Posts tagged Crime
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Are Amazon Ring and other apps making your neighbors more suspicious of outsiders and crime?
The Amazon Ring video doorbell has become increasing popular in many neighborhoods, including where I live in Montgomery County. Everyone wants to be safe, but are Ring and similar services just trying to make us more paranoid? Keep reading…
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Here’s what happens when your bicycle is stolen
People are more likely to feel that bicycling is a safe, effective means of getting around when stolen bicycles are recovered and abandoned bikes are removed. This also makes stealing bicycles less attractive. In DC, the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) and Department of Public Works (DPW) are the agencies that work together to provide these services. Keep reading…
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Should you go to jail over the cost of a bus or Metro ride?
It’s hard to believe a severe level of force improves our Metro system or makes riders and transit workers safer. Under our current law, the consequences are very serious: up to a $300 fine (133x the base rail fare), 10 days in jail, and a potentially lifelong criminal record. Keep reading…
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Some Anne Arundel County residents want to shut down their light rail. Again.
Some residents in Anne Arundel County are pushing to close light rail stations that run in their communities to Baltimore. (No, this isn't an old post from 2011. Or from 1994.) Closure proponents claim they're concerned about crime from light rail riders, but there's no evidence of increased crime in the area, from the train or otherwise. Keep reading…
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Destroying traffic cameras isn’t an answer. Making them more swift, certain, and fair is.
Criminology research says that “swift, certain, and fair” punishments work better than infrequent, highly punitive ones. No word on whether this may also make people less likely to smash traffic cameras. Keep reading…
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This is what 100 people riding dirt bikes through your neighborhood looks like
Twice this past weekend, a phalanx of young men on dirt bikes and ATVs rode through 16th and W Streets SE in Old Anacostia. This is a common occurrence in this neighborhood, which is full of children and seniors. Many fear it could lead to tragedy, but it seems police can’t do much about it right now. Keep reading…
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Charles Allen to Park Police: Handcuffing black teens for selling water is ridiculous
On Thursday, undercover US Park Police handcuffed four black teenagers for selling bottled water without a permit on the National Mall. The next day, Ward 6 Councilmember Charles Allen basically asked the police chief if, in the name of enforcing park rules, his officers would do the same if they caught little girls selling lemonade. Keep reading…
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Chat: How should reporters write about “up and coming” neighborhoods?
Last week, an article called “River Terrace is a modest jewel tucked away in NE Washington” ran in the Washington Post’s Real Estate section. The next day, DCist staff writer Christina Sturdivant, who grew up in River Terrace, wrote that article’s author left out a lot of important detail about the neighborhood. Christina, some GGWash editorial board members, and I recently talked about the matter. Keep reading…
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I think the Met Branch Trail is safer than the street at any time of day
Some people are really afraid of being robbed or assaulted on the Metropolitan Branch Trail. But cars scare me way more, and I'll take the trail over city streets any day. Keep reading…
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Trump says DC’s murders are way up. That’s false.
According to the Trump White House, murder is up 50% in DC. That was true for 2015, but the District’s murder rate has been more or less flat since 2010, and it’s way down from where it was in the 90s and early 2000s. Keep reading…