Results tagged “crimeemergency”

Former D.C. Police Chief Charles Ramsey has been named police commissioner of Philadelphia by Mayor-elect Michael Nutter, reports the Associated Press. Ramsey came to D.C. in 1998 after serving for 31 years in his hometown of Chicago, and became Washington's longest-serving police chief in more than three decades, serving as top cop in the District until the end of 2006, when he was replaced by incoming Mayor Adrian Fenty. Since we've had a little bit...

Good morning, Washington. Recent increases in gun-related crime in the city seems to be today's main topic of news, just as the Supreme Court may announce today whether it intends to take another look at D.C.'s handgun ban. D.C. Mayor Adrian Fenty has scheduled a press conference this morning to address the District's position on its gun safety law, but in the meantime the Washington Post is questioning the law's effectiveness and just last...

As you'll recall from last summer's round of Crime Emergency-associated legislation, teens in the District were forced to obey a curfew of 10 p.m. throughout the summer months in an effort to stem the tide of law breaking that was often blamed on youths being out on the streets, up to no good. Did it help? Not particularly as far we could ever tell, though it did allow police to release figures about how many...

Some seriously grim news from MPD to help put an end to your holly jolly holiday spirit. NBC4 is reporting that there were a total of five shootings in the District last night, at least three of which resulted in fatalities. None of the shootings were related, and took place in various corners of the District — including Park Rd. NW, Crittenden St., V Street NW, Butler St. SE, and Birney Pl. SE.

Anyone who rides Metrobuses knows they can sometimes be like a war zone. Crowded aisles, erratic schedules, and that smelly guy next to you have been known to fuel hot tempers in weary riders. Fortunately, these encounters rarely escalate beyond harsh words or rolled eyes. However, it went far beyond that Saturday night on the 92 bus traveling to Congress Heights along Good Hope Road in Southeast.

Hey, D.C., are you like us? Does this odd time of year, when the days are shorter but we have yet to switch back off of Daylight Savings Time (that'll be Oct. 29 at midnight, in case you're wondering) and it's still dark in the morning when you wake up, leave you feeling a little discombobulated? We suspect the change in light might be responsible for a lot of people we've noticed feeling grumpy and...

There's certainly more to worry about on the crime front today, as the Post points out in its recent story. Four murders, including those of three juveniles, occurred in the District over the last 24 hours.

The bloody spurt comes two months after D.C. Police Chief Charles H. Ramsey declared a crime emergency, and three weeks after the chief cut back on overtime patrols, saying the recent spate of violence had begun to taper off. The crime emergency was triggered by the slayings of 13 people -- including a 16-year-old -- during the first 11 days of July. Ramsey said he acted in part because the number of juveniles being arrested for robbery in the city had risen sharply from the previous year. In addition to increased patrols that required six-day work weeks for police officers, the emergency measures included moving the curfew for youths 16 and under from midnight to 10 p.m. The curfew has been extended at least though Thursday. But earlier this month, Ramsey said overall crime had dropped 11 percent since the emergency was declared, and said he would now require the six-day schedules only every other week.

The District has been posting detailed weekly crime statistics ever since the Crime Emergency was declared on July 12, which compare the emergency period with the same time last year. Figures for last week are not yet available, and to be sure they don't include these recent killings, but overall the picture Chief Ramsey painted when he eased off the emergency measures three weeks ago was accurate. Violent crimes like homicides, assaults and robberies are significantly lower for the period between July 12 and Sept. 17 this year than in 2005. Reports of sex abuse are up slightly and burglaries are up as well for the same period, but looking at the numbers across the board, it's difficult to fault Chief Ramsey for reducing the amount of forced overtime his officers had been working since July.

Written by DCist contributor Lindsay Gibson.

Good morning, wet Washington. It does appear that we can expect a few more showers this morning, but after that it should dry out for the rest of the week, leaving us all in what ought to be more cheerful dispositions were it not for this disturbing news: It seems that more and more bass in and around the Potomac have been discovered to possess both male and female sex organs, leading scientists to express...

For months they have danced around each other, engaging in verbal jousting like the determined enemies that they are. But tonight it ends. Tonight, and only tonight, they face each other. Only one will remain standing. Are you ready to RUMBLEEEEEEEEEEEEE??????

Continue reading "Rumble, D.C. Election Style "

Over the weekend, Washington, D.C. renewed its Taliban-like devotion to the Washington Redskins as nearly fifty-thousand fans headed out to FedEx Field this past Saturday to watch the home team participate in a “free” scrimmage against the Ravens. The reason for the Washington Times scare-quotes is because the event was mainly noteworthy for how Washington’s Public Frenemy Number One, Dan Snyder, used the occasion to test out his latest parking lot price-gouge strategies, proving once...

