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Vigilance, better policing improve neighborhoods' safety
(Published April 19, 2004)

By KATHRYN SINZINGER
Staff Writers

Four months after Police Chief Charles Ramsey pledged to eradicate an illegal drug market in the Shepherd Park-Takoma area, police officials acknowledged that they had not met their self-imposed April 15 deadline.

But many of the almost 100 residents who attended a status meeting on April 15, called by Ward 4 Councilman Adrian Fenty, said they believe that increased policing and community vigilance have significantly improved the safety of their Northwest D.C. neighborhoods.

"When I walk down Georgia Avenue, I can see the difference," one Shepherd Park resident told the assemblage. "I don’t see the drug transactions going on anymore."

Data recently released by the Metropolitan Police Department show the largest crime decrease in the District during the first three months of 2004 has occurred in the Fourth Police District, which includes the targeted sections of Ward 4. Overall crime declined 19 percent in the Fourth District, compared to the same three-month period of 2003, with almost all major categories of crime decreasing.

Councilman Fenty began holding monthly crime meetings in Patrol Service Area 401, at the city’s northern tip, at the end of last year after a Nov. 23 homicide in the 900 block of Juniper Street NW prompted renewed complaints about a decade-old drug market in the area. At the first meeting, Chief Ramsey promised to eliminate the area’s drug market within four months. Prostitution and burglaries of homes in the area, many believed to be committed by drug addicts seeking quick-sale items to support their habits, also have been targeted by police.

"We expect to be held accountable – that’s a promise we made to this community," said Fourth District Commander Hilton Burton.

Burton and Chief Ramsey repeatedly encouraged residents to call them directly to report the names of police officers who fail to adequately perform their duties. Police officials at the meeting also encouraged residents to remain vigilant and report suspicious activities in their neighborhood by calling 311.

"Taking [the community’s safety] back is one thing, but maintaining it is a real challenge," Ramsey said. "We need to be able to keep it up, and we will keep it up. ...[but] maintaining community involvement as well as police involvement is important."

Police said they have employed a variety of methods to attack the area’s entrenched crime problems, including the declaration of short-term "drug-free zones" to provide intensive 24-hour police coverage and cooperation from other city departments to help clean up nuisance properties and neglected alleys. Reinvigorated "orange hat" patrolling by neighborhood residents and creation of a "block captain" program to monitor neighborhood activities also were credited with helping to reduce crime.