Quoted: Quoted: Quoted: "Welcome to Baghdad, D.C.," says Art Spitzer with the ACLU. "In this country, you don't need identification papers and to give an explanation for why you want to go from one neighborhood to another." Well, it did work in Baghdad.   Plus I hate people who live in DC. We need to build a wall around DC.

Then fill it with water.

Quoted: Quoted: Quoted: Quoted: "Welcome to Baghdad, D.C.," says Art Spitzer with the ACLU. "In this country, you don't need identification papers and to give an explanation for why you want to go from one neighborhood to another." Well, it did work in Baghdad.   Plus I hate people who live in DC. We need to build a wall around DC. Then fill it with water.

Tried it in NOLA.  Still costing us money to this day.

Quoted: How much you wanna bet this wouldn't fly if guns were legal?

Not one bit of difference, nothing better to fantasize about tonight?

Quoted: You ever been into the areas with "high crime" in DC? Before you go shitting on the MPD I would suggest you do a ridealong with the Dept. and see what it is really like there. I plan on applying to MPD after I graduate college and have talked to many MPD officers and did a ridealong in NE in the 6th District which is the most violent. We spent ALL NIGHT in the "high crime" areas.... I have the utmost respect for those officers. They've got a hard job...cut 'em some slack.

Lets see...

They willfully enforce prohibitions of the right to self defense and the right to keep and bare arms. "we were just following orders"

In Kent v. Dulles, 357 U.S. 116 (1958) ...Justice William O. Douglas held that the federal government may not restrict the right to travel without due process:

"The right to travel is a part of the 'liberty' of which the citizen cannot be deprived without due process of law under the Fifth Amendment. If that "liberty" is to be regulated, it must be pursuant to the law-making functions of the Congress. . . . . Freedom of movement across frontiers in either direction, and inside frontiers as well, was a part of our heritage. Travel abroad, like travel within the country, . . . may be as close to the heart of the individual as the choice of what he eats, or wears, or reads. Freedom of movement is basic in our scheme of values. "


Lets see..... three pages, no condemnation of the policy from TrOoPeRcHiN.

You'll fit right in comrade.

-3D

Quoted: With all due respect, I don't wish to discuss my personal business with you, officer.  Am I free to go?  Am I free to go?  Am I free to go?  On what charge am I being held?  Am I free to go?  I don't answer questions.  Am I free to go?  What part of "I don't answer questions" did you not understand?  Am I free to go?  That sounded like a question.  Again, I don't wish to discuss my personal business with you, officer.  Am I free to go?

Been on the high caffeine version tonight, Sir.?  You can park over there and walk in or go back and go around.  Have a good evening

Politically inept at best, NOT Unconstitutional.  They're aren't detaining people, they are just saying you need to walk to get in.  They can be avoided or gone around.  Again dubious on the political level.

Quoted: Quoted: You ever been into the areas with "high crime" in DC? Before you go shitting on the MPD I would suggest you do a ridealong with the Dept. and see what it is really like there. I plan on applying to MPD after I graduate college and have talked to many MPD officers and did a ridealong in NE in the 6th District which is the most violent. We spent ALL NIGHT in the "high crime" areas.... I have the utmost respect for those officers. They've got a hard job...cut 'em some slack. Lets see... They willfully enforce prohibitions of the right to self defense and the right to keep and bare arms. "we were just following orders" In Kent v. Dulles, 357 U.S. 116 (1958) ...Justice William O. Douglas held that the federal government may not restrict the right to travel without due process: "The right to travel is a part of the 'liberty' of which the citizen cannot be deprived without due process of law under the Fifth Amendment. If that "liberty" is to be regulated, it must be pursuant to the law-making functions of the Congress. . . . . Freedom of movement across frontiers in either direction, and inside frontiers as well, was a part of our heritage. Travel abroad, like travel within the country, . . . may be as close to the heart of the individual as the choice of what he eats, or wears, or reads. Freedom of movement is basic in our scheme of values. " Lets see..... three pages, no condemnation of the policy from TrOoPeRcHiN. You'll fit right in comrade. -3D

This from a supporter of the Douglas Court?  Pulling a "right" out that you agree with is OK, but then do you agree that Roe is OK?
Allusion to Nazi Germany

I guess you didn't read that part about Due Process, Due Process is correcting the Second Amendment violations, I expect the Constitutional remedy will be applied here also.  But they could also agree that the City Council "legislating" this is the necessary due process?

