D.C. Council Chairman Vincent Gray’s new public safety plan plays on the perception that Mayor Adrian Fenty’s administration gives certain parts of the city more attention than others.
Polls and interviews with District residents show residents are deeply divided along racial lines over their choice for the city’s next mayor. Black residents routinely voice concerns that the Fenty administration favors white, affluent sections of the city, the result, in part, of spin from Gray’s campaign
That spin continued late Friday when the council chairman released his public safety plan and said in a news release that
he would have the police department treat all wards equally if he’s elected mayor.
“The quality of public safety services varies by ward and neighborhood,” Gray said. “Too many children and families are being victimized by violent crime for no other reason than they live in a dangerous neighborhood.”
Homicides in the District have dropped to levels not seen since the 1960s under Fenty’s administration. Gray said he’d build on that by introducing a community policing program that seems to be very similar to the one already being used in Prince George’s County, where crime has dropped across the board in recent years.
Central to Gray’s vision for the police department is the hiring of more officers and the solidifying of public safety authority in a deputy mayor’s office. A similar office was cut by Fenty, who has placed much of the public safety power under the authority of police Chief Cathy Lanier. Polls show Lanier is the most popular of Fenty’s top officials and Gray has indicated he would keep her on if elected mayor.
Gray said the deputy mayor for public safety would not only look over the chief’s shoulder, but also coordinate with the fire department and the juvenile justice agency to develop a comprehensive approach to keeping District residents safe.
Police union chief and outspoken Gray supporter Kris Baumann said in an email that the position is needed to help keep politics from interfering with fighting crime.
Baumann pointed to the Department of Youth Rehabilitation Services as a prime example. So far this year at least 10 of the agency’s wards have been charged with murder and at least six others have been slain.
“When we were having all the problems with DYRS, agency heads were trying to protect their reputations and their positions rather than actually working to address the public safety issues,” Baumann wrote. “Public safety remains one of the biggest concerns of District residents and we have to have someone who is accountable and can make District-wide decisions.”
A Fenty spokesman did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Gray’s plan.
