DC police to set up military-style checkpoint for cars entering violence plagued neighborhood

[Traviesa 0]

Unfortunately I live on the edge of a bad neighbourhood here in VA and I sure hope someone figures out what to do and then brings that solution down here. I have no suggestions of what would work, but I can see the Mayor of DC recognizes this is a short term solution and I am guessing until someone comes up with a better plan they will stick with what they have and see if it works.

I'd imagine DC can't very well solve this problem by itself. The immediate surrounding area is depressed too isn't it?

Yes, suburbs of DC suck.

[w¡n9Nµ7 §£@¥€r 123]

Bethesda is nice!

[Traviesa 0]

This is kind of on topic and it's a real-life example I've seen and it makes me so sad. The guy I'm seeing lives about 5 minutes outside of Baltimore. (Baltimore and DC are very similar-I'm actually more scared in Baltimore than in DC). He lives in a little housing development. They aren't nice houses by any means but they're not crappy houses either. Well across the street and one house down from him is a crack house. The sad thing is it didn't take me very long at all to figure that out. The sadder thing is that there is a handful of kids who come and go from that house-school bus stops there every day. Sometimes I sit and think about the day when one will be caught in a drive-by, or the day when the house is raided and the kids are traumatized for life. What's the best outlook for these kids? If they survive, following in their parents' footsteps? This is not even inside the city. That's the kind of situation we're dealing with in MD suburbs.

Bethesda is nice!

I have only been to Bethesda once-we went to an English pub. And it wasn't bad!

[natty bumppo 297]

The checkpoint will stop vehicles approaching the 1400 block of Montello Avenue NE, a section of the Trinidad neighborhood that has been plagued with homicides and other violence. Police will search cars if they suspect the presence of guns or drugs, and will arrest people who do not cooperate, under a charge of failure to obey a police officer, officials said.

...

Oh this will be good ....

Unless the officers see (witness) from the outside of the car …. paraphernalia or the actual drugs/guns ... all the driver needs to do is keep the doors closed and say "no you can't search without a warrant".

I hope they have a huge stack of signed ... fill in the blank warrants ... and good lawyers.

[w¡n9Nµ7 §£@¥€r 123]

This is kind of on topic and it's a real-life example I've seen and it makes me so sad. The guy I'm seeing lives about 5 minutes outside of Baltimore. (Baltimore and DC are very similar-I'm actually more scared in Baltimore than in DC). He lives in a little housing development. They aren't nice houses by any means but they're not crappy houses either. Well across the street and one house down from him is a crack house. The sad thing is it didn't take me very long at all to figure that out. The sadder thing is that there is a handful of kids who come and go from that house-school bus stops there every day. Sometimes I sit and think about the day when one will be caught in a drive-by, or the day when the house is raided and the kids are traumatized for life. What's the best outlook for these kids? If they survive, following in their parents' footsteps? This is not even inside the city. That's the kind of situation we're dealing with in MD suburbs.

Bethesda is nice!

I have only been to Bethesda once-we went to an English pub. And it wasn't bad!

MD has many very nice suburbs. Of course, they tend to be very expensive.

[Leafgal 3]

The checkpoint will stop vehicles approaching the 1400 block of Montello Avenue NE, a section of the Trinidad neighborhood that has been plagued with homicides and other violence. Police will search cars if they suspect the presence of guns or drugs, and will arrest people who do not cooperate, under a charge of failure to obey a police officer, officials said.

...

Oh this will be good ....

Unless the officers see (witness) from the outside of the car …. paraphernalia or the actual drugs/guns ... all the driver needs to do is keep the doors closed and say "no you can't search without a warrant".

I hope they have a huge stack of signed ... fill in the blank warrants ... and good lawyers.

Well I am guessing the police can say your not going in this neighbourhood at least.

[Traviesa 0]

This is kind of on topic and it's a real-life example I've seen and it makes me so sad. The guy I'm seeing lives about 5 minutes outside of Baltimore. (Baltimore and DC are very similar-I'm actually more scared in Baltimore than in DC). He lives in a little housing development. They aren't nice houses by any means but they're not crappy houses either. Well across the street and one house down from him is a crack house. The sad thing is it didn't take me very long at all to figure that out. The sadder thing is that there is a handful of kids who come and go from that house-school bus stops there every day. Sometimes I sit and think about the day when one will be caught in a drive-by, or the day when the house is raided and the kids are traumatized for life. What's the best outlook for these kids? If they survive, following in their parents' footsteps? This is not even inside the city. That's the kind of situation we're dealing with in MD suburbs.

Bethesda is nice!

I have only been to Bethesda once-we went to an English pub. And it wasn't bad!

MD has many very nice suburbs. Of course, they tend to be very expensive.

Bowie used to be nice. That's where I grew up. Now they have had to form their own police department. Of course there are nice places-there are nice places everywhere-even in DC. Most of the higher-end clients at the catering company I work for live inside the city.

[Scott & Lai 12]

If you ask me what is being done is all that can be done, there really is no other way to make an area where 8 people were killed safe other than try to regulate who goes in and out and making sure they have good reasons to be there. We enjoy our freedom and we enjoy not being burdened with the need to explain ourselves to to the police but those same people complaining about the hassle would also be complaining if their child or loved one was hit with a stray bullet and died. What is it they expect to happen? What else could be done?

