(Thank you to Pickford St NE residents Dave Lawder and Claudia McNamara for providing the May 8th meeting minutes.)

* Note: PSA 102 Citizen Coordinator Dave Klavitter requested official meeting minutes be recorded by a volunteer and those official notes will appear on the PSA 102 Blog: http://psa102.blogspot.com.

* PSA 102 Email network may be accessed at http://groups.google.com/group/NELink

* MPD First District news of recent crimes and responses to questions from the public may be accessed at the First District Listserv http://groups.yahoo.com/group/MPD-1D

* PSA 102 Citizen Coordinator Dave Klavitter may be contacted personally at 202.547-5745 or klavitter@gmail.com

* The next PSA 102 Meeting is June 12 at 7 p.m. at Sherwood Community Center located at 10th & G St NE. Subsequent meetings are the second Tuesday of each month.

GENERAL:
This meeting had a pretty big turnout. More than 17 residents of PSA 102 and approximately 8 MPD officers attended the meeting in addition to Lt. Barbara Hawkins and ANC Commissioners Raphael Marshall (6A) and Anne Phelps (6C). Hiram Brewton II, Mayor Fenty's Ward 6 Neighborhood Services Coordinator also attended the meeting as well as Carolyn Crank from the U.S. Attorneys Office (First District rep) who joins in on certain patrols and major operations such as drug busts. (DOJ handles prosecution duties in D.C.'s federally run courts system)

NOTES
Overall, crime is down in PSA 102, with 73 crimes logged in April versus about 118 in April 2006. The big drop was in car thefts, down to 6 from 37 last year. But there was an increase in thefts and burglaries. There have been a lot of break-ins involving houses under renovation. In many cases, the owners have left the property unsecured and the thieves have simply entered unimpeded to steal tools and construction materials. Lt. Hawkins' advice was to make sure your property is secure. Lock everything up when you are not around; don't make it easy for people. She cautioned all residents to be aware of their surroundings and crime. The most recent crime reports may be accessed at the links listed at the top of this email.

Lt. Hawkins said there have been a couple of bike patrols started up recently in the area and has plans to request more of these. We've seen some of them riding through alleys on Pickford. She also plans to launch a motor scooter patrol in the next month that would go up and down F Street from about 2nd Street all the way to Pickford, then circle back on G Street. She emphasized that the police want to make their presence known and "get in the faces" of drug dealers and would-be thieves. If they're hanging around looking like they're up to no good, they can expect the cops to come up to them asking questions like "what are you doing here, what's your name, where do you live?"

The bike patrols also are part of a PSA 102 action plan to address several recent burglaries--all details not appropriate to disclose at this time.

When residents do call the MPD at either 911 or 311, clear, accurate and detailed information is required. Details of personal or physical appearance, mode of transport and car tag number are best. Lt. Hawkins also suggested that residents notice and record details of the shoes worn by alleged suspect, because these are not usually changed following a crime.

Lt. Hawkins also asked that residents email the MPD in addition to their neighbors during/after noticing an incident or person of interest.

Regarding graffiti near 3rd/H NE and 4th/G NE, the gang intelligence unit will research and determine if District graffiti is the work of taggers or "graffiti artists", or by alleged gang members. Residents should call 911 if they observe person/s actively creating graffiti. Residents who would like to request that graffiti be cleaned or removed should contact the Mayor's hotline 202.727.1000 and record the tracking number.

GALLAUDET UNIVERSITY
Dr. Richard Lytle of Gallaudet University was unavailable and ANC6C Commissioner Anne Phelps attended the meeting in his place to announce that Gallaudet has recently enacted a Code of Conduct applicable to off-campus students This Code of Conduct is identical to that of students who reside on-campus and is meant to create improved, pro-active relations between students who live off-campus and their PSA 102 non-student neighbors. This off-campus code is similar to the practices followed by other universities in DC, such as Georgetown, Howard, American and GWU. Commissioner Anne Phelps will liaise with Dr. Lytle to add an e-link of the Code of Conduct to the PSA 102 website. American Sign Language interpreters were available during the meeting.
Learn more about the code here: http://www.gallaudet.edu/x1485.xml

MPD Officers Myra Jordan and Goldie Easterlin represent the MPD's Hard of Hearing Unit.

CITIZEN’S ACADEMY
Lt. Hawkins has suggested the formation of a Citizens Academy that would provide instruction and insights to the workings of the MPD so that resident citizens are better informed of procedures, appropriate responses and follow-through, as well as deciphering common acronyms used by members of the MPD. The Citizen Academy also fosters understanding of the MPD by resident citizens. Dave Klavitter and Lt. Hawkins will forward a survey to interested residents who contact them at the email address provided at the top of this email.

FLYER DISTRIBUTION
MPD PSA 102 flyers will be distributed at five locations in PSA 102. Distribution date to be announced. The five locations are: 8th/H Street NE; 14th/H St NE; 10th/K NE; Union Station/2nd Mass NE; New York Avenue Metro station. Please contact Dave Klavitter at the email provided above if you would like to participate.

This is an opportunity to meet fellow residents, foster cooperation with the MPD and to provide pertinent information to neighbors. Distribution will be assigned in one-hour shifts.

OTHER:
Approximately 20 residents participated in the April 19th Walk organized in response to the alleged sexual assault near the Checkers restaurant at 14th/Maryland NE. Lt. Hawkins said this case is still open and progress is being made.

A registered sex offender will take residence in PSA 102 and will join 27 other registered offenders in the Police Service Area; there are 682 registered sex offenders living in The District. A flyer with photograph and description of this individual was available at the meeting.