Quoted: This from a supporter of the Douglas Court?  Pulling a "right" out that you agree with is OK, but then do you agree that Roe is OK? Allusion to Nazi Germany I guess you didn't read that part about Due Process, Due Process is correcting the Second Amendment violations, I expect the Constitutional remedy will be applied here also.  But they could also agree that the City Council "legislating" this is the necessary due process?

Roadblocks for law enforcement purposes are per se unconstitutional, outside of DUI stops.  The dimwit with the city is right when he says they have to stop every car (or not allow individual officers to use their discretion to stop vehicles), but my question is whether this is a Law Enforcement purpose and not an administrative purpose.

ETA: The court didn't make a right 'out of think air'.  They merely held that traveling is implicit in 'liberty', and as such, you can't restrict it without due process.

It's probably a response to the smart assed questions regarding the banning of racial profiling.  No, not a black guy in a BMW in a nice Georgetown neighborhood, but a white guy in SE, or parts of NE at midnight.  Hookers and crack.

Quoted: Quoted: You ever been into the areas with "high crime" in DC? Before you go shitting on the MPD I would suggest you do a ridealong with the Dept. and see what it is really like there. I plan on applying to MPD after I graduate college and have talked to many MPD officers and did a ridealong in NE in the 6th District which is the most violent. We spent ALL NIGHT in the "high crime" areas.... I have the utmost respect for those officers. They've got a hard job...cut 'em some slack. Lets see... They willfully enforce prohibitions of the right to self defense and the right to keep and bare arms. "we were just following orders" In Kent v. Dulles, 357 U.S. 116 (1958) ...Justice William O. Douglas held that the federal government may not restrict the right to travel without due process: "The right to travel is a part of the 'liberty' of which the citizen cannot be deprived without due process of law under the Fifth Amendment. If that "liberty" is to be regulated, it must be pursuant to the law-making functions of the Congress. . . . . Freedom of movement across frontiers in either direction, and inside frontiers as well, was a part of our heritage. Travel abroad, like travel within the country, . . . may be as close to the heart of the individual as the choice of what he eats, or wears, or reads. Freedom of movement is basic in our scheme of values. " Lets see..... three pages, no condemnation of the policy from TrOoPeRcHiN. You'll fit right in comrade. -3D

Look chief, I may not agree with the policy and I would be interested to see it in court. That, however, does not mean that I go on and on about how they are a bunch of nazis etc etc... NOR did I allude to the fact that they are a bunch of cowards, like you did.

Quoted: Quoted: This from a supporter of the Douglas Court?  Pulling a "right" out that you agree with is OK, but then do you agree that Roe is OK? Allusion to Nazi Germany I guess you didn't read that part about Due Process, Due Process is correcting the Second Amendment violations, I expect the Constitutional remedy will be applied here also.  But they could also agree that the City Council "legislating" this is the necessary due process? Roadblocks for law enforcement purposes are per se unconstitutional, outside of DUI stops.  The dimwit with the city is right when he says they have to stop every car (or not allow individual officers to use their discretion to stop vehicles), but my question is whether this is a Law Enforcement purpose and not an administrative purpose. ETA: The court didn't make a right 'out of think air'.  They merely held that traveling is implicit in 'liberty', and as such, you can't restrict it without due process.

I've heard it argued that free travel is indeed a right, but that using public roads is a priviledge.

Quoted: I've heard it argued that free travel is indeed a right, but that using public roads is a priviledge.

