ch n The Current W ednesday, March 14, 2012
Police say efforts curbed Tenley robberies By BRADY HOLT Current Staff Writer
After a series of robberies this year, police have “successfully changed the tide on the street crime” in the Tenleytown/Friendship Heights area, Metropolitan Police Department Lt. Alan Hill said Thursday at a meeting of the local advisory neighborhood commission. In recent weeks, police have stopped groups of people — many of them Wilson High School students — whom detectives believe were involved in robberies and thefts from parked cars in the upper Wisconsin Avenue corridor, according to Hill. Although few have been charged in connection with particular incidents, police actions have deterred them from committing crimes in the neighborhood, he said. On Feb. 13, officers conducting surveillance overheard a teenager say, “Do him,” Hill said — which they understood to be the selection of a robbery victim. Police searched the teen and his several companions and found that they had a BB gun, but because the would-be victim ran away and didn’t later report the issue, officers couldn’t issue a robbery charge, said Hill. “However, since they did not all go to jail that night, some went home to talk amongst their peer group,”
Cameras slow down Porter Street drivers By BRADY HOLT Current Staff Writer
When the Metropolitan Police Department installed speed cameras on Porter Street over Rock Creek Park in December, the devices made headlines for racking up hundreds of violations a day — an average of around 15 an hour. By the end of February, according to automated enforcement program manager Lisa Sutter, the number of speeding citations issued on that stretch had dropped to two to three an hour. “That’s the kind of thing we want to see,” Sutter said at Monday night’s Forest Hills/Van Ness advisory neighborhood commission meeting. She said the city now wants to replicate that success for a wider set of violations and at more sites. This summer, police hope to begin installing long-planned cameras to fine drivers who don’t stop at stop signs or for pedestrians, those who speed through intersections or on winding roads, and those who drive prohibited trucks on small streets, said Sutter. Commissioners voted 4-1 to support the expanded program. Although many residents oppose the cameras, Sutter said they’re an excellent way to change drivers’ behavior. Police can’t be everywhere, and officers sometimes issue tickets more subjectively. “The whole idea behind photo enforcement is consistency,” Sutter said. “If you know that every time you drive down Porter there’s going to be a camera, at some point you’re going to put on the brakes and not speed past that camera.” See Cameras/Page 5
warning their friends of the police presence, Hill added. “We’ve had no more street robberies of the nature we’ve been having after that in [Police Service Area] 202.” A March 6 robbery attempt in the 3900 block of Morrison Street, in which a masked man allegedly tried to take a bag from a pedestrian walking from the Friendship Heights Metro station, occurred just outside that patrol area’s boundaries. Hill said other recent incidents involving student victims and perpetrators didn’t fit the typical profile of this year’s street robberies. A different group of robbery suspects — older than those stopped Feb. 13 — remains at large but appears to have moved to other parts of the city, according to Hill. Police also recently stopped a group of three Wilson students believed to be responsible for a string of thefts from autos, and they have a warrant for another suspect, Hill said. He said those crimes have also declined. Hill warned, however, that residents need to stay vigilant, because a new crime wave can begin quickly. “We catch a group, the word gets out for a while, then somebody else decides they’ll give it a try,” he said. Police devoted extra resources to the area early this year, including plainclothes officers from the narcotics division, according to Hill.
The week ahead Thursday, March 15
The Cleveland Park Citizens Association will hold its monthly meeting, which will feature a forum for candidates in contested primaries. The meeting will also include a report on demographic changes in Cleveland Park from 2000 to 2010. The meeting will be held from 7 to 8:30 p.m. at the Cleveland Park Neighborhood Library, 3310 Connecticut Ave. NW. ■ Advisory Neighborhood Commission 4A will host a candidates forum for the Ward 4 D.C. Council race. The forum will be held from 7 to 9 p.m. at Brightwood Education Campus, 1300 Nicholson St. NW. Residents are invited to submit potential questions to 4A@anc.dc.gov.
Tuesday, March 20
The Crestwood Citizens Association will hold its regular meeting, which will feature a talk by Rock Creek Park superintendent Tara Morrison. The meeting will begin at 7 p.m. at 1950 Upshur St. NW. ■ The Chevy Chase Citizens Association and Northwest Neighbors Village will host a program on “Elder Issues: Facilitating Difficult Family Conversations.” Speakers will include Myrna Fawcett, an elder-law attorney; Steve Altman; a practicing commercial mediator; and Carolyn Rodis, a specialist in elder-care mediation. The meeting will begin at 7:30 p.m. at the Chevy Chase Community Center, 5601 Connecticut Ave. NW. ■ Advisory Neighborhood Commission 3C will sponsor a community meeting with representatives from Giant and Buzzuto Development to discuss construction plans for Cathedral Commons at the current Giant site at Wisconsin Avenue and Newark Street. The meeting will begin at 7:30 p.m. at the 2nd District Police Headquarters, 3320 Idaho Ave. NW.
Wednesday, March 21
The D.C. Alcoholic Beverage Control Board will hold a public hearing on the proposed renewal of the Glover Park liquor license moratorium for three years. The hearing will be held from 11 a.m. to noon in the board’s fourth-floor hearing room in the Reeves Center, 2000 14th St. NW. To testify, contact Martha Jenkins at 202-442-4456 or martha.jenkins@dc.gov.
Thursday, March 22
The Ward 3 Democratic Committee will hold a “community dialogue” with D.C. Public Schools Chancellor Kaya Henderson. The meeting will begin at 7:30 p.m. at St. Columba’s Episcopal Church, 4201 Albemarle St. NW. In conjunction with the meeting, committee delegates will hold an endorsement vote in the atlarge D.C. Council and shadow senator races.
Tuesday, March 27
The D.C. State Board of Education will hold its monthly meeting, which will include a review of graduation requirements in art and music. The meeting will begin at 5:30 p.m. in Room 412 at the John A. Wilson Building, 1350 Pennsylvania Ave. NW. ■ Advisory Neighborhood Commission 3/4G and the Chevy Chase Citizens Association will host a candidates forum for the at-large D.C. Council race. The forum will be held from 7 to 9 p.m. at the Chevy Chase Community Center, Connecticut Avenue and McKinley Street NW.
Wednesday, April 4
Mayor Vincent Gray will hold a Ward 3 town-hall meeting on the D.C. budget from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. at Deal Middle School, 3815 Fort Drive NW.
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