Washington, DC

(Washington, DC) – Today, Mayor Muriel Bowser launched the 2019 Safer Stronger DC Summer Crime Prevention Initiative (SCI) – a coordinated effort to reduce violent crime in specific areas in the District through strategic prevention and coordinated enforcement. Every year for nearly ten years, the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) has identified areas of the city that have experienced a high density of violence and utilized all available resources, including collaborative outreach, to prevent violent crime in those focus areas during the summer months, running from May 1–August 31.

“We know that to continue reducing violent crime, we must continue addressing the root causes of crime and violence. With the Summer Crime Prevention Initiative, we are laser focused on preventing violent crime,” said Mayor Bowser. “We know the police cannot do it alone. It takes their partners in government putting more resources into neighborhoods that need it most. It takes all of us in government letting residents and business owners know that we are here to help. Today kicks off a sustained effort to do all that it takes to reduce violent crime in our neighborhoods.”

Through focused prevention and strategic enforcement and with the support of agency partners like the Department of Youth Rehabilitation Services, the Department of Parks and Recreation, and the Child and Family Services Agency, SCI aims to:

• reduce violent crime;
• remove illegal guns from our streets;
• hold repeat violent offenders accountable;
• utilize the latest crime-fighting technology;
• collaborate with partner agencies and organizations for additional assistance; and
• implement innovative outreach for all community members.

Last year, compared to the previous summer, the 2018 target areas saw a 25 percent decrease in assaults with a deadly weapon, a 34 percent decrease in burglaries, and 15 percent decrease in overall violent crime.

“Our number one goal of the Summer Crime Initiative is to reduce the violent crimes in areas of the city that are hit the hardest. Over the years we’ve seen crimes decrease within each of the targeted areas and I know we will continue to see that trend this summer. It’s because of the coordinated efforts we have with our local community partners combined with strategic prevention and focused enforcement, that we can build upon relationships and succeed in combatting crime,” said DC Police Chief Newham.

The 2019 summer focus areas include: Langston Carver, Trinidad Kingman Park, Fort Dupont, Benning, Benning Ridge, Marshall Heights, Historic Anacostia, Congress Heights, and Washington Highlands.

After the announcement, Mayor Bowser led a door-to-door canvass in the Marshall Heights neighborhood to engage residents and business owners about the Summer Crime Prevention Initiative and address neighborhood safety concerns. The Mayor was joined at today’s event by Deputy Mayor for Public Safety and Justice Kevin Donahue, MPD Chief Peter Newsham, and other administration officials. The Mayor will lead a door-to-door canvass in each of the SCI designated neighborhoods this summer.

The Mayor’s Fiscal Year 2020 budget proposal builds on the efforts of the Summer Crime Prevention Initiative with:

• $3 million to expand the MPD police force to 4,000 officers by 2021;
• $714,000 to bolster violence interruption efforts at the Office of Neighborhood Safety and Engagement;
• $1.6 million to create centers where families and residents can access the care and support they need to heal from traumatic incidents that they have witnessed or experienced;
• $1.6 million to establish schools that will serve as neighborhood hubs that connect students, as well as their families and neighbors with opportunity and resources; and
• $4.7 million to establish family success centers where we will work with trusted community partners to empower families with the services they need, such as support finding employment and after-school tutoring.

The Mayor has also called on the DC Council to extend the Senior Law Enforcement Officer Program at MPD from three years to five years, which will allow more well-trained senior sergeants and detectives to remain on the force. Without the extension, the District will lose more than 60 senior detectives and sergeants throughout FY 2020.

Learn more about the Mayor’s Fiscal Year 2020 budget proposal at mayor.dc.gov/2020budget.