News from Dupont-Logan-U Street.

From Michelle Lancaster. You can follow her and tell her your news on Twitter @MichLancaster. Email her at michellel@borderstan.com.

17th Street Festival on Saturday

Be there or be square! It’s a free community event, running from 2 to 6 pm. Come check out your area businesses, non-profits and blogs (hint, hint). Visit the pet zone or kid zone to see dogs, people who think their dogs are babies and the kid-friendly attractions. When all the excitement has worn you down, calm your nerves with a beer in JR.’s beer garden (admission to the festival is free, the garden costs $5 and goes to the festival). If you need any other reasons, the Washington Blade does a bang-up job of explaining the importance of building a sense of community in the area, and we’d say that even if they didn’t give us a shout out.

14th and You on Hiatus?

Speaking of the importance of community, we are sad to see the bloggers at 14th and You take a break. How long seems to be up in the air, but they will need a new name. Apparently, the lack of updates are due to their move… to the SUBURBS! Kidding, we won’t hate much on the MoCo move, but we will miss you oodles.

Someone Prefers Arlington to the City

So, in this Bloomberg BusinessWeek list, Arlington was ranked as the second best city. They were ranked on college degree percentages, economic income, crime rates, parks, bars, restaurants and museums, among other things. DC came in at number six, ranking behind Raleigh, Irvine, Scottsdale and Honolulu. While we can understand the Hawaii preference, the others are a bit… interesting. The Washington Business Journal has the story. Arlington has a bad rap, DC has Wale — this hardly seems fair, even if we did lose points for our crime rate.

Well, Bike Beatings May Be Why

Our crime rate is high due to things like irate drives beating up cyclists, among other things. But this item is about a bizarre beating that occurred after a driver veered into a bike lane and hit a cyclist. The driver decided the cyclist was at fault and then beat up the guy he had just hit. The burbs sounding good right about now? Well, the driver was brought up on charges and sentenced today, reports the Washington City Paper. It was pretty light, as it was his first offense, but it’s at least some justice (refraining from Troy Davis comment here).

Or Stolen Puppies?

This story just makes me incredibly sad. Apparently, a dog owner with a recently adopted rescue dog entered a Safeway to buy treats for the dog and left it outside. When the owner returned, the dog was gone. See the poster and post at Prince of Petworth and keep an eye for the puppy. And, as Borderstan’s Tori notes, this is why it is not safe to leave dogs tied up outside of your line of sight.

I Want to Ride My Bicycle

We’ll end on a more positive note. Capital Bikeshare happily announced their one millionth ride on their first anniversary! Congratulations to a great organization that seems to be wildly popular. Their press release is pretty neat — they note the time and location, as well as user, of the ride that put them at an even million. So stay safe in  your bike lanes, don’t use your bike to steal puppies and ride it on down to the 17th Street Festival. Are you not cheered or entertained? Well, Freddy Mercury can help you out here.

There were 5 violent crimes in the 17th Street area in March: 4 robberies (without guns) and 1 assault with a deadly weapon (with gun). The assault was on the 1500 block of Corcoran Street; the 4 robberies were all on P Street between 16th and 18th. (MPD Crime Database)

Starting last month we began doing something new here at Borderstan with crime stats—monthly postings with crime stats for areas that are hubs of three of the main commercial corridors in the Dupont–Logan–U Street area: 12th and U NW, 14th and Q NW, and 17th and Q NW.

These are approximately the centers of the U Street, 14th Street and 17th Street commercial corridors. As centers for neighborhood life, they can also be crime magnets. But, all three of the reporting areas listed above will encompass surrounding residential areas as well, as shown in the map above for the 14th Street corridor.

Why the switch? The area’s commercial strips are centers for neighborhood life—and as a result they can also be crime magnets. All three of the reporting areas listed above will encompass surrounding residential areas as well, as shown in the map above for the U Street corridor. Moreover, all three streets have large numbers of residential buildings, too.

Today’s posting is for 17th Street, centered at 17th and Q Streets NW, the center of the commercial strip on 17th Street. The 17th Street Corridor crime reporting area (see map above) covers a circular area that radiates 1,000 feet from 12th and U NW—an area that roughly runs  from 18th Street on the west to 15th Street on the east and from S Street on the north to O Street/Massachusetts Avenue on the south. The area is in Police Service Area (PSA) 208, which covers the Dupont Circle neighborhood. Last week we ran similar posts for U Street and 14th Street with March numbers.

Summary of March Crime Stats for 17th Street Corridor

• A return to normal. After an abnormally low number of crimes in February due to the snowstorms, the number of crimes in the U Street area returned to more predictable level. (Due to the major snowstorms and severe weather, crime was down throughout DC; see “DC Crime Plummets During Snowpocalypse.”)
• Total crime down slightly, March over March. Total crime for the 17th Street area was down in March 2010 over March 2009 thanks to the noticeable drop in thefts and burglaries—but higher than in March 2008. There were 21 total crimes in March 2010 compared to 23 in March 2009 and 13 in March 2008—meaning that crime was actually 62% higher in March of this year compared to two years ago.
• Property crime down March over March. Property crime for the area was lower in March 2010 than in March 2009—but still higher than March 2008. The number of property crimes in March by year: 10 in 2008, 21 in 2009 and 16 in 2010. Thefts have declined, but thefts from autos (“smash and grabs”) are up (see chart below). Burglaries were down, from 4 in March of last year to just 1 last month.
• Violent crime up, March over March.The 17th Street corridor and surrounding area have seen a rash of robberies in the past few months. This was clear in the March 2010 stats when there were 5 violent crimes compared to just 2 in March 2009 and 3 in March 2008. Of the violent crimes last month, 4 were robberies (none with guns) and 1 assault in which a gun was used. The robberies all occurred on the 1600 and 1700 blocks of P Street NW; the assault was on the 1500 block of Corcoran Street NW.

Detailed crime stats for the 17th Street Corridor in March 2008, 2009 and 2010 are below the fold.

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This map shows the location of violent crimes that occurred in the Borderstan crime area in May and June 2009. (Map and statistics: MPD Crime Search database.)

Starting this month I am reporting crime stats differently for our area:

• I am only collecting and analyzing crime stats for the new Borderstan crime area, which is larger than the old Borderstan.
• I will no longer post separate crime stats for Police Service Areas (PSAs) 208 and 307, which are roughly the Dupont Circle and Logan Circle neighborhoods, respectively.
• The old Borderstan crime area covered a circular area that radiated  1,000 feet from 15th and Corcoran Streets NW—an area that roughly went from south of P Street north to just above S Street… and from Kingman Place on the east almost to 17th Street on the west.
• The new Borderstan crime area (see map above) covers a circular area that radiates 1,500 feet from 15th and Corcoran Streets NW—an area that runs  from 13th Street/Logan Circle west to New Hampshire Avenue/half way between 17th and 18th Streets… and from Rhode Island Avenue/O Street  in the south to T/Caroline Streets in the north.
• The new Borderstan is still divided between PSA 208 (west of 15th) and PSA 307 (east of 15th), with a tiny sliver of PSA 305.

Note: It is easy to get crime stats for any PSA, ward or police district in the city from the MPD crime database. Likewise, you can get crime stats for any particular address or landmark designation, for a 100- to 1,500-foot radius. Another excellent source is CrimeReports, which includes MPD information and has great maps.

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This happened last night at 10:29 p.m. on the 1400-block of S Street NW.

Police Alert-Robbery – Robbery Force & Violence_ 2229 hours_1400 B/O S St. NW_ LOF B/M, 5’6, wearing a white tank top, dark pants, black sweater, carrying a messager bag. L/S on Johnson St. towards R St. NW. DO NOT TAKE ACTION CALL 911 W/EVENT # 382581

The 1500-block of Swann Street NW. (Photo: Luis Gomez.)

The Washington Post has a two-part story on the August 2006 murder of Robert Wone at 1509 Swann Street NW. You can even listen to the 911 call to police on the night of Wone’s murder.

Sunday’s article is “The Robert Wone Stabbing: Anatomy of a Murder Case; Authorities Think Housemates Killed the Lawyer in a Dupont Circle Home, but Proof Is Elusive.”

Earlier Borderstan postings:

• Web Site Devoted to Robert Wone Murder; $25K Reward
• Robert Wone Murder: Judge Puts Civil Case on Hold
• 2006 Swann St. Murder: 3 People Indicted
• WaPo: Update on 2006 Swann Street Murder (w/ Affidavit)
• Arrest Made in Connection with 2006 Swann Street Murder

You can read an affidavit in the case (PDF) that was filed in the Superior Court of the District of Columbia on Oct. 27, 2008, when Dylan Ward was arrested for obstruction of justice. There is some incredible and horrifying information in the document; if you have been following this case and want to learn more, be sure to read the affidavit.

From Police Service Area (PSA) 208:

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PSA 208 encompasses Dupont Circle and part of the Kalorama Circle area. (Image: MPD Web site.)

Here are the year-to-date (January 1 through April 30) crime stats for Police Service Area (PSA) 208 for the last three years: 2007, 2008 and 2009. PSA 208 encompasses the Dupont Circle neighborhood and part of the Kalorama Circle area. West Borderstan (west of 15th Street) is in PSA 208.

Overall, total crime for the first four months of the year in PSA 208 edged up 5% in 2009 after rising about 2% in 2008. There were 712 total crimes in 2009, up from 677 in 2008 and 660 in 2007 for the same period. Total crime has risen 8% over the past two years for the January-April period in PSA 208.

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The MPD Third District. East Borderstan is part of PSA 307. (Image: MPD Web site.)

Here are the year-to-date (January 1 through April 30) crime stats for Police Service Area (PSA) 307 for 2007, 2008 and 2009.Generally, PSA 307 encompasses the Logan Circle neighborhood and parts of Shaw. East Borderstan is part of PSA 307 (from 14th to 15th and P to S Streets NW). West Borderstan (15th to 16th Streets) is part of PSA 208.

Total crime in PSA 307 rose 11% over last year for the first four months of the year—after falling 14% last year. There were 315 crimes in 2009, compared to 284 in 2008 and 331 in 2007. What drove the increase? Violent crime rose slightly, but the big increase was in property crimes.

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Recent crimes in Borderstan, March 14-25… from EveryBlock DC:

• Theft from auto. 1500 block of CORCORAN ST NW. Theft from auto: Burglary while a building is not occupied. Crime reported on March 14, 2009.
• Burglary. 1400 block of S ST NW. Burglary: Burglary while building is occupied. Crime reported on March 24, 2009.
• Theft. 1800 block of 14TH ST NW. Theft: Burglary while building is occupied. Crime reported during the Midnight (11 p.m. to 7 a.m.) shift on March 24, 2009.
• Theft. 1500 block of 16TH ST NW. Theft: Theft of bicycle. Crime reported on March 25, 2009.

Borderstanians: An alert/warning from Police Service Area (PSA) 208:

On Sunday, March 1, 2009, a rooftop incident was reported in the 1700-block of Q Street NW. While the suspect did not appear to have entered the residence—and nothing appears to have been stolen—residents should be aware of this occurrence.

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