Parking Problems Discussed at PSA Meeting

The first Police Service Area (PSA) 511 meeting for 2004 was held on Wednesday at the Teachers Credit Union building, at 9th & D Streets NE. The meeting was well attended by residents and the police.

Lieutenant Caldwell opened the meeting at 6:30 p.m. He introduced our newest PSA officer, Sergeant DeJesus. Of course Officers Gaumond and Phillips were also there.

Lt. Caldwell gave an oral crime report. All categories held steady except thefts from auto (TFA). This category has seen an increase of late, coinciding with the release, pending a hearing, of a gentleman who lives in the neighborhood and who has been arrested on numerous occasions for TFA. The lieutenant went on to say that each time that specific resident is incarcerated this type of crime sees a decrease, and with his release there is an increase. The lieutenant emphasized that the best way to avoid this unpleasant crime is to ensure you do not leave items in your car.

The meeting then turned to suggestions for specific PSA efforts.

The perennial parking problem was raised. At that point Lt. Caldwell introduced a resident from the 1300 block of D Street NE to discuss the problems there and how they have been addressed. On that street, residents obtaining zoned parking, which helped the situation during the day. However, the block still has a problem in the evenings, so a Registered Out-of-State Automobile (ROSA) program request was made. With this scenario, Department of Public Works (DPW) employees survey a block in the evening, note the vehicles without D.C. license plates, permits, reciprocity stickers, etc., and enter the vehicles' information in a database. The employees return to the block approximately two weeks later, note the cars that are still on the block and issue a summons to rectify the situation. If the summons is ignored, $100 tickets are issued. At this point there was some lively discussion over the pros and cons of this tactic. The discussion continued until Commander McGuire arrived.

Commander McGuire is the commander of the First Police District and attended the meeting to introduce himself and answer any questions about the PSA moving from the Fifth District to the First. A summary of what he said follows:

• Phone Number: 727-4586 Email: tmcguire@mpdc.org;

• Redistricting should be completed by approximately April 15;

• The current PSA officers will move to the first district;

• Due to resource considerations, no additional substations are currently envisioned;

• A staffing analysis is under way to ensure effective use of officers;

• Each PSA will be divided into quarters, with specific officers assigned to each. This will allow development of community relationships; and

• Specific PSA structures, including lead officers, have not yet been determined. These should be in place by the end of March. Community input is welcomed.

At this point the CDR had to leave for another meeting. We then returned to the parking enforcement discussion for a few minutes, but since it was already 7:45 p.m., the meeting was adjourned. Usually the PSA group takes a walk after the meeting, but we decided to postpone the first walk of the year until next month.

The PSA meets on the third Wednesday of each month, at the Teachers Credit Union at 9th & D Streets NE. The meeting begins at 6:30, and you are cordially invited to attend. §