Earlier this week, my roommate noticed several men loitering suspiciously on the corner of T Street in Burleith. He decided to heed the advice of the University and placed a call to the Department of Public Safety. After describing the men to a DPS officer, my roommate was informed that there was nothing DPS could do. Was the group of men on the corner waiting to rob a student walking alone through Burleith at night? Maybe. Should DPS have responded differently to my roommate’s call? Definitely.
Washington, D.C. has the highest murder rate in the country. Although Georgetown students often feel removed from the more dangerous parts of the city, crime is a reality in all four quadrants. Georgetown is far from safe, judging by the number of assaults, robberies and flashing incidents reported in the last three months.
While the Metropolitan Police Department is responsible for the safety of D.C.’s neighborhoods, the University’s Department of Public Safety is responsible for the safety of Georgetown students.
This responsibility does not end when students step off-campus. After last month’s tragic fire and subsequent evictions, the University has shown a renewed commitment to involvement in the safety of off-campus student housing. But safety encompasses not only fire codes and structural stability, but also the well being of students.
A better partnership between MPD and DPS could decrease the number of muggings and burglaries in the neighborhoods around the University and therefore increase the safety of the student body.
DPS should share jurisdiction with MPD in the neighborhoods around campus.
If DPS had been able to patrol in Burleith, perhaps an officer would have responded to my roommate’s call. DPS officers on patrol could have perhaps thwarted the numerous muggings that have occurred in West Georgetown.
Even as DPS has remained incapable of taking action against off-campus crime, other neighborhood groups, like the Advisory Neighborhood Commission for district 2E, have taken measures to make Georgetown safer. The ANC recently unanimously passed a measure advocating the installation of additional streetlights in West Georgetown.
Crimes are being committed just steps away from the front gates of campus, where a DPS squad car is parked 24 hours a day. If this car was able to safeguard the neighborhood instead of simply idling in front of the gate, perhaps Georgetown students would be safer.
