On a block just off Benning Road in the Rosedale neighborhood of Northeast D.C., two D.C. Fire and EMS workers approached Rev. Marian Dunmore.
They were carrying a cart filled with Narcan and fentanyl testing strips, offering them to residents and community members and explaining how and when to use them. They explained how to insert the opioid overdose-reversal drug into a nostril, and press the lever. Before administering it, they advised it’s essential to call 911.
For an hour on Tuesday, members of D.C.’s Multiagency Public Safety Task Force walked from block to block in the Northeast community, taking stock of abandoned property, trash and cars that may need to be towed.
Since 2023, the task force has used data to determine which neighborhoods to walk through. The group meets twice a week, with the goal of keeping communities safe and cracking down on crime.
“The challenges, number one, would be to change a life,” Rev. Dunmore said of lingering concerns in Rosedale. “The other challenge is just to have your community completely occupied by people who are using and selling drugs, and being able to get rid of them, to get them out of your neighborhood.”
The group includes representatives from dozens of city agencies, including D.C. police, D.C. Fire and EMS, Department of Public Works and the Department of Behavioral Health, among others.
Some members engage with businesses to determine what challenges they may be facing. Others focus on abandoned homes, which at night, “really are just an open door to crime,” Police Capt. Ryan Small said.
“Once we’re able to get those properties properly secured, it really eliminates a lot of other crimes from being able to occur, whether it’s quality of life, crimes like different types of disorderly behavior, or oftentimes violent crime, and then property crime as well,” Small added.
The task force reviews data to see where crime may be increasing at any given point to determine where it should head next. The focus, Small said, could range from violent crimes to property crimes, and includes stolen vehicles or parking concerns.
Steve Smith, special events coordinator with the city’s Department of Public Works, described the group’s mission as to “beautify the areas in which we are assigned to.”
Tow trucks look for abandoned or ticketed cars that need to removed. They also remove bulk or stray furniture. At Starburst Plaza on Tuesday afternoon, a crew removed a black table sitting in the middle of the park.
“It’s very beneficial for the city,” Smith said.
In some neighborhoods, the group has happened upon someone who has overdosed while they’re walking. The responders helped address that, arranging for medical treatment.
While engaging with community members, they make sure to connect them with physical or mental health resources and equip them with Narcan too, “so they can protect themselves or help somebody else that might have an overdose,” Small said.
Walking around Rosedale, Small said it’s clear that the approach has been effective, citing a reduction in crimes. Stolen cars have gone down 50%, property crime down 28% and total crime down 25% overall, he said, including a slight decrease compared to the same time last year.
By the end of Tuesday’s gathering, the group was out of Narcan and testing strips, coordinated a tow for two cars and helped remove trash and furniture.
They’re scheduled to do it all again in a different D.C. neighborhood on Wednesday.
“It’s just been a great experience for everyone involved,” Small said.
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