D.C. has identified five areas to focus on in their 2021 Fall Crime Prevention Initiative, Mayor Muriel Bowser said on Friday.
The areas are: Columbia Heights, Brightwood Park, Benning, Historic Anacostia and Washington Highlands/Bellevue.
Bowser said the areas have been selected in an effort to curb gun violence in the city.
“There is no place where gun violence is acceptable in our city,” Bowser said. “This is precisely why we are committed to making sure that we are investing in targeted programs and initiatives that protect our residents and bring resources to the communities that need it most.”
The initiative runs from Oct. 1 to Dec. 18 and focuses D.C. police resources and crime-fighting technology to fight violent crime in the selected areas.
D.C. police has been operating a Summer Crime Prevention Initiative since 2010, and decided in 2019 to establish a similar program for the fall. Bowser said areas covered by the initiative in past years have seen reductions in violent crime between 15% and 30%.
In a statement, D.C. police chief Robert Contee praised the initiative’s successes and said the department would be working to bring the crime prevention to the areas highlighted by this year’s initiative.
“Year after year, we come to the same conclusion that strategic crime prevention and focused enforcement works, and that crime prevention initiatives are successful in reducing violent crime,” Contee said. “We will be laser-focused on providing these areas with all available resources, and will utilize evidence-based and intelligence-driven strategies to combat crime.”
