbers to call if we see something suspicious?

Specifically, if we are carrying cell phones, what number can we call? By the time I can get to a landline, I will have lost valuable time if I see something that's not right. Is there a number for cell phones that connects to someone in DC?

Tina had mentioned in another thread about young kids roaming the streets....Tina, I too have seen the packs of kids. I hate to adopt a real paranoid and extravigilent attitutde, but perhaps given the rash of crime, it's time to start stepping up a bit.

Thanks,
Z

[brodyburks]

[Laurie]

At the September and October PSA meeting, there was a woman who had an out-of-state cell phone who asked that very question.

She tested it and it does connect to our local "311"/"911" dispatch.

As far as other numbers go, if you are out on the streets and see, for example, a street light out, rats on parade, a pot hole, you can call 727-1000 and report it. But be prepared, they will give you a call number.

--Laurie

[Nippyfish]