Crime: Surprising End-of-Year Stats, Latest MPD Reports
By • November 28, 2022 One Comment 1304
It’s that time of year when the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) issues its year-end crime statistics. And some figures jump out at you.
Year-End Crime Statistics for the District
In many categories crimes are down, despite the high-crime hype we heard from political candidates in the midterms. In their 2022 Year-to-Date Crime Comparison, MPD reports that “violent crimes” in the District dropped by 6 percent over last year, with “homicides” down 8 percent, “sex abuse” crimes down 14 percent, and “assault with a dangerous weapon” offenses down 14 percent. The only category of violent crime to tick up since last year was “robbery” which escalated 4 percent.
Property crimes are also down 4 percent over last year according to the report. Most precipitously, “burglary” has dropped 10 percent and “theft from auto” declined 9 percent. With little change, “theft (other)” dropped only 1 percent while “arson” remained the same at 4 cases in the year. The only property crime category to see an increase was “motor vehicle theft,” rising 4 percent over last year.
Another interesting year-end summary surveyed “recovered firearms” in the District. Perhaps unsurprisingly, the number of weapons MPD took off the streets grew significantly each year over the last 10 years. In 2011, MPD recovered 1,919 firearms, while a decade later in 2021 it recovered 2,410.
In its most recent report on “Weekly Firearm Recoveries,” issued Nov. 23, MPD reported 41 weapons obtained in the District. A sampling of the types of firearms recovered includes an increasing number of “ghost guns” which can be assembled by individuals or purchased online and are untraceable because they have no serial numbers and are not registered.
Recent MPD Crime Reports Near Georgetown
Detectives from MPD’s Sexual Assault Unit are seeking the public’s assistance in identifying and locating a “suspect in reference to a Misdemeanor Sexual Abuse offense” that occurred on Sunday, Nov. 27 in the 3600 block of Woodley Road, NW. “At approximately 3:00 p.m., the suspect engaged in unwanted sexual contact with the victim… [and] then fled the scene,” a Nov. 28 MPD press release stated. The suspect (pictured below) is described as a “black male, wearing a dark jacket, dark blue jeans, and dark/black boots.”
Suspect in a Misdemeanor Sexual Abuse Offense at 3600 Woodley Rd., NW.
On Friday, Nov. 25, detectives from MPD’s Carjacking Task Force requested the “public’s assistance in identifying and locating suspects in an Unarmed Robbery of an Establishment Offense” that occurred on Tuesday, Nov. 1 in the 1500 block of 7th Street NW. “At approximately 3:20 p.m., the suspects approached an employee,” according to MPD’s press release. “One of the suspects snatched money from the employee [and] the suspects then fled the scene.” MPD released surveillance photos of the suspects below:
Unarmed Robbery of an Establishment Offense suspects, 1500 Block of 7th Street, Northwest.
Detectives from MPD’s Carjacking Task Force also announced an arrest stemming from two incidents: an Armed Carjacking (Gun) Offense and an Armed Robbery (Gun) Offense, that both occurred on Sunday, Nov. 13. “At approximately 6:59 p.m., the suspects approached the victim, who was seated in a vehicle, in the 1700 block of 16th Street NW [when] one of the suspects brandished a firearm and demanded the vehicle,” the Nov. 23 MPD press release stated. The victim complied and the subject fled the scene in the vehicle. Then, at approximately 9:42 p.m., the “suspects approached” another victim in the 2300 block of South Dakota Ave. NE. “One of the suspects brandished a firearm and demanded the keys to the victim’s vehicle [whereupon] the victim complied [and] the suspects took the vehicle then fled the scene.” A 16-year-old juvenile male, of Northeast, D.C. was “arrested and charged” in the two cases.
MPD First District detectives are also asking the public’s assistance in identifying and locating a suspect in a Burglary Two of an Establishment Offense that occurred on Monday, Nov. 14 in the 400 block of I Street NW. At approximately 4:00 a.m., the “suspect forcibly gained entry into [the] establishment [and] once inside… took property then fled the scene,” according to a Nov. 22 MPD press release. On YouTube, MPD posted the following surveillance footage of possible suspect in the case: https://youtu.be/OyI6Gntulos.
Burglary Two of an Establishment Offense suspect, 400 Block of I Street, NW.
Second District MPD detectives are also seeking the public’s assistance in identifying and locating a suspect in a Burglary Two of an Establishment Offense that occurred on Tuesday, Nov. 1 in the 1500 block of 17th Street NW. “At approximately 3:30 a.m., the suspect forcibly gained entry into an establishment at the listed location [and] once inside… took property then fled the scene,” MPD reported in a Nov. 18 press release. MPD released surveillance video of the suspect here: https://youtu.be/URVK4shWSrc.
Meanwhile, according to a Nov. 18 MPD press release, Second District detectives are seeking multiple suspects in a Burglary Two Offense at the 4800 block of Reservoir Road, NW that occurred on Friday, Nov. 11. “At approximately 5:00 p.m., the suspects forcibly entered an unoccupied residence [and] once inside… took property then fled the scene.” The suspects were captured by surveillance cameras and can be seen in this video: https://youtu.be/Z7-8mBx2M4E
MPD Third District detectives also announced an arrest in Unarmed Bank Robbery offenses in the Second and Third Districts. “On Thursday, Oct. 20, at approximately 2:36 p.m., the suspect approached an employee and demanded money,” a Nov. 15 MPD press release said. “The employee complied and the suspect fled the scene.” Then, on Tuesday, Nov. 15, at approximately 12:00 p.m., the “suspect entered a bank located in the 1600 block of 17th Street, NW.” The suspect then “approached an employee and demanded money [whereupon] the employee complied and the suspect fled the scene. Fortunately, however, the “suspect was apprehended, and money was recovered by responding officers.” On Tuesday, Nov. 15, 65-year-old Mark Subblefield of Northeast, D.C. was “arrested and charged with two counts of Unarmed Bank Robbery.”
MPD is on the lookout for a suspect in an Armed Robbery (Knife) Offense that occurred on Sunday, Oct. 30 in the 500 block of M Street NW. “At approximately, 6:54 p.m., the suspect approached the victim… and brandished a knife. The suspect then demanded the victim’s property. The victim complied and the suspect fled the scene.” However, the “suspect was captured by a surveillance camera and can be seen in here:
Armed Robbery (Knife) suspect, 500 block of M Street, NW.
From MPD’s press releases: These cases remain under investigation. Anyone who has knowledge of these incidents should take no action but call police at (202) 727-9099 or text your tip to the Department’s TEXT TIP LINE at 50411. The Metropolitan Police Department currently offers a reward of up to $10,000 to anyone who provides information that leads to the arrest and conviction of the person or persons responsible for a violent crime committed in the District of Columbia.
For more information from the Metropolitan Police Department go here.
This is ridiculously written with an obvious bend towards trying to protect politicians who vowed to defund police and succeeded. Talk to anyone and they will say the same thing….crime is up period and people do not feel safe as they once did. I have lived in DC for 20 plus years and used to feel safe. Since pandemic, it’s gotten worse. My car and house have both been broken into and stuff was stolen. This is just a contradictorily written article.