Now that we have a central online resource for local crime discussions, it is time to come together and take action. The muggings have gone down a little bit due to the increased police patrols, but we all know this is just a bandaid on the problem. So, in order to make real change happen, I need some help. I am laying out a 4 legged community crime fighting action plan. The plan would consist of the following areas:

1. Better police communication to the neighborhood residents on crime stats and their actions to fight crime.

2. Better publicity around the neighborhood about this website and what we are trying to do as a neighborhood.

3. Better training from safety experts on how to react to assaults and stay safe

4. Better neighborhood involvement through a neighborhood watch group and orange hat citizen patrols

In order to make these 4 areas come to life and collaborate with each other, I am asking for volunteers to chair each of the 4 projects. My wife and I can't do this alone and I know there are many residents out there who can help. It won't take a lot of time, we know everyone is very busy, but we need leadership to take on each project and execute on a project plan over the next 6 months (at which point we will re evaluate everything).

The NW Current called me today and asked if they could interview me about the site and my plans on what to do next. It made me think about next steps. So, here is what I came up with as I walked home from the metro today:
1. More publicity. We need volunteers to post signs in their buildings and around the neighborhood about this website and our mission to fight crime.
2. Accountability. We have to figure out how to get up to date stats from the police on where and when muggings and break ins happen.

The bad news is that right after the ABC News showing, at about 5:30pm, someone was mugged again at 18th and Summit. The good news is that the most recent muggings have all been my the same group of punk kids out there. There are 4 of them, they wear hoods, and there is a girl with them. The police know this and these kids are getting cocky by mugging someone as early as 5:30. The police are confident they will catch this group and the muggings will decrease. We shall see. So, if you are out and about, if you see a group of 4 kids with hoods, turn and run the other way.

I have had about ten or twelve residents write me personally and say they want to help in anyway they can. I can't do everything I have decided, so I think we need to come together as a neighborhood in person and talk about an action plan. I am thinking Dec. 18th or 19th, we could all meet at like Tryst or something. We could discuss putting together a neighborhood watch program and how we can work with the police to measure the crime stats so we can see if our actions are effective. Stay tuned and clear your calendars!

Well,

After a lot of emails, an ABC News broadcasts, and constant discussions on the listservs, Jim Graham has said that he is going to jump in and help.

This is what Jim had to say:

Thanks for your message (see below) and for your recognition of our
work.

I am very concerned.

There is a real problem here. And we do need people to respond, such
as yourselves. There are--as you point out--various things that
residents can do. For example, I am right now attempting to get
neighborhood and ANC support to fund a camera in the alley behind the

This site is meant to create a central location for all Adams Morgan residents to band together and discuss crime issues and solutions in the area.

You can do these things:

1. Register with the site. We will send out a monthly email newsletter with local crime stats and other news once a month.

2. Read the front page for ongoing news. I will post interesting stories about our efforts to fight crime, what other communities are doing, and what our politicians and police are doing (if they ever respond ;))

If you live in the Adams Morgan neighborhood, chances are you have been involved in some mugging incident or know someone who has. It is time to take action as a neighborhood and work together to decrease the crime. I don't know about those that live here, but we have a vested interest in seeing crime go down because we will feel safer and our property value will increase. If crime statistics keep on the rise, then the value of all our property will decrease significantly. So, this website was created after a recent wave of muggings / armed robbery in the neighborhood.

I was just interviewed by Jennifer Donelan of ABC News a few minutes ago. She contacted me this morning after reading about the recent online discussions about this website and the wave of muggings / armed robbery over the Thanksgiving holiday. She interviewed several others that have been mugged and wanted to talk to me about the plans my wife and I have for this website. This will be tremendous exposure for this website and a great kick start to creating a tighter community focused on decreasing crime in the area.