Hey there, Washington. How was your weekend? Ours was OK. Yeah, just OK. Oh sure, we're fine. We guess we're just a little troubled by some of today's headlines. As if the looming Heat Emergency, which has given us a Code Orange Air Quality day today and will place the heat index close to 110 through much of the week, wasn't disturbing enough, we alse read in the Examiner that the growth of online news readers nationwide has plateaued. According to a study by the Pew Research Center for the People & the Press, about three in 10 adults, or 31 percent, regularly read news online, which is roughly the same as two years ago. Wait a minute. DCist began almost exactly 2 years ago. Suddenly it all makes sense! DCist is such a force to be reckoned with in the online news community, we've actually swallowed all of the growth of the Internet over the last 2 years. Who would have thought? Well this changes everything. Here's a special shoutout to all of our loyal readers who made this day possible.

Good morning Washington, and welcome to the second full day of this summer's Crime Emergency. Feel safer yet? No? Well, give it a few weeks. It'll still be a little while before the city collectively re-loses interest in its crime problem. But for now, there's some excellent coverage in the area media — and perhaps unsurprisingly, the Post is leading the way. July's Murders Examined: Although the deaths of Alan Senitt and Chris Crowder have pushed the city into action, theirs were far from the first lives lost during this disturbingly violent summer. Today's Post spends nearly 3,000 words examining the lives and deaths of the fourteen murder victims that have been lost (as of this writing) in the city during July. Although some of the accounts are short on details, it's heartening to see the recent violence examined in a context that extends beyond Georgetown. Officials Warn There's No Quick Fix: As one might expect, the immediate substantive reactions to the uproar over crime have been changes in how police are deployed throughout the city: yesterday the city council allocated $31.5 million for new officers, and the U.S. Park Police announced changes to its patrol schedules aimed at making the Mall safer. However, there are indications that these measures may not be the magic bullet we'd all like. Police Chief Ramsey is warning that it may take years for the allocated funds to be fully converted into police officers. And WTOP reports that the Park Police's recent failures may have more to do with systematic understaffing rather than merely an inefficient patrol pattern — a problem that former Park Police Chief Teresa Chambers was fired for pointing out. Stadium Parking Found: The Post reports that stadium planners think they've come up with a solution to their looming parking problem. You might remember a recent controversy over whether the stadium's garages would be above or below ground. That issue was resolved with a simple non-decision ("both!"), but it only opened enough spaces for the ticketholders with the deepest pockets. But what about us plebes? Well, apparently 9,000 more spaces have been located for the unwashed masses. However, they're spread out over many sites, some are quite far from the stadium, a third are currently in private hands, and many are served by insufficient streets. Briefly Noted: Officer apologizes for racially-charged comment... Chief Ramsey asks feds for help getting max sentences for offenders... NBC4 discovers Craigslist, makes a graphic for it... FCC sends Comcast and MASN to binding arbitration... This Day In DCist: We interviewed the very talented RPM (Restoring Poetry in Music), discussed the best places to eat on Bastille Day (Happy B-Day all, by the way), and looked at the latest political news surrounding voting rights and stadium financing. Image posted to DCist Photos by Flickr user llemanie

Discussion of recent crime activity continues today, but not in an encouraging way. The Post focuses on Chief Ramsey's comments yesterday, which noted that criminals are increasingly leaving their own neighborhoods and coming to wealthier places in the city, including areas of the National Mall. Ramsey says this is new and striking behavior, but it's hard to imagine that no one saw this coming. Luckily for Ramsey, the mayor is back and ready to begin...

D.C. Police Chief Declares Crime Emergency: You heard right. Police Chief Ramsey has officially declared a Crime Emergency for the District, which in practical terms means he now has greater authority to change police officer's schedules in order to increase manpower on the street without the 14-day notice typically required by the union. With 13 murders since the first of this month, many residents are upset and demanding action. The Post notes that the number of murders in the city so far this year, 94, is the exact same number we had this time last year — though robberies are up 14%. DCist definitely noticed a lot more patrol cars last night in N.W., which is we guess is never a bad thing — though the Post also quotes Officer Kristopher Baumann's concerns that officers will only be further demoralized by not receiving overtime pay — so maybe it's sometimes a bad thing. Our Crime Emergency status will continue for at least the next 30 days, when Ramsey will reevaluate.