November 17, 2021
Letter from the Mayor
Your safety is my number one priority. I want you to know that we will curb the number of guns in our community; arrest people using guns in our community; and work with all our partners to make sure we are preventing crime before it happens, but also holding people accountable who are making communities less safe for women, our children, our brothers and sons, and our families.
We are throwing every resource at the rise in violent crime in DC, and we will keep pushing on all fronts until we see positive results. We will continue to deliver:
- More focused deployment of MPD in areas with elevated gun activity, including strategic use of overtime. The data shows us that targeted efforts like the Summer and Fall Crime Prevention Initiatives work to drive down crime.
- More hiring of DC residents to become DC police by increasing funding for MPD hiring and the MPD Cadet Corps Program. Today, I introduced legislation to make more DC residents eligible for the Cadet Program.
- More trust between MPD and the community. In 2016, we made DC the first major city to require body-worn cameras for all patrol officers. This year, MPD formally adopted a new national best practice training program that prepares officers to perform an intervention on a fellow officer, a subordinate, or a superior officer. The community can continue to support MPD’s work by participating in the Private Security Camera Incentive Program.
- More intelligence-based policing strategies that help us get to guns before they are used in crimes. We will continue to work with federal law enforcement partners to enhance and expand our capabilities to track and identify illegal guns and get them out of the hands of those intending to do harm.
- More violence prevention resources where needed, including historic investments in the Office of Neighborhood Safety and Engagement, Violence Interrupters, and Building Blocks.
- More opportunity for DC residents to choose good-paying jobs or start small businesses. For people involved in violence or at-risk of getting involved in violence, there are other paths they can choose. We expanded those options with the creation of the DC Infrastructure Academy, the Pathways Program, the Aspire to Entrepreneurship Program, Families First Success Centers, and pilot housing programs for returning citizens.
COVID has upended so much in our lives, including the very fragile public safety ecosystem in our community. Getting back to normal operations in our courts, jail, parole and probation agencies, and job training programs will also tilt the scale toward safer communities. Know that I wake up every morning focused on the safety of our city and willing to create or expand any program that will make our neighborhoods safer.
Keep the good ideas coming our way, and let’s continue to stick together until we flatten this curve too.
Sincerely,
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