Crime has decreased, arrests have increased and the number of curfew violators has more than tripled since D.C. police Chief Charles Ramsey declared a 30-day crime emergency last month.
The crime emergency will be extended at least through the weekend, according to government sources. Ramsey and Mayor Anthony Williams will decide next week whether to continue the emergency for the rest of the summer.
Ramsey declared the emergency July 11 after D.C. suffered 13 homicides in 11 days. The crime emergencyallowed the chief to immediately change officers’ schedules and require them to work six days. Last month, the D.C. Council allowed the mayor to move the curfew for youths back from midnight to 10 p.m.
“The mayor is glad with the trend but knows that a lot more needs to be done,” said spokesman Vince Morris. “We hope parents continue to stay involved with their kids and avoid letting them loiter late at night.”
Since Ramsey declared the emergency, the rate of homicides has slowed. At the time of the declaration, there were about as many homicides as there were the previous year. Now, the number of homicides is 108, eight fewer than last year.
During the emergency, violent crime and property crime have gone down 4.6 percent compared to the same period last year.
Arrests have gone up 18.6 percent; juvenile arrests have gone up 42.6 percent. Before Aug. 1, police picked up 744 curfew violators from July 12 to the July 30, compared to 268 over the same time last year. Since the new curfew began, police have caught 393 juveniles out past deadline, 246 during the new hours. There were 81 curfew violators during that time last year.