I can only speak for myself, but I wouldn't be going places where things like that happen. If someone chooses to do so, then that's obviously a risk they're willing to take and I don't really think it's anyone's problem what happens to them. What are they going to do with the bad guys? Kick them out of one neighborhood so they'll go take over another? What exactly is the point in that? Just because you seal off one neighborhood, or even 10 neighborhoods, doesn't get rid of the bad guys. They will always be there to shoot someone else's children. But...I guess we only care about the children in this neighborhood. I just don't get it. It makes no sense whatsoever.

What about the innocent people who live there. It's not always as easy as packing up and moving to a nicer part of town. There are certain sections of DC known for violence and they also tend to be the same areas with cheaper housing. Moving from one poor part of DC to another with crime isn't going to exactly change these peoples' way of life.

Exactly, while crime is a part of any major city when you have 8 people killed in a weekend I am sorry but that requires some type or extreme measures to be taken. No one should feel as if they are a prisoner in there own house. Im not saying they only care about the children in that neighborhood but its pretty clear those neighborhoods have a bit more problems than the average area. And they arent sealing it off, just trying to make sure that the people going in there dont have the intention of doing illegal things or hurting someone. What makes no sense to me is the business owners thinking that the road blocks will have a negative effect on their sales, I wouldnt go into those neighborhoods just for the fact that 8 people were killed in one weekend there, to be honest I would feel safer knowing that atleast the police are trying. DC has come a long ways since the 80's and when I lived there 8 years ago there were places i would not go for anything still but it wasnt a feeling of everywhere I went I was in danger. If the police do happen to get the right car or the right people that are referred to as "bad guys" and they have illegal drugs (main driving force in crimes such as these no matter if it is a sale gone bad, a turf war, or just plain robbery for the money) or illegal guns the minimum mandatory sentence for some of those is atleast enough to take them off the streets all together for 5 -7 years. They can take over a prison neighborhood if they desire to do so but these innocent people who are trapped in this violence are really just that, trapped.

We certainly cannot cede our neighborhoods to the predatory vermin in society, or rather, we can't continue to do so. Decent people should be able to live where they choose and go where they choose without the threat of being victimized.

[Jack and Barbara 0]

Unfortunately I live on the edge of a bad neighbourhood here in VA and I sure hope someone figures out what to do and then brings that solution down here. I have no suggestions of what would work, but I can see the Mayor of DC recognizes this is a short term solution and I am guessing until someone comes up with a better plan they will stick with what they have and see if it works.

I'd imagine DC can't very well solve this problem by itself. The immediate surrounding area is depressed too isn't it?

Yes, suburbs of DC suck.

Speak for many parts of Maryland, but northern VA is pretty crime-free of violent crimes, at least in comparison to immeadiate Maryland suburbs and East DC.

I remember seeing this map of DC area murders that someone updates. I believe I found it here on VJ in an old post.

http://www.burgersub.org/murders2k8.htm

[natty bumppo 297]

The checkpoint will stop vehicles approaching the 1400 block of Montello Avenue NE, a section of the Trinidad neighborhood that has been plagued with homicides and other violence. Police will search cars if they suspect the presence of guns or drugs, and will arrest people who do not cooperate, under a charge of failure to obey a police officer, officials said.

...

Oh this will be good ....

Unless the officers see (witness) from the outside of the car …. paraphernalia or the actual drugs/guns ... all the driver needs to do is keep the doors closed and say "no you can't search without a warrant".

I hope they have a huge stack of signed ... fill in the blank warrants ... and good lawyers.

Well I am guessing the police can say your not going in this neighbourhood at least.

I'm sure there is property and goods for sale in the neighborhood ... so will the cops restrict business too ?... oh wait ... local business can lose $$$ in this deal ... another potential lawsuit.

[Jack and Barbara 0]

We certainly cannot cede our neighborhoods to the predatory vermin in society, or rather, we can't continue to do so. Decent people should be able to live where they choose and go where they choose without the threat of being victimized.

I only wish there was a clear cut solution to this.

Edited June 5, 2008 by Jack and Barbara

[w¡n9Nµ7 §£@¥€r 123]

Generally, if one wishes to live in a good and safe neighborhood in close proximity to a big city in this country, one must have the means to pay a lot of money.

[Leafgal 3]

We certainly cannot cede our neighborhoods to the predatory vermin in society, or rather, we can't continue to do so. Decent people should be able to live where they choose and go where they choose without the threat of being victimized.

I only wish there was a clear cut solution to this.

Couldn't have said it better myself.

[Jack and Barbara 0]

Generally, if one wishes to live in a good and safe neighborhood in close proximity to a big city in this country, one must have the means to pay a lot of money.

Unfortunately that is true, and although I'd be bitter about paying higher prices for rent, food and general cost of living, if I have the means, I'd much rather be in a safer area and bitter than in an unsafe area where I would be foolish to show I even have money.

Something about going to the east of the Potomac makes me feel better.

[w¡n9Nµ7 §£@¥€r 123]

... although I'd be bitter about paying higher prices for rent, food and general cost of living, if I have the means, I'd much rather be in a safer area and bitter than in an unsafe area where I would be foolish to show I even have money.

Can't say I disagree