Yeah, if you could find a way for me to get from Tampa to Orlando without trespassing and without using public lands, that would be great.

See the problem?

"Desperate times calls for desperate measures."

Quoted: Quoted: I've heard it argued that free travel is indeed a right, but that using public roads is a priviledge. Yeah, if you could find a way for me to get from Tampa to Orlando without trespassing and without using public lands, that would be great. See the problem?

I agree with you completely and have no easy solution.

What about unlicensed small aircraft?

Quoted: Once an area is designated, signs and checkpoints will go up and neighbors will be notified. Any car trying to enter the designated neighborhood will be stopped, and drivers and passengers will have to produce identification. They will also have to give an explanation as to why they are there. According to the Police General Order obtained by the Washington Examiner, anyone who refuses to provide identification can be arrested.

Quoted: Lanier says as long as they stop every car it is legal.

Eat a dick bitch.

Quoted: What about unlicensed small aircraft?

I don't know.

Quoted: Quoted: What about unlicensed small aircraft? I don't know.

A friend of mine runs a small municipal airport I'll have to hit her up on the regs.

Wow, there's a pretty high percentage of childish posts in this thread,

So most of you don't agree with things being done the way they are in DC, even though most of you won't be there anytime soon, and it makes it ok to throw a tantrum?

I don't agree with checkpoints. It is like they are conceding that the good citizens and police have lost control of that city.

DC has a SKY HIGH homicide rate, 385 per 100,000 IIRC, which is far and away greater than the homicide rates in the rest of the country. Several states have rates of 2 per 100,000 or less.

From what I understand of DC, it like many places, doesn't have difficulty finding, arresting, and obtaining convictions against felony criminal suspects. They have a problem with what to do with them after.

More prison space would probably lessen the crime rate in DC more surely than any other measure.

Quoted: So most of you don't agree with things being done the way they are in DC, even though most of you won't be there anytime soon, and it makes it ok to throw a tantrum?

Gimme a fuggin' break.

Quoted: Wow, there's a pretty high percentage of childish posts in this thread, So most of you don't agree with things being done the way they are in DC, even though most of you won't be there anytime soon, and it makes it ok to throw a tantrum? I don't agree with checkpoints. It is like they are conceding that the good citizens and police have lost control of that city. DC has a SKY HIGH homicide rate, 385 per 100,000 IIRC, which is far and away greater than the homicide rates in the rest of the country. Several states have rates of 2 per 100,000 or less. From what I understand of DC, it like many places, doesn't have difficulty finding, arresting, and obtaining convictions against felony criminal suspects. They have a problem with what to do with them after. More prison space would probably lessen the crime rate in DC more surely than any other measure.

So I guess your good with the fact that we're already #1 in incarcerating our citizens worldwide?

Quoted: So I guess your good with the fact that we're already #1 in incarcerating our citizens worldwide?

Yeah, I have no problem with murderers, rapists, robbers, etc people that have victimized other citizens being in jail or prison.

It should be simple, victimize other citizens go to prison. If you don't want to go to prison, don't victimize other citizens.

Quoted: Quoted: So I guess your good with the fact that we're already #1 in incarcerating our citizens worldwide? Yeah, I have no problem with murderers, rapists, robbers, etc people that have victimized other citizens being in jail or prison. It should be simple, victimize other citizens go to prison. If you don't want to go to prison, don't victimize other citizens.

I'll take that as a no regarding you actually knowing why we're #1.

Quoted: Wow, there's a pretty high percentage of childish posts in this thread, So most of you don't agree with things being done the way they are in DC, even though most of you won't be there anytime soon, and it makes it ok to throw a tantrum? I don't agree with checkpoints. It is like they are conceding that the good citizens and police have lost control of that city. DC has a SKY HIGH homicide rate, 385 per 100,000 IIRC, which is far and away greater than the homicide rates in the rest of the country. Several states have rates of 2 per 100,000 or less. From what I understand of DC, it like many places, doesn't have difficulty finding, arresting, and obtaining convictions against felony criminal suspects. They have a problem with what to do with them after. More prison space would probably lessen the crime rate in DC more surely than any other measure.

