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The MPD held the December PSA 305 meeting on December 7th.  While crime has shown a reduction from the previous month, it is still showing an increase from the comparable period last year. 

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PSA 305 Meeting Notes – December 7, 2010

At the December 2010 PSA 305 meeting at the DC Housing Finance Agency at 815 Florida Ave. NW, Lt. A. Jova and Marco Santiago, Community Outreach Coordinator of the MPD addressed the community.  Also in attendance were ANC Myla Moss, Councilmember Jim Graham’s Associate Legislative Director John De Taeye, a Howard University Police representative, residents, and representatives from local businesses. 

Highlights of the meeting:

• Lt. Jova and Mr. Santiago discussed crime in PSA 305 in the past month.  There were 9 robberies in the PSA in the last month, which Lt. Jova noted is an all-time low.  Most of the robberies occurred on Saturday evenings between 7-11 pm.  Some of the robberies occurred in dimly-lit alleys near Metro stations as people were walking to the Metro.  Many of the robbery victims were from out-of-state.  There were also some incidents where thieves bumped into people and pick-pocketed them. 
• There were 8 burglaries of residences.  Some of the perpetrators entered the homes through open side windows, as well as kicking open doors.  Mr. Santiago suggested always securing windows and making sure that door frames are secured by 3” screws (as opposed to shorter screws) to ensure that the door cannot be kicked in. 
• One resident from the Westminster neighborhood stated that he was alarmed by the 28% increase in total crime in the past month as compared to the same time period one year ago.  This statistic was reported in e-mail communication from Councilmember Jim Graham’s office.  This concern that was echoed by Mr. De Taeye. 
• Various residents expressed their concerns about response from MPD after calling the police on several occasions.  Lt. Jova stated that he would look into those incidents.  
• Concerns over repeated offenders, particularly juveniles, was discussed.  The difficulties of keeping offenders in jail in the DC criminal justice system due to the lack of a 24 hr magistrate and reliance on the U.S. Attorney’s Office was discussed.  Cecilia Jones, a resident in PSA 302 who tracks arrest records and prepares impact statements, was mentioned, and the prospect of developing a similar tracking system in PSA 305 was discussed.  
• Lt. Jova informed the group that DC 9 was expected to reopen on December 17, 2010.  
• Mr. De Taeye stated that several Ethiopian businesses had met and expressed interest in collaborating with other business owners on 9th St. NW between T St. and U St. to establish a reimbursable detail with MPD officers during weekend nights.  
• Lt. Jova offered to arrange ride-alongs with MPD officers.
• Lt. Jova and Mr. Santiago shared some ultraviolet marking pens that may be used to tag items such as cell phones, iPods, and laptops.  The ink in the pens is invisible in daylight, but is visible under ultraviolet light.  Lt. Jova and MR. Santiago recommended tagging personal items with these pens so that they may be tracked back to the owners in case the items are stolen and recovered by MPD.  

A summary of the statistics for the past current month period; along with comparison to previous 30 days and previous period a year ago follows: