Washington, D.C. residents who live in Ward 8 feel the least safe in the city, according to a new survey.
The Community Preservation and Development Corporation, an affordable housing nonprofit in D.C., released a survey on ward safety Tuesday after conducting online and face-to-face interviews with 900 people in every D.C. ward last summer.
It found that residents in Wards 2, 5, 7 and 8 were much less likely to feel safe outside in their neighborhoods during the day than residents in Ward 1, 3, 4 and 6. Less than half of residents in both Ward 7 and Ward 8 feel safe on their neighborhood streets, on public transportation, and in parks and playgrounds, while respondents in Ward 8 feel the least safe of all respondents.
Ward 8 is in the far southeast quadrant of D.C., or the area known as Anacostia. According to city data, 93.5 percent of Ward 8’s roughly 70,000 person population is black. Ward 7 is in the city’s northeast quadrant, above the Anacostia River. It includes areas such as Benning Heights and Kenilworth, and is 96 percent black.
Specifically, just 44 percent of Ward 8 residents and 49 percent of Ward 7 said the feel safe outside on the streets in their neighborhood during the day. By comparison, 88 percent of those in Ward 3 and 73 percent of those in Ward 6 reported feeling safe during those times.
At night, just 15 percent of Ward 8 and 28 percent of Ward 7 reported feeling safe. By comparison, 40 percent of Ward 3 and 46 percent of Ward 6 reported feeling safe.
Ward 3 is the upper northwest quadrant, including neighborhoods like Cleveland Park, Glover Park and Tenleytown. Ward 6 is considered the heart of D.C., and includes neighborhoods like Capitol Hill and Navy Yard.
Respondents in Wards 7 and 8 also said they observed violent crime at much higher rates than others.
Most respondents citywide said they trust the police. But younger respondents, Latino and black respondents and respondents in Wards 7 and 8 were least likely to say they trust the police. Those in Wards 7 or 8 also were most likely to report bad interactions with police.
Only one-third of all respondents indicated that the police focused on the problems that concerned them in their neighborhood. Latinos and African-Americans and those in Wards 7 and 8 had the highest rates of saying that police do not focus on the right problems.
“Public safety is core to a community’s quality of life,” Pamela Lyons, a CPDC Senior Vice President, said in a statement. “Our goal with this survey is to identify what we need to do to strengthen partnerships between residents who live in communities across the city and the law enforcement officers who are supposed to protect them. Residents are ready to build stronger, trusting relationships with police and work together with them to create safer neighborhoods for themselves and their families.”
Data from the D.C. Metropolitan Police Department does show that though property crime was down between 2014 and 2015, violent crime stayed level. There was also a spike in homicides in the District proper between that time, from 105 in 2014 to 162 in 2014. Those homicides were concentrated in the Northeast and Southeast quadrants of the city, data shows.
So far in 2016, there have been 56 homicides in D.C. — 28 of those in Southeast and 12 of those in Northeast.
The CPDC launched its survey following numerous homicides in Ward 8 in recent years, hoping to find a solution.
“As a community developer that makes heavy investments in housing in Ward 8, we have a role in helping residents find their voice to create safer places. The findings from this survey offer an opportunity for residents and police to see where the problems are and work together toward solutions that can result in better and improved communications and levels of trust,” Lyons said.