 Latest 2006 Crimes per 100,000 People:
                           Little Rock, AR Washington, DC   National

Murder:                         31.1                     29.1                   7
Forcible Rape:             80.89                   31.3                   32.2
Robbery:                        481.6                          619.7                   205.8
Aggravated Assault:       1187.1                 765.7                 336.5
Burglary:                         2071                     657.9                 813.2
Larceny Theft:               5684.4               2602.1               2601.7
Vehicle Theft:                 702.8               1213.5                 501.5

Actual Reported Population and Crimes:
                             Little Rock, AR  Washington, DC
Population:                 186,670                   581,530
Murder:                             58                         169
Forcible Rape:                    151                       182
Robbery:                               899                       3604
Aggravated Assault:           2216                        4453
Burglary:                           3866                        3826
Larceny Theft:                  10611                        15132
Vehicle Theft:                   1312                         7057


Looks like you're way off on the 385 per 100,000

Quoted: Quoted: Green Zone? Try Berlin Warsaw 1939...

Quoted: Quoted: Wow, there's a pretty high percentage of childish posts in this thread, So most of you don't agree with things being done the way they are in DC, even though most of you won't be there anytime soon, and it makes it ok to throw a tantrum? I don't agree with checkpoints. It is like they are conceding that the good citizens and police have lost control of that city. DC has a SKY HIGH homicide rate, 385 per 100,000 IIRC, which is far and away greater than the homicide rates in the rest of the country. Several states have rates of 2 per 100,000 or less. From what I understand of DC, it like many places, doesn't have difficulty finding, arresting, and obtaining convictions against felony criminal suspects. They have a problem with what to do with them after. More prison space would probably lessen the crime rate in DC more surely than any other measure.  Latest 2006 Crimes per 100,000 People:                            Little Rock, AR Washington, DC   National Murder:                         31.1                     29.1                   7 Forcible Rape:             80.89                   31.3                   32.2 Robbery:                        481.6                          619.7                   205.8 Aggravated Assault:       1187.1                 765.7                 336.5 Burglary:                         2071                     657.9                 813.2 Larceny Theft:               5684.4               2602.1               2601.7 Vehicle Theft:                 702.8               1213.5                 501.5 Actual Reported Population and Crimes:                              Little Rock, AR  Washington, DC Population:                 186,670                   581,530 Murder:                             58                         169 Forcible Rape:                    151                       182 Robbery:                               899                       3604 Aggravated Assault:           2216                        4453 Burglary:                           3866                        3826 Larceny Theft:                  10611                        15132 Vehicle Theft:                   1312                         7057 Looks like you're way off on the 385 per 100,000

Thats assuming all get reported


ME reports may say ah fuck it we don't know accidental death...he shot himself several times and drove his car over himself

Quoted: Wow, there's a pretty high percentage of childish posts in this thread, So most of you don't agree with things being done the way they are in DC, even though most of you won't be there anytime soon, and it makes it ok to throw a tantrum? I don't agree with checkpoints. It is like they are conceding that the good citizens and police have lost control of that city. DC has a SKY HIGH homicide rate, 385 per 100,000 IIRC, which is far and away greater than the homicide rates in the rest of the country. Several states have rates of 2 per 100,000 or less. From what I understand of DC, it like many places, doesn't have difficulty finding, arresting, and obtaining convictions against felony criminal suspects. They have a problem with what to do with them after. More prison space would probably lessen the crime rate in DC more surely than any other measure.

Is that City or Metro?

Houston, 2 Million people, 14.4 homicides per 100,000 in 2007


DC City, 600.000 people in 2007 and has 385 per 100.000.

