D.C. After Dusk: Crime in the Capital Continues
Washington, D.C.
, our nation’s capital, has one of the highest tourist rates in the country. People come to see the monuments, historic documents or just stare at the White House. D.C. is also home to a number of colleges and universities which results in a number of students attending school in the area. As well, the business focus of the city sees numerous business travelers each and every day. Besides this, many other people call D.C. home. There are a lot of people in D.C. that have a keen interest in remaining safe while in the area.
In addition to residents and visitors, D.C. has more police and law enforcement than most areas of the . D.C. has a large police force – approximately 4,200 officers. However, in addition to this, nearly every federal agency has its own law enforcement component. To this, add the regular federal law enforcement agencies such as the Secret Service, DEA, FBI, ATF, Park Police and others. While it is clearly not the job of the federal law enforcement agents to patrol the streets of D.C., it is a reality that D.C. is full of police and other law enforcement.
However as of late, D.C. has also been full of violent crime. In the past few weeks, there have been a number of high profile murders and other crimes. The unusual thing about these crimes is that they have been occurring in non-traditional places.
In the past, D.C. has had a high crime rate and was once even thought of by many as the murder capital of the country. However over the past few years, the crime rate has been dropping. That is until this year. The increase has also been atypical. As with any city, there are areas where crime is higher and more likely to occur. In D.C. this has been no different. There are places that you just don’t go. Places you avoided. Places that if you happened to travel to and your car was broken into or you were mugged, it was not surprising. However, the spike in crime as of late has seen the crime spill into areas that traditionally have been considered safe. Places where you wouldn’t expect there to be such violent crime.
Last January, a then recently retired New York Times journalist was beaten as he took a walk around his upscale D.C. neighborhood. It turns out that the people arrested and charged for his murder had been involved in a number of thefts and assaults in D.C. prior to the murder and allegedly had even been identified; however, the police failed to locate these individuals before they committed murder. Earlier in July a British citizen who was set to work on a presidential campaign had his throat slashed as he and a female friend walked around the usually peaceful, and crime free, streets of
Georgetown
. He died and his female friend was raped by the attackers.
In addition to this, there have been several assaults on the National Mall. The Mall, located in the heart of the downtown D.C., is surrounded by federal office buildings, many with armed officers. Park Police patrol the mall on horse, on bike, in cars and on foot. While it is common to see as many has half a dozen police officers writing citations for alcohol violations by softball teams, there seems to never be police around during an assault. The reality is that the Mall is no longer considered safe for pedestrians after dark.
Several weeks ago, in response to the increased number of murders in D.C., the Chief of Police declared a crime emergency in D.C. This measure gives the chief the ability to cancel vacations, limit days off and to extend shifts. As well, measures were considered by the D.C. council to place more officers on the streets. Community meetings have also been held. All of this was done in an effort to address the spike in crimes.
Soon after the flurry of activity to address the increase in crime, the results of the measures were seen. More murders and more assaults occurred. As of the date of the writing of this article, 18 people have been murdered in D.C. There have even been violent assaults outside of crowded bars and restaurants.
The troubling thing about this, in addition to the loss of life, is that in the past, criminals stayed close to home. However, criminals recently have been going into neighborhoods that are not their own, intent on committing crimes. Some of the criminals, after they were apprehended, have been noted as saying that they were out looking to inflict bodily injury on someone. In the past, criminals have been satisfied at taking a watch or a wallet. Now though, it seems that once the wallet or watch is secure, the criminal seems compelled to decide whether to assault, rape or murder their victim. The bottom line is that neighborhoods such as
Georgetown
and areas such as the National Mall that have generally been low crime are no longer safe havens.
In recent years, the price of real estate in D.C. has risen exponentially. While this is great news for homeowners, it is not news that those of limited means in the District may have hoped for. Presently D.C. has some of the priciest real estate in the nation and that can’t be comforting for the near 20% of D.C. residents living below the poverty line. Many feel that the gap in socio-economic equality is the major contributing factor to the crime rise. Others feel that crime rates are cyclical and that they will fall again. The Mayor of D.C. feels that to solve the problem, nearly 1,000 officers need to be hired.
However, be it a gap in inequality or a cycle, D.C. is the focal point of
‘s heritage and home to much of its history. The residents need to feel safe in their homes and the visitors need to be able to come to town without worrying about having their hard earned dollars taken from them on the capital steps. Be it more police or community accountability, something needs to soon be done.
