DC Stats

New D.C. Data Alter Violent Crime Tally

2007-06-05T19:17:00.000-07:00

"Violent crime in the District jumped nearly 9 percent last year, the latest police statistics show -- a big turnabout from earlier claims that the numbers had dropped from the previous year."
Allison Klein
Washington Post
June 2, 2007

Shaw Blogosphere Review

2007-02-09T08:10:00.000-08:00

"Over the past several months there has been a small blogging renaissance in Shaw...The result of so many civic-oriented blogs has been an unprecedented online attention to the local ANC. "
The Goodspeed Update
January 19, 2007

Not my problem, says District chief financial officer

2007-02-09T07:57:00.000-08:00

"A District government agency failed to collect as much as $40 million it could have received from the federal government for Medicaid services that it provided. Another agency requested $17 million from the feds for undocumented reimbursements, apparently to camouflage its overspending. Yet another agency overspent its approved budget by $18 million, perhaps violating the federal Anti-Deficiency Act."
by Jonetta Rose Barras
The Examiner
Feb 8, 2007

D.C. police fight high turnover

2007-02-09T07:52:00.000-08:00

"More than 5 percent of its 3,800 officers have left the Metropolitan Police Department in the last two years...
Former MPD officer Ed Farris said the breaking point for him came last year, when he was accused of using excessive force by a girl who was injured in the crash of a stolen car. An investigation found no wrongdoing, Farris said, but he was punished anyway because he was accused of filing improper paperwork.
"That was the final straw,” Farris said. He left and received a $15,000 pay raise to become a special agent with the Department of Homeland Security."
by Scott McCabe
The Examiner
Feb 6, 2007

All Boarded Up and No Place to Go

2007-01-01T20:42:00.000-08:00

"Logan Circle has undergone a major rebirth over the past few decades. We have new residential buildings, retail spaces, even a burgeoning art community. But crime and public safety are still a top concern. A large part of the problem is the abandoned and neglected properties that continue to make our neighborhood attractive to criminals."
Washington Post
Sunday, December 31, 2006

Cameras haven't helped solve cases, Ramsey says

2006-10-10T19:42:00.000-07:00

"Patricia Riley, special counsel to the U.S. Attorney's Office, testified that prosecutors had asked to have defendants detained until trial 110 times and that the court granted the request 73 times. She said 55 of those cases were for persons accused of carrying a handgun without a license. [The rest (55) are assumed to be for robbery-Ed.] "
By Matthew Cella
THE WASHINGTON TIMES
September 30, 2006

Mayor Extends Teen Curfew In District

2006-10-10T19:36:00.000-07:00

"The number of curfew-age juvenile victims of violent crime on public space between the hours of 10 p.m. to 6 a.m. has decreased 44 percent, and the number of curfew-age juveniles arrested between 10 p.m. to 6 a.m. has decreased 42 percent, officials in the mayor's office said."
nbc4.com
September 28, 2006

Pedestrian deaths in D.C. show rise�

2006-10-10T19:30:00.001-07:00

"Sixteen pedestrians have been killed in the District so far this year, the Metropolitan Police Department reported. The number of pedestrian deaths increased to 16 last year from 10 in 2004."
By Tarron Lively
THE WASHINGTON TIMES
October 8, 2006

D.C. motorists get a 'break' as gas drops

2006-08-29T20:20:00.000-07:00

"The normally large premium Washington pays for gas compared with the rest of the country has narrowed from 12 cents to 3 cents a gallon."
By Patrice Hill
THE WASHINGTON TIMES
August 29, 2006

Most Expensive Rental Markets In America 2006

2006-08-22T18:45:00.000-07:00

Washington, D.C. area ranks 13th according to Forbes.
Population 4,923,153
Price per square foot for Class A* apartments $18.85
Five-year price change for Class A* apartments 14.9%
Price per square foot for Class B** apartments $15.15
Five-year price change for Class B** apartments 17.6%

The Future of D.C. Public Schools: Traditional or Charter Education?

2006-08-22T18:31:00.000-07:00

"With public confidence in the schools at an all-time low, more than 17,000 public school students -- nearly one in four -- have rejected the traditional system in favor of 51 independently run, publicly funded charter schools. That share is one of the largest in the nation and is expected to rise when six more charter schools open their doors this fall."
By Lori Montgomery and Jay Mathews
Washington Post
August 22, 2006

Crime emergency affects very little�

2006-08-09T20:13:00.000-07:00

"��According to police statistics, the city had 21 homicides last month, when Chief Ramsey declared the crime emergency, and 20 in June. ��In addition, there were 309 reports of assaults with a deadly weapon last month, compared with 311 such reports in June. Sexual assaults numbered 33 last month and 38 in June. ��Last month, Mayor Anthony A. Williams said the crime emergency's goal was to decrease crime by 50 percent in 30 days...
Police statistics show that arrests have increased 21 percent, firearm recoveries have increased 46 percent and curfew violation citations have increased 177 percent since the emergency began."
By Amy Doolittle
THE WASHINGTON TIMES
August 9, 2006

