Now that we live in a world of data-driven policing, let's have a closer look at how the official police stats (drawn from Alexandria's own Web page) compare with what we know actually goes on here in Parker-Gray.For giggles, let's focus on vice crimes like drugs and prostitution.
We've all talked about the open air drug dealing around Queen and Fayette. Who doesn't know about it or hasn't seen it first-hand?
So the Growler went to the City's Web site and looked up the stats for the 1000 through 1300 blocks of Queen Street for the year from October 11, 2005 to October 10, 2006. And the Cranky One found only a single narcotics/drug arrest in the past year on June 23, 2006.
What about N. Fayette Street? Same thing. In the past year, there's been only a single arrest on January 17, 2006 for drugs/narcotics offenses in the 100 to 400 blocks of N. Fayette.
Man, that's some serious policing. You have to admire the cop who had the cojones to get out of his squad car, wade through the crowd of crack dealers and put the cuffs on some poor wretch.
And prostitution is even more interesting. Stats for the year show there was only a single arrest for prostitution in the neighborhood at 700 N. Washington on January 13, 2006. Of the 21 arrests for prostitution in the past year, 13 were for offenses on in the S. Bragg Street/N. Breckendridge Place location off Duke Street near Landmark. Nine of the arrests at S. Bragg St were made on a single day, which suggests a large bust. Several more took place near Arlandria.
So the data would seem to indicate that all but one of those trysts in the alleys around the Travelodge that entertain the neighborhood were purely consensual in nature.
So is Parker-Gray becoming a hot bed of virtue? That's what the data appears to be telling us.
21 comments:
I'm still reeling from the blogger's reference to a crack pipe found on the JH school grounds. It's simple unacceptable!
How does the city's website record calls for service?
"hot bed of virtue", please, Saturday night the drug dealers were out in front of St. Joseph's and Sunday morning two prostitutes were out there. And yes, I called both times. I starting to feel I'm just wasting my time with the calls.
Maybe if all the councilmembers weren't at-large we'd get the attention the neighborhood deserves.
I wonder what the crime stats for the Chatham Square area are. Judging by the rage of complaints I have heard from the new residents about prostitution, drunkennees, drug dealing, and loud noise, I am sure the Chatham Square stats are empty.
These stats are even more dperessing in light of the fact that ARHA will use them as a weapon against any attempt to resite public hosuing. They will just aruge everything is fine and dandy and there is no crime problem north of Pendleton.
I'm a regular caller to the Alexandria Police about crime in our neighborhood. One day out of frustration, I asked the officer who was taking another one of my reports if my repeated calls were worth my time. He said that they were keeping a record of all calls and then using the data to decide where to assign patrol officers. So, he urged me to keep calling. FWIW...
I've also noticed that you can report crime online on the City's website, anonymously if you wish. Next time you see these prostitutes, why don't you surreptitiously take a digital photo with your cell phone and then email it to the Police Chief, with cc's to the City Council and mayor?
Been there done that.
Sent pictures in of the crackheads. It helps somewhat in that they will pick them up if they do something wrong.
But for example, a lot of people reported problems with Eric Jones. The police knew he was a problem. But he had to be observed breaking the law, in that case actually killing someone, before the police and the City finally cared.
Furthermore they keep the data but its just pointing out the obvious. U should ask the officers what they think of the public housing projects. They will give u info outside the stats
Just a little catching up here --
1. The City's Web site does not allow you to query the database about calls for service.
2. There are stats on incidents near Chatham Square. Try entering Euille Street for example.
3. Police have stated repeatedly that calls for service will be answered in priority order, i.e., if someone is reporting an assault or rape underway in the West End cops will be pulled off to take care of the call immediately. Drug offenses and the like are much lower priorities. While this makes sense, it also means that transactions that are consensual and relatively swift (like drugs or sex) are over by the time the cops get there. That is, assuming you don't have cops regularly stationed in the neighborhood.
4. The Growler remembers a neighbor fondly who used to say things were better "because there's fewer hypodermic needles and used condoms on the street." You think crack pipes at JH are sickening -- the Growler has picked up used needles in the tree bed in front of the house. It's a challenge trying to figure out how to dispose of them without endangering the garbage men ... the ultimate solution was to put them carefully into an empty orange juice container.