Quoted: Is her CV out there anywhere? Her bona fides Cathy L. Lanier was named Chief of Metropolitan Police Department by DC Mayor Adrian Fenty. She officially assumed the leadership position on January 2, 2007. On April 3, 2007, members of DC Council approved confirmation. Chief Lanier has spent her entire law enforcement career with the Metropolitan Police Department, beginning in 1990. Most of her career has been in uniformed patrol, where she served as Commander of the Fourth District, one of the largest and most diverse residential patrol districts in the city. She also served as the Commanding Officer of the Department's Major Narcotics Branch and Vehicular Homicide Units. More recently, Chief Lanier served as Commander of the Special Operations Division (SOD) for four years, where she managed the Emergency Response Team, Aviation and Harbor Units, Horse Mounted and Canine Units, Special Events/Dignitary Protection Branch, and Civil Disturbance Units. During her tenure as SOD Commander, she established the agency’s first Homeland Security/Counter-Terrorism Branch and created an agency-wide chemical, biological, radiological response unit known as the Special Threat Action Team. In 2006, the MPDC's Office of Homeland Security and Counter-Terrorism (OHSCT) was created, and Chief Lanier was tapped to be its first Commanding Officer. A highly respected professional in the areas of homeland security and community policing, she took the lead role in developing and implementing coordinated counter-terrorism strategies for all units within the MPDC and launched Operation TIPP (Terrorist Incident Prevention Program). Chief Lanier is a graduate of the FBI National Academy and the federal Drug Enforcement Administration’s Drug Unit Commanders Academy. She holds Bachelor's and Master’s Degrees in Management from Johns Hopkins University, and a Master's Degree in National Security Studies from the Naval Postgraduate School in Monterey, California. She is certified at the technician level in Hazardous Materials Operations.

She was definitely not hired for her Andy Griffith-like community policing skills. She's homeland security focused. Probably a better pick to run TSA than a metro PD.

"tarting on Saturday, officers will check drivers' identification and ask whether they have a "legitimate purpose" to be in the Trinidad area, such as going to a doctor or church or visiting friends or relatives. If not, the drivers will be turned away."



"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."


"Interim Attorney General Peter J. Nickles said that his office reviewed the initiative and that similar efforts had survived court tests.

"I don't anticipate us being sued," Nickles said. "But if you do want to sue us, the courts are open." "

"ne of Lanier's plans, the Safe Homes initiative, has yet to get off the ground because of a community backlash. The plan, announced by Lanier and Fenty at a news conference in March, called for police to go door-to-door in crime-ridden areas and ask residents whether they could go inside and search for guns. Residents and some council members voiced concerns that homeowners would feel intimidated by police. Lanier backed off, but said she plans to move forward soon by having residents call police to set up appointments."



It's like they are writing the ACLU's claim for them in the paper

Quoted: i31.tinypic.com/30b0o6h.jpg

That's just wrong...

Quoted: Quoted: i31.tinypic.com/30b0o6h.jpg That's just wrong...

She's got more Stars & Ribbons than the guys in the 2nd pix...

Quoted: Quoted: i31.tinypic.com/30b0o6h.jpg That's just wrong...

I know...but that pic of Chief Lanier reviewing her...Brownshirts just so reminded me of  Ernst Roehm in 1934 reviewing his ....Brownshirts.

Don't hate me, the image just fit like a glove.  It was like she time warped back to 1934 or something.

They were knocking on doors of law abiding citizens back then, too. Ever read about Lanier's "safe home" initiative? I am generally supportive of Law Enforcement, but this lady takes the cake.