The 'Crime Emergency' That Never Goes Away

2006-08-06T08:59:00.000-07:00

"It's not a coincidence that you see the largest amount of violent crime where you see the greatest amount of social dysfunction." [Great reprise of the past 'crime emergencies'. Though I disagree with the solutions Mr. King suggests. -Ed.]
By Colbert I. King
Washington Post
August 5, 2006

Support the Officers on the Street

2006-08-02T19:24:00.000-07:00

"The department has failed to develop strategies for reducing crime and encouraging aggressive, effective policing but instead has focused its efforts on instituting a disciplinary system that actually discourages proactive policing. Indeed, the department has more people assigned to investigate its own officers than it does to investigate homicides."
By Kristopher Baumann, chairman of the Fraternal Order of Police Metropolitan Police Department Labor Committee
Washington Post
July 23, 2006

Park Police complain of budget strain�

2006-07-24T17:28:00.000-07:00

"Several veteran Park Police officers noted that Teresa Chambers, as police chief, raised warnings in December 2003. She was suspended and later fired for telling reporters that the agency had neither enough officers nor resources to provide adequate security in a post-September 11 world... the National Park Service told Congress in April 2000 that Park Police needed 806 officers. At the time, the agency had 638 officers, compared with 621 today"
By Jerry Seper
THE WASHINGTON TIMES
July 24, 2006

The Case For Repealing DC's Gun Laws

2006-07-21T17:59:00.000-07:00

"D.C.'s homicide rate has soared since the city banned handguns in 1976...
The District of Columbia is the only jurisdiction in the U.S. that prohibits keeping firearms in an operable condition at home, for defense against criminal attack...
The District of Columbia Court of Appeals has ruled that the city's police department is "not generally liable to victims of violent criminal acts for failure to provide adequate police protection. . . ." (Warren v. District of Columbia, 444 A.2d 1, 1981)...
Since D.C. imposed its handgun ban, 29 states have adopted laws to allow citizens to carry firearms for self-defense. Today, 38 states have Right-to-Carry laws. States with those laws have seen crime decrease, and they have lower overall violent crime rates compared to other states."

How tax-friendly is your state?

2006-07-19T19:59:00.000-07:00

The Tax Foundation, a policy research group, estimated the average taxpayer's total state and local tax burden for 2005. D.C. comes in second for least tax friendly at 12.2% of per capita income.
CNN/Money

Auditors fault special-ed data�

2006-07-19T19:53:00.000-07:00

"The District's Child and Family Services Agency (CFSA) and public school system don't know how many foster children receive special education, according to a government audit released yesterday."
By Jim McElhatton
THE WASHINGTON TIMES
July 19, 2006

D.C. officials earn in city, live in burbs�

2006-07-19T19:51:00.000-07:00

"More than half of the D.C. government's employees live outside the District, taking about 60 percent of the government's $1.73 billion payroll to spend -- and be taxed -- in the suburbs... The District imposes a 5.75 percent sales tax and a property tax rate of 92 cents per $100 assessed value. It also levies a top income tax rate of 9 percent... Of the 4,723 persons on the police department payroll last year, about a quarter — 1,193 — lived in the city. Of the fire department's 1,988 employees, 580 were city residents, or 29.2 percent."
By Matthew Cella
THE WASHINGTON TIMES
July 19, 2006

Crime types vary by D.C. division�

2006-07-18T21:33:00.000-07:00

"the 6th and 7th police districts -- which comprise poor and working-class neighborhoods east of the Anacostia River -- lead the city in the number of homicides, accounting for 40 of the 82 killings recorded through June.
�But those neighborhoods rank near the bottom for robberies, which occur most frequently in the 1st and 3rd districts -- which encompass affluent communities in Northwest and downtown."
By Matthew Cella and Gary Emerling
THE WASHINGTON TIMES
July 14, 2006

D.C. pay increases not based on merit�

2006-07-18T19:15:00.000-07:00

"For example, Lee E. Williams had earned $103,318 a year as the head of the D.C. Taxicab Commission, overseeing 15 employees. The city government boosted his salary by 3.5 percent, to $106,934, last year -- just before Mr. Williams was fired for incompetence.... Since 2002, the average D.C. government executive salary has grown 10 percent, from $121,905 to $134,252. The federal government's executive pay scale increased by 6.3 percent during the same period."
By Matthew Cella
THE WASHINGTON TIMES
July 18, 2006

