Robberies in the District are on the rise and statistics show youths are often responsible, but city officials say they’re doing everything they can this summer to get children off the streets and into the pools, camps, schools and recreation centers.
The District’s 20 public outdoor pools will open on time, Mayor Anthony Williams said Wednesday, despite a growing problem hiring lifeguards.
“Every jurisdiction in the country has trouble because children have so many options these days,” Williams said.
But the pools are only one piece of a larger city effort, dubbed “DC Summer Fun,” to provide District youth a busy summer. Most government agencies are involved in some way, providing camps, summer school, late night teen centers, sports clinics and job placement for some 12,000 teenagers.
The District has experienced “some very disturbing crime trends,” particularly robberies, Police Chief Charles Ramsey said as he promoted his department’s “40 Days of Increased Peace” program. Robberies are up 11.9 percent this year compared to last. In May, 342 robberies were reported compared to 290 in May 2005.
And 40 percent of robbery-related arrests are juveniles, up from 33 percent in 2005 and 25 percent in 2004.
“The goal is to find positive activities, things for our young people to do,” Ramsey said. “We’re trying to take away any excuse for inactivity.”
SCHOOL’S OUT
» All D.C. pools are free for residents, courtesy of a $200,000 grant from Kaiser Permanente.
» For more information on “DC Summer Fun,” visit dcsummerfun.dc.gov.
» For more information on “40 Days of Increased Peace,” call 202-IM-BORED (462-6733).