Metropolitan Police Chief Cathy L. Lanier yesterday blamed herself for the backlash against a new crime-stopping initiative to search homes for illegal guns, saying she never intended for officers to knock on doors, then ask to enter without a warrant. "We should have announced this with a lot more information," she told The Washington Times. "I take full responsibility for not announcing this with more information." Chief Lanier said she did not properly explain the Safe Homes initiative before it began March 24, which led to complaints from residents, the American Civil Liberties Union and D.C. Council member Marion Barry, Ward 8 Democrat. The March 12 press release from Mayor Adrian M. Fenty, a Democrat, announcing the program stated "officers will go door-to-door ... to ask residents if they will allow officers to do security checks of their homes." Asked why the police department's press office confirmed that officers would be asking to search homes without warrants in exchange for amnesty from certain gun and drug charges, Chief Lanier said "I didn't have all the details."

www.washingtontimes.com/news/2008/apr/03/lanier-blames-self-in-initiative/

Quoted: Shame that this is what kids nowadays will grow up thinking is 'normal' for DC. America

Exactly.

Incremental authoritarianism, generation-by-generation.

Maybe they can use those checkpoints and get a few semis for transportation and snag illegal aliens,now that would be the thing to do.For those who wonder why the crime rates are so high there...why it is Washington after all land of the big check and that is where our tax money goes to be handed over to those lazy ghetto rat bastards

Quoted: How much you wanna bet this wouldn't fly if guns were legal?

how so?

Quoted: With all due respect, I don't wish to discuss my personal business with you, officer.  Am I free to go?  Am I free to go?  Am I free to go?  On what charge am I being held?  Am I free to go?  I don't answer questions.  Am I free to go?  What part of "I don't answer questions" did you not understand?  Am I free to go?  That sounded like a question.  Again, I don't wish to discuss my personal business with you, officer.  Am I free to go?

fail.  per the article:

According to the Police General Order obtained by the Washington Examiner, anyone who refuses to provide identification can be arrested.

no, you are not free to go.

Lanier plans to seal off rough ’hoods in latest effort to stop wave of violence
Michael Neibauer and Bill Myers, The Examiner
2008-06-04 07:00:00.0
Current rank: # 1 of 6,925

WASHINGTON -
D.C. police will seal off entire neighborhoods, set up checkpoints and kick out strangers under a new program that D.C. officials hope will help them rescue the city from its out-of-control violence.

Under an executive order expected to be announced today, police Chief Cathy L. Lanier will have the authority to designate “Neighborhood Safety Zones.” At least six officers will man cordons around those zones and demand identification from people coming in and out of them. Anyone who doesn’t live there, work there or have “legitimate reason” to be there will be sent away or face arrest, documents obtained by The Examiner show.

Lanier has been struggling to reverse D.C.’s spiraling crime rate but has been forced by public outcry to scale back several initiatives including her “All Hands on Deck” weekends and plans for warrantless, door-to-door searches for drugs and guns.

Under today’s proposal, the no-go zones will last up to 10 days, according to internal police documents. Front-line officers are already being signed up for training on running the blue curtains.

Peter Nickles, the city’s interim attorney general, said the quarantine would have “a narrow focus.”

“This is a very targeted program that has been used in other cities,” Nickles told The Examiner. “I’m not worried about the constitutionality of it.”

Others are. Kristopher Baumann, chairman of the D.C. police union and a former lawyer, called the checkpoint proposal “breathtaking.”

Shelley Broderick, president of the D.C.-area American Civil Liberties Union and the dean of the University of the District of Columbia’s law school, said the plan was “cockamamie.”

“I think they tried this in Russia and it failed,” she said. “It’s just our experience in this city that we always end up targeting poor people and people of color, and we treat the kids coming home from choir practice the same as we treat those kids who are selling drugs.”

The proposal has the provisional support of D.C. Councilman Harry “Tommy” Thomas, D-Ward 5, whose ward has become a war zone.

“They’re really going to crack down on what we believe to be a systemic problem with open-air drug markets,” Thomas told The Examiner.

Thomas said, though, that he worried about D.C. “moving towards a police state.”

Staff Writer Scott McCabe contributed to this report.

http://www.examiner.com/a-1423820~Lanier_plans_to_seal_off_rough__hoods_in_latest_effort_to_stop_wave_of_violence.html

D.C. Police to Check Drivers In Violence-Plagued Trinidad

By Allison Klein
Washington Post Staff Writer
Thursday, June 5, 2008; A01



D.C. Police Chief Cathy L. Lanier announced a military-style checkpoint yesterday to stop cars this weekend in a Northeast Washington neighborhood inundated by gun violence, saying it will help keep criminals out of the area.