5. And finally, the Alexandria police have created the ultimate Catch-22 by basing everything on calls for service. Since they don't respond swiftly or effectively to complaints about drug dealing and the like, residents give up calling after a while. Then the police can turn around and say, "Hey, no-one's calling, there's no crime problem here" and resist efforts to put resources back into the neighborhood.
Grrrrrrrrr!!!!!
I think you're supposed to call the police if you find a used syringe so they can dispose of it.
Doesn't anyone watch any of the CSI shows? An orange juice container is an excellent bio container for dirty hypodermics.
"I've also noticed that you can report crime online on the City's website, anonymously if you wish."
Is this true? I'm not so sure. I tried to report graffiti online and it not only required my name, address and telephone number, but my birthdate and employment information. None of it was optional! It would not register my complaint until ALL of the information was filled in....including the EXACT time (down to the minute) that the incident occurreed!
"So the data would seem to indicate that all but one of those trysts in the alleys around the Travelodge that entertain the neighborhood were purely consensual in nature."
For the record, prostitution is consenual.
its also illegal.
Until the police also starting arresting every drunk that gets into his/her car down on glamorous King Street, is it completely fair to focus only on Queen and Fayette?
The biggest drug dealers and users I have ever know are middle and upper class white people. They don't need to buy and sell their drugs out on the street, they have lawyers to protect them if they are arrested, and they have health insurance and can afford to go off to rehab when things really get rough...
To all you who want to complain to City Hall about Parker Gray public housing/crime:
This last poster's comment is exactly what you can expect. Race and class cards thrown out from all angles. Is that what you want to put up with?
And to the poster: If the cops arrested every drunk in the Adkins or Bland projects or on Montgomery or Madison street, North Old Town would empty out pretty quick.
I am not aware of people on King Street making noise at 4 AM on Columbus or Union St.
Or throwing trash all over Prince and St. Asaph or Duke Streets.
Is there a local "whorehouse" down on King Street like our Travelodge?
I can see how quickly the local class baiters want to reach for the whitey card, but what you are eseentially arguing is that since Hollywood celebs do snow and dont get caught or that people drive drunk on King Street, we should just allow drug dealers and crackheads and public drunks to run amok.
Well darn then I might as well go out on the street and start buying up some crack and dope myself to get in on the fun that is Parker Gray (as in Almost PG County)
I dont mean to sound so sarcastic and nasty but i get tired of listening to the class and race card get thrown out by people who seem to be more interested in keeping parts of Parker Gray a ghetto than they are in improving education, making the neighborhood walkable and libable, and lowering the crime rate.
Blaming white people doesnt seem to accomplish any of the 3 objectives above.
The fact remains that our jails and prisons are primarily filled with black people, not because they break the law any more frequently; it is because they break the law a little too publicly and white people are offended by it.
Last posting is a bunch of garbage. It doesn't take a rocket engineer to figure out that some people don't commit crimes because they care about their future.
Others have no moral, no ethics and no care in the world about harming innocent people. Going to jail is a right of passage to some.
This is not a black thing or a white thing, it's a thug mentality thing. Until you kill that mentality (good luck) the jails will be filled with whoever represents the majority of the race that portrays that attitude.
In Alexandria it seems to be black and hispanics. Go visit middle America where white trash fills the prisons due to drugs like crystal meth. Then tell me its a race thing and not a "I JUST DON'T CARE ABOUT ME OR ANYONE MENTALITY" thing.
"This is not a black thing or a white thing, it's a thug mentality thing."
A little crude but well said. It's also a southern thing. The city is still atoning for past sins.
Why is there only such a thing as "white" trash?
Is no such distiction required for black and hispanics - are they just ALL trash?
"The fact remains that our jails and prisons are primarily filled with black people, not because they break the law any more frequently; it is because they break the law a little too publicly and white people are offended by it."
I guess the victim of the recent Arlandria shooting might argue this. Apparently it was her fault that a black youth chose to "break the law" publicly. Eric Jones and Sebastian Carter might also argue with this theory
Post a Comment