D.C. police to add cameras in Trinidad

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By Timothy Warren

The Metropolitan Police Department is adding cameras and passing out light bulbs in the Trinidad neighborhood to help decrease crime in one of the most violent parts of the District, Police Chief Cathy L. Lanier and Mayor Adrian M. Fenty said Friday.

"We are trying to make safe, sustainable communities, beginning with Ward 5," said Chief Lanier during a morning news conference at the Joseph H. Cole Recreation Center in Trinidad. "This is a prime example of law enforcement working with the community to address their needs. It is a partnership of law enforcement, government and business that will help reduce crime in Trinidad."

As part of the program, known as Safe City, the District will add five to seven closed-circuit television cameras to the area at a cost of about $260,000. In the next phase of the program, the police will add 20 cameras at a cost of $500,000, which will be raised by the DC Police Foundation next year, to bring the total number of cameras in the city to 98.

More than 20 cities are participating in the Safe City program, including Baltimore, Boston and Denver.

Some D.C. officials are skeptical about whether the addition of cameras could make a serious difference to an area that has long been plagued by crime.

"The good news is that the government isn't paying for it," said D.C. Council member Phil Mendelson, at-large Democrat and chairman of the council's Committee on Public Safety and the Judiciary. "But the bad news is that we don't know whether they work. There's a lot of evidence that cameras are very popular but not very effective."

Additionally, as part of the program, District police will pass out light bulbs and encourage residents to keep their porches and nearby areas well lit as a way to deter crime. The city also passed out about 200 cell phones only equipped to dial 911 to residents who did not have access to a cell phone.

The new Safe City program coincides with the final phase of the city's All Hands on Deck program in which the police increase foot patrols and interaction with the community. Chief Lanier said the area has the highest crime reduction in the city this year.

Many residents in the Ward 5 neighborhood in Northeast have been hardened to the frequent violence and responses by the Metropolitan Police Department. The area was the site of one of the most violent crime sprees in recent city history in the summer, during which there were at least seven homicides, prompting Chief Lanier to twice establish vehicle checkpoints in the neighborhood.