Starting on Saturday, officers will check drivers' identification and ask whether they have a "legitimate purpose" to be in the Trinidad area, such as going to a doctor or church or visiting friends or relatives. If not, the drivers will be turned away.

The Neighborhood Safety Zone initiative is the latest crime-fighting attempt by Lanier and Mayor Adrian M. Fenty, who have been under pressure from residents to stop a recent surge in violence. Last weekend was especially bloody, with seven slayings, including three in the Trinidad area.

"In certain areas, we need to go beyond the normal methods of policing," Fenty (D) said at a news conference announcing the action. "We're going to go into an area and completely shut it down to prevent shootings and the sale of drugs."

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.

The enforcement will take place at random hours and last for at least five days in Trinidad, with the option of extending it five more days. Checkpoints could be set up in other neighborhoods if they are requested by patrol commanders and approved by Lanier.

The strategy, patterned after a similar effort conducted years ago in New York, is not airtight. There are many ways to get in and out of Trinidad, not just on the one-way Montello Avenue. And pedestrians will not be stopped, which is something critics say might render the program ineffective.

"I guess the plan is to hope criminals will not walk into neighborhoods," said D.C. Council member Phil Mendelson (D-At Large). "I also suppose the plan is to take the criminal's word for it when he or she gives the police a reason for driving into a neighborhood."

Since taking over as chief in December 2006, Lanier has struggled with the issue of violent crime. She has added patrols, revived a unit specializing in getting guns off the streets and changed commanders in six of the city's seven patrol districts. Last weekend, officers were close enough in one case that they heard the barrage of gunfire coming from a triple homicide on Holbrook Street in Trinidad.

The program is aimed at the city's most troubled areas. The 5th Police District, which includes Trinidad, has had 22 killings this year, one more than all of last year. Since April 1, the Trinidad neighborhood has had seven homicides, 16 robberies and 20 assaults with dangerous weapons, according to police data. In many cases in Trinidad and across the city, gunshots are fired from passing cars, victims are found in cars or cars are used to make fast getaways.

"We have to try to take away the things that are facilitating the ability to commit crime," Lanier said.

Leaders of the American Civil Liberties Union said yesterday that they will be watching what happens closely and that legal action is likely.

"My reaction is, welcome to Baghdad, D.C.," said Arthur Spitzer, legal director for the ACLU's Washington office. "I mean, this is craziness. In this country, you don't have to show identification or explain to the police why you want to travel down a public street."

Interim Attorney General Peter J. Nickles said that his office reviewed the initiative and that similar efforts had survived court tests.

"I don't anticipate us being sued," Nickles said. "But if you do want to sue us, the courts are open."

U.S. Attorney Jeffrey A. Taylor said that D.C. officials consulted his office about their plans and that prosecutors suggested some changes to try to ensure that any arrests would hold up in court. "We applaud the District's efforts to make neighborhoods safer," Taylor said. "Whatever we do has to be consistent with the Constitution."

New York police set up a nearly identical checkpoint in 1992 in a neighborhood of the Bronx that was plagued by drug dealing and drive-by shootings. Police ran the Watson Avenue Special Operation on a random basis, mostly in evening hours. Officers stopped drivers, but not pedestrians, coming into the area, to confirm that they had a legitimate reason to be there.

A federal appeals court upheld the legality of the New York effort, saying in a 1996 ruling that it "served an important public concern" and was "reasonably viewed as an effective mechanism to deter crime in the barricaded area."

D.C. police have used various forms of checkpoints for years. In 1988, for example, they blocked streets and searched courtyards in a pair of apartment complexes in Northeast Washington in a bid to drive out drug dealers. That move came during the crack cocaine epidemic, in a year when the city recorded 372 homicides. Last year, the city had 181 killings.