D.C. fields fewer workers, but payroll cost soars

2006-07-18T19:10:00.000-07:00

"The D.C. government's payroll grew by nearly $180 million between 2002 and last year, while its work force decreased by more than 2,000 personnel during that period, city records show.
In addition, the number of city workers earning salaries of $150,000 or more climbed from nine in 2002 to 43 last year, when the median income for a four-member D.C. family was $56,067..... 1,268 employees being paid an annual salary in excess of $100,000... In Baltimore, which has 628,670 residents and 15,500 city workers, 55 employees earned annual salaries of more than $100,000."
By Matthew Cella
THE WASHINGTON TIMES
July 17, 2006

Police Chief Declares D.C. Crime Emergency

2006-07-12T20:43:00.000-07:00

"Thirteen people have been killed since July 1 in the District, and police are being pressured to take action by residents at community meetings and vigils to honor the dead. The victims included a popular store owner slain at closing time, a community activist killed in a park and a British citizen whose throat was slit in Georgetown. ... Despite the recent uptick in violence, the number of people killed this year is the same as at this point in 2005: 94. But the number of robberies is up 14 percent, and Ramsey and other commanders are concerned that more holdups will turn deadly. ... Ramsey temporarily reassigned Inspector Andy Solberg, who urged residents to report suspicious activity and said, "This is not a racial thing to say that black people are unusual in Georgetown." ... Lowaunz Tascoe, a black shop owner who has lived in Georgetown for almost 40 years, said Solberg had merely stated the truth. ... Officer Kristopher Baumann, chairman of the D.C. police labor committee for the Fraternal Order of Police Lodge 1. "What we need is intelligent, comprehensive crime-fighting strategy rather than reactionary policing."
By Allison Klein
Washington Post Staff Writer
July 12, 2006

SUMMARY OF SPECIAL REPORT: Emergency Response to the Assault on David E. Rosenbaum

2006-07-12T20:05:00.000-07:00

"The OIG team concludes that personnel from the Office of Unified Communications properly monitored the 911 call from Gramercy Street and immediately dispatched adequate resources to respond to the emergency. However, FEMS, MPD, and Howard personnel failed to respond to David E. Rosenbaum in accordance with established protocols. Individuals who played critical roles in providing these services failed to adhere to applicable policies, procedures, and other guidance from their respective employers. These failures included incomplete patient assessments, poor communication between emergency responders, and inadequate evaluation and documentation of the incident. The result, significant and unnecessary delays in identifying and treating Mr. Rosenbaum’s injuries, hindered recognition that a crime had been committed."
By Charles Willoughby
Inspector General
June 2006

Violent Robberies Make It Hard to Ignore D.C.'s Vicious Side

2006-07-12T19:37:00.000-07:00

"So far this year, we've had a 95 percent increase in juveniles arrested for robberies, and it's not uncommon to have physical assaults in the process... According to D.C. police, 420 juveniles taken into custody on armed-robbery charges in the city this year had been arrested before. Including the robbery case, 144 of them have been arrested twice; 102, three times; 74, four times; 44, five times; 29, six times; 10, seven times; five, eight times; five, nine times; three, 10 times; one, 11 times; one, 12 times; and two, 14 times. ... To most of them, it's just a joke."
By Courtland Milloy
Washington Post
July 12, 2006

20% of fatal crashes involve young drivers�

2006-07-06T06:42:00.000-07:00

"D.C. tops in teen-related deaths. The study found that although teen-related traffic fatalities fell 5.2 percent nationally from 1994 to 2004, the District's share shot up by more than 60 percent."
By Joyce Howard Price
THE WASHINGTON TIMES
June 30, 2006

Group Ranks D.C. Nation's No. 2 Speed Trap

2006-07-01T08:23:00.000-07:00

Erik Scrum, spokesman for the National Motorists Association, says his organization defines a speed trap as "anywhere that you have the majority of traffic exceeding the speed limit and the police are taking advantage of that without having done any sort of engineering study."
By Hank Silverberg
WTOP Radio
June 30, 2006

For drivers, danger on the phone

2006-07-01T08:02:00.000-07:00

A study calls phone use risky as driving drunk.
By Tom Avril
Philadelphia Inquirer
June 30, 2006

DCRA: Defending the City’s Ruling Aristocracy

2006-07-01T08:01:00.000-07:00

Along with all the other shit they have to do, seven workers at the DCRA are charged with regulating thousands of rent-controlled apartments. How many thousands? Don’t ask them—there’s no list.
By Ryan Grim
Washington CityPaper
June 30, 2006

Police Staffing Levels and Reported Crime Rates in America’s Largest Cities: Results of Preliminary Analysis

2006-06-27T21:12:00.000-07:00

DC has highest number of police officers per capita of largest American cities.

