Dear Neighbors,

We’re writing to ask you to support a petition that requests more dedicated police officers in Adams Morgan to keep our neighborhood safe. Each weekend thousands from DC, Maryland and Virginia descend onto 18th Street. And while the majority of these visitors leave our bars and restaurants without incident, a growing number are coming to prey upon the guests and residents of our community.

The spike in crime is real. Violent assaults are up by 10 percent. Robberies are up 23 percent. Thefts from automobiles are up 65 percent. In the last thirty days alone, MPD has reported a 29 percent increase in total crime over the same period last year. But despite this alarming trend, dedicated police staffing for Adams Morgan has not changed. In fact, recent deployment figures from the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) show that our community (PSA 303) has the second lowest number of dedicated officers in the city (only twenty-three). Anyone who was walked 18th Street on Friday or Saturday night can see that these officers are out outnumbered. As a result, their safety is at risk too.

We’re willing to do our part to find solutions. If applying for “No Parking” signs on 18th street will make it easier for officers to patrol, we’ll submit the paperwork. If we need to lobby the City Council for MPD’s ability to issue “public nuisance tickets,” we’ll write the letters. We can report suspicious activity. We can disseminate crime prevention tips. We can form a neighborhood watch.

But what we can’t do is continue to live in fear. We need more officers on the streets protecting the residents, business owners, and visitors to our community before it’s too late. By signing on to this petition, you can lend our voice to the call for a safer Adams Morgan.

Sincerely,