Former D.C. police chief Isaac Fulwood Jr., who led the department from 1989 until 1992, said he liked using checkpoints because his officers were able to make arrests and gather intelligence.

"They are effective. You recover stolen cars and firearms," Fulwood said. "You've got to have a lot of them if you're going to have them. You need to move as the criminal element shifts."

Some residents expressed support for the plan yesterday, saying they are willing to submit to the checks if it makes the neighborhood safer. "We can't endure any more homicides," said neighborhood activist India Henderson.

But others said they were disappointed police have not developed relationships that would allow them to gather information and find criminals without resorting to the stepped-up tactics.

"I knew eventually we'd be a police state," said Wilhelmina Lawson, who has lived in the neighborhood for 20 years. "They don't talk to us, they're not community minded."

One of Lanier's plans, the Safe Homes initiative, has yet to get off the ground because of a community backlash. The plan, announced by Lanier and Fenty at a news conference in March, called for police to go door-to-door in crime-ridden areas and ask residents whether they could go inside and search for guns. Residents and some council members voiced concerns that homeowners would feel intimidated by police. Lanier backed off, but said she plans to move forward soon by having residents call police to set up appointments.

Another plan, to arm hundreds of patrol officers with semiautomatic rifles, starting this summer, also got mixed reviews from residents.

Kristopher Baumann, head of the D.C. police lodge of the Fraternal Order of Police, said he was concerned about public perception of the checkpoints and the potential that it could lead to more citizen complaints. He questioned Lanier's overall approach, saying, "There is no strategy and no mid-term and long-term planning.

"That's the biggest disappointment of Chief Lanier's tenure," Baumann said. "One thing we were excited about and optimistic about was, for once, we'd have strategies to combat crime and not just be reactive. But we haven't seen it. It's been a year and a half."

Council member Harry Thomas Jr. (D-Ward 5), who represents Trinidad and other parts of Northeast Washington, said he had informal discussions with Lanier in which she had mentioned the possibility of the checkpoint announced yesterday, but he got little notice before the news conference. Civil liberties are always a concern, said Thomas, who maintained that residents are so concerned about violence that they will be willing to give the latest program a try.

"I think the general consensus is that we have to do something because people live in fear," he said. "What would you rather have?" he asked. "A positive pattern of [police] checking things . . . or these folks who come into the community and wreak havoc?"

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/06/04/AR2008060402205_pf.html


 

Sounds like the neighborhood here in Iraq.

Pretty bad that the capitol is the least free of our "free" country.

I found these parts especially interesting.  America turned out to be quite a police state.

Quoted: ..........................At least six officers will man cordons around those zones and demand identification from people coming in and out of them. Anyone who doesn’t live there, work there or have “legitimate reason” to be there will be sent away or face arrest.......................... ..............Under today’s proposal, the no-go zones will last up to 10 days, according to internal police documents. Front-line officers are already being signed up for training on running the blue curtains.............................. ................Starting on Saturday, officers will check drivers' identification and ask whether they have a "legitimate purpose" to be in the Trinidad area, such as going to a doctor or church or visiting friends or relatives. If not, the drivers will be turned away. ............................... 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.................................... ...................."My reaction is, welcome to Baghdad, D.C.," said Arthur Spitzer, legal director for the ACLU's Washington office. "I mean, this is craziness. In this country, you don't have to show identification or explain to the police why you want to travel down a public street."......................... ....................One of Lanier's plans, the Safe Homes initiative, has yet to get off the ground because of a community backlash. The plan, announced by Lanier and Fenty at a news conference in March, called for police to go door-to-door in crime-ridden areas and ask residents whether they could go inside and search for guns. Residents and some council members voiced concerns that homeowners would feel intimidated by police. Lanier backed off, but said she plans to move forward soon by having residents call police to set up appointments.......................

I have no problem with this checkpoint idea and fully