Double-Parkers Blamed for Tie-Ups

2006-06-27T18:50:00.001-07:00

Lax Enforcement Allows Gridlock to Ripple Outward, Commuters Say... One delivery truck illegally double-parked can quickly shrink the capacity of a downtown street by as much as 40 percent.
By Katherine Shaver

Area Jurisdications Are on Fastest Shrinking List

2006-06-26T12:15:00.000-07:00

Washington DC population down 3718 from July 2004 to July 2005 according to the US Census Bureau.

U.S. Losing Its Middle-Class Neighborhoods

2006-06-26T12:08:00.000-07:00

From 1970 to 2000, Metro Areas Showed Widening Gap Between Rich, Poor Sections

JUVENILE CRIME: Robbery Trend Causes Alarm

2006-06-25T13:15:00.000-07:00

"About 42 percent of the people arrested and charged with robbery in the District this year have been 17 years old and younger... Ramsey and Mayor Anthony A. Williams (D) said they are hoping that Monday's opening of late-night teen centers will be a deterrent... Ramsey repeated his call for legislation to give investigators access to criminal records of repeat and dangerous juvenile offenders. Those files now are protected by privacy laws. ... Teenagers can find out about other free activities by calling 202-IM-BORED." [Give me a break! Is boredom an excuse to violently rob people? -Ed.]
By Nikita Stewart
Washington Post
June 22, 2006

D.C. Probes Dubious Homestead Claims

2006-06-22T19:35:00.000-07:00

By Carol D. Leonnig and Sewell Chan, Washington Post Staff Writers, Saturday, April 7, 2001
Note that this is from 2001! Compare with the article on this year's (2006) OIG report below.

Police Reclassify 119 Injury Reports as Crimes

2006-06-22T19:27:00.000-07:00

65 deemed felonies in review stemming from reporter David Rosenbaum's fatal attack. 10% of reports of "Injured Persons" were actually crimes.

Crime in the Capital: District 3

2006-05-29T16:49:00.000-07:00

The statistics were collected by D.C. police for crimes that occurred within the boundaries of each PSA in 2004 and 2005. Washington Post

Group Urges Takeover of D.C. Agency For Disabled

2006-05-29T16:38:00.000-07:00

"An advocacy group filed papers yesterday requesting a court takeover of the D.C. government agency in charge of caring for 2,000 mentally and physically disabled residents, saying that the city's repeated failures are putting vulnerable lives at risk."
By Petula Dvorak

Education Becoming Top Issue For D.C.

2006-05-29T16:11:00.000-07:00

"...almost 60 percent of those polled said education is the city's biggest problem...Average test scores are lower than in every other district participating in a federal assessment of urban schools. Last month, the U.S. Department of Education labeled the D.C. system a "high risk" recipient of federal grants, calling its fiscal management, in effect, the worst in the country. ...44 percent of District residents don't have a high school diploma."
By Lori Montgomery

Cold Cases

2006-05-29T16:07:00.001-07:00

"Examine some of the 4,100 unsolved killings that have occurred in the District since the late 1960s." Washington Post Special Report

Interactive Metro Crime Map

2006-05-29T15:54:00.000-07:00

Serious crimes reported by Metro transit police and other police agencies from Jan. 1, 2004 to June 30, 2005. Hosted by WashingtonPost.com

At Metro, Some Crimes Don't Count

2006-05-29T15:52:00.000-07:00

Statistics Exclude Incidents Handled by Local Police Departments
By Lena H. Sun and Lyndsey Layton

Dangerous Intersections in the District

2006-05-29T15:49:00.000-07:00

Traffic accidents and injuries listed by location

Rules Separate Mentally Ill From Treatment

2006-05-29T15:34:00.000-07:00

"With 'Imminent Danger' Requirement and Scant Resources Keeping Help Out of Reach, Some Become Violent" By Tom Jackman

No Vacancy

2006-05-29T15:14:00.000-07:00

"A loophole is why the city has no money for affordable housing." By Ryan Grim

License-plate violations go unticketed for months

2006-05-29T14:57:00.000-07:00

"Residents who ignore the District's license-plate registration laws typically go unticketed for as long as two months, even though they can be ticketed every night, city officials said.
D.C. law requires people who live in the city for more than 30 days to register their cars with the D.C. Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) or face a $100 ticket every day." By Amy Doolittle

Improper Tax Deductions Prove Costly to City

2006-05-29T14:32:00.000-07:00

"The city's Office of Tax and Revenue, which collects property taxes, does not have adequate controls to catch residents ineligible for homestead deductions or senior citizen tax relief programs, according to D.C. Inspector General Charles J. Willoughby." by Yolanda Woodlee

Test scores are in: Northeast still has dumbest drivers

2006-05-29T07:22:00.000-07:00

The 20-question test was based on questions asked in state driver's license examinations. A score of 70 or higher is required to pass a standard state test. GMAC Insurance ranks DC second to last (only 76.5 %).