WASHINGTON — Mayor Muriel Bowser and D.C. Police Chief Robert J. Contee announce a new partnership focused on driving down violent crime in the District, specifically several areas in Ward 8.
The new year-round partnership, which will bring together D.C. government agencies, community organizations and federal and local law enforcement agencies will build off the success of the Fall and Summer Crime Prevention Initiatives.
"We are not going to stop until we have every resource, used every resource to stop gun violence in the city," Bowser said at the Friday news conference.
Bowser said the collective goal is to remove people from the community who are using guns and to hold them accountable. District leaders are also calling on neighbors and residents to make this effort happen.
Metropolitan Police Department Chief Contee said the program will target two locations in the 6th District and two locations in the 7th District --- both areas are in Ward 8.
Contee said Ward 8 has contributed to the brunt of violence in the city, accounting for 62% of all homicides in all of the city and 23% of violent crimes. He added that the police districts in this area will appoint Homicide Crime Reduction Captains to oversee and implement intelligence-led strategies focused on reducing violent crime.
During the D.C. Council Committee on the Judiciary and Public Safety Performance Oversight Hearing on Thursday, Contee discussed the state of policing and the ways they hope to reduce overall violent crime in the city.
"I will take this opportunity to talk about both the challenges that the city and a department have faced during the past year, and share some thoughts about how we all move forward to create a safer community together," Contee said.
According to city data, the District ended 2021 with 226 homicides. That is the most the city has recorded since 2003.
"It’s difficult to find the words to adequately characterize this increase in violence in our city. It’s beyond tragic, beyond unacceptable. Over the past year, MPD has developed new enforcement strategies to combat violence and put the organizational changes and training in place to accomplish them," Contee said.
Part of the new strategy involves increasing the department's violence reduction unit, allowing for more room to pursue long-term crime issues.
Contee said they plan to team up with federal agencies to investigate cases and make sure there is strong evidence their partners can use to prosecute fully.
"MPD is taking an intelligence-led policing approach to reduce violent crime by focusing on both locations where the violent crime is occurring and the people and groups most associated with it," Contee said.
But it was Kevin Petty, a member of this community, who captured the attention of the crowd with his statement.
“We can’t incarcerate our way out of crime," Petty said.
Seeing his neighborhood evolve is a personal priority for him.
“I was incarcerated for murder. I did 31 years. I was 19 years old. I gave up the best that I had. The same problems they’re addressing today, I was a part of that,” Petty added.
Reformed and rehabilitated, he said he has a sense of deja vu when he hears about the nearly daily acts of violent crime in DC.
Contee said going forward, no expense is too great to keep the residents of DC safe.
“When we’re talking about homicides, when we’re talking about robberies, and we’re talking about crimes that scare the hell out of people, I want to make sure we are doing everything we possibly can. We are sparing no resource, federal or local resource, to make sure we are reducing crime in this city,” Contee said.
He also added he hopes parents will step in more.
“I wish we could have some parents, get some strong parents, to get to their children before we have to get the system involved,” Contee said.
It's a hope Petty shares. Petty said he got addicted to drugs before he was 10. It clouded his judgment and nearly rid him of a moral compass.
Prison changed him he says, and he hopes another young man or woman won’t have to have his life’s experiences and pleads with everyone to stop and think about the community they want to live in.
“Violent crimes in poor and underserved communities only help us stay poor and underserved,” Petty said.
The Metropolitan Police Department is also establishing a community focus patrol unit to supplement the number of patrols in areas experiencing higher levels of crime.
"For communities grappling with gun violence, this enhanced coordination and support during these initiatives can offer a respite from violence and needed resources to the neighborhood," Contee said.
Contee told the council his officers were observing more armed robberies and violent carjackings than in years past. He added he was disturbed that many of the crimes seemed to involve juveniles.
Contee said there were 426 carjackings in the District in 2021. He said 101 of the 151 arrests for that crime involved juveniles. Meanwhile, in 2019, Contee said there were only 152 carjackings in D.C. He added less than half of the suspects arrested in those cases were juveniles.
Contee believes youth who commit violent crimes need to be held more accountable in the District.
“It is not an exaggeration to say lives literally hang in the balance of the decisions we make regarding our youth,” he said. “I am making an earnest plea to our city to be our best to come together and think differently about this very important issue.”
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