By Pam Moore
The other morning, I sat down with my cup of coffee and began to look through the emails that had arrived during the early morning. Much to my dismay, there was a photo of the alley that leads to my garden gate showing a hooded, tall, thin man trying the locks on the cars that have parking pads in the alley.
Crime statistics don’t really register, but seeing someone bent on committing a crimeseveral yards from your property does. The Metropolitan Police Department, ANC 2E and the Citizens Association of Georgetown constantly ask us to help “stop crime.” One of the best ways is to install a camera on your property. The alley photos I saw were taken by aneighbor’s camera.
I remember when New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg said that when you stop the individual who is jumping over the subway turnstile, you stop bigger crimes (not a direct quote). That is what I am asking you to consider today in Georgetown.
These bad guys come onto our streets because there are electronics left in cars when we“run into the house for just a minute.” They hang out because we walk the streets talking on our cell phones. They can follow the UPS and FedEx trucks at the same time every day and see where packages are left at our front doors.
Recently, our waterfront has been home to what neighbors are calling unsavory characters. A request has gone out for increased surveillance. I would suggest that all of our parks need some level of a police presence. Perhaps the Friends groups could work together with MPD to form a plan to monitor our green spaces.
On Oct. 17, CAG held a community meeting at the City Tavern Club on the issue of public safety. We have a block captain program and, thanks to donations from residents, a security guard patrolling at certain nighttime hours. Please pick up the phone and call the CAG office at 202-337-7313 to learn how you can be part of curtailing crime in our village.
The autumn scent of wood burning in fireplaces is in the air, and Georgetown homes have begun to be decorated for Halloween. On Wednesday, Oct. 31, you are invited to take part in or watch the parade of costumed children — and, later, adults — along M Street and Wisconsin Avenue.
Also, please note that the next CAG community meeting will take place on Thursday, Nov. 29, at 7 p.m. at a location to be announced. The issue to be discussed: our C&O Canal. I hope to see you there.
