It seems that Georgetown residents would rather see their young neighbors dead than with red cups in hand. They have rallied for an increase in the number of Quality of Life patrols east of 35th Street. This change would take valuable manpower away from District Violent Crime patrols in an area densely populated by students, and which is in the midst of a crime wave.
The University and surrounding residents have long been at odds over where Metropolital Police Department should concentrate its efforts, as well as what types of patrols to use. After the summer murder of Alan Sennit on Q St., the University acknowledged the need for a greater police presence east of 35th St. and urged MPD to concentrate its patrols there, an area where both students and residents live. It also asked that the police presence consist of Violent Crime patrols. The neighbors, on the other hand, asked MPD to increase the presense of Quality of Life patrols and to place them west of 35th St., where they would more likely stop student misconduct.
Violent Crime patrols consist of marked police cars and uniformed officers, a noticable presence intended to deter violent crimes. Quality of Life patrols, made up of unmarked cars and undercover policemen, focus their efforts on student infractions such as open containers and noise violations. Without an obvious and public presence, Quality of Life police cannot prevent serious crimes in the same way.
The neighbors’ stance has become known as “broken windows” policing; officers focus on such atrocities as noise and “disorderly conduct” in order to prevent more serious crimes in the neighborhood. However, as Georgetown University Professor Jens Ludwig argued last spring in an article published with University of Chicago Professor Bernard Harcourt, “From a public policy perspective, the faith that many policymakers place in the efficacy of broken windows, is in the end just faith, rather than the result of convincing empirical evidence.”
Drunk Georgetown students are obnoxious, certainly, but they don’t usually commit violent crimes. While neighbors deserve respect from students, respect should not be enforced at the expense of students’ safety. These are the same neighbors who just last fall fought against the extension of the Safe Rides program into Burlieth; they clearly do not place a high emphasis on students’ wellbeing. With the city in a crime emergency, there is no excuse to do anything but put all residents’ safety at the forefront of Georgetown’s issues. There’s nothing wrong with wanting a quality life; it’d just be nice to have one to live, period.
