Banding Together to Fight Crime

January 6, 2016 | Volume 2, Issue 1

Washingtonians,

There’s a lot we can do - working together - to make DC a safer, stronger city.

In August, I proposed a comprehensive Safer, Stronger DC plan - ramping up police presence in communities, giving law enforcement more tools to protect our residents, and helping at-risk youth get trained for gainful employment.

We are making progress.

Yesterday, Councilmember Charles Allen, with the support of the Council, advanced my proposal to give businesses, property owners, and churches incentives to install security cameras and lighting.  I look forward to signing the legislation into law as soon as it hits my desk.

And today, in Ward 6, I joined Councilmember Allen, Councilmember Anita Bonds, Attorney General Karl Racine, Metropolitan Police Department Chief Cathy Lanier, Metro Transit Police Chief Ronald Pavlik, and the U.S. Attorney’s Office to launch a Robbery Intervention Task Force. The Task Force will identify robbery patterns in real-time, prosecute criminals who victimize our neighborhoods, and get them off our streets.

While we’re making progress, there is more we need to do. Several parts of my legislative agenda still need the Council’s action, such as giving our Crime Lab the flexibility to hire more crime scene specialists in order to close more cases and hold criminals accountable, and providing our returning citizens pathways to a life of opportunity, and away from a life of crime.

My Administration will continue to devote as many resources as necessary – and we will continue to develop and deploy innovative crime prevention strategies – to make the District a safer, stronger city.

Muriel Bowser
Mayor

P.S. Here are some tips to keep yourself and your family safe against robbery and assault.

A Fresh Start to a New Year

Thanks to everyone who came out for Mayor Bowser’s Second Annual Fresh Start 5K.  Whether you ran, jogged or walked, you started the year off right.  Remember, any time you’re out and about, record your steps toward the District’s Billion Steps Challenge.  You’ve put in the hard work, so you deserve the credit!  We’ll have another fun run in April - stay tuned for details.  In the meantime, enjoy a free workout at a Department of Parks and Recreation fitness center.

9:30 Club - A DC Institution

There’s no denying that DC is a music city.  How many places can boast the likes of Duke Ellington, Dave Grohl and Wale, who all got their start in the District?  And we’re fortunate to have so many musical venues that feature live music. Just this week, the 9:30 Club celebrated its 35th anniversary. The 9:30 Club is often referred to as one the greatest nightclubs in America, and they continue to bring great music to District residents and visitors.  On Wednesday, Mayor Bowser had a chance to celebrate the anniversary with founders Dodi DiSanto and Jon Bowers, and current owners Seth Hurwitz and Rich Heinecke. Congratulations on 35 wonderful years, 9:30 Club!

Looking Under the Hood

Today, the Office of the Deputy Mayor for Planning and Economic Development is launching a new Economic Intelligence Dashboard.  The site will allow any resident to go online and find DC economic indicators and information about our affordable housing and redevelopment work. You can get a sneak preview here.  Transparency and accountability continue to be top priorities for the Bowser Administration.

Pathways to the Middle Class - Job Announcement: IT Specialist (Data Management/Systems Administration), Metropolitan Police Department (MPD)

MPD is the primary law enforcement agency for the District of Columbia.  Its mission is to safeguard the District and protect residents and visitors by providing the highest quality of police service with integrity, compassion, and a commitment to innovation that integrates people, technology and progressive business systems. The IT Specialist will provide long term strategy in the areas of data warehousing, ETL, and BI reporting. The candidate must have five or more years of experience in enterprise data warehouse design and development. Additional details on this vacancy can be found by visiting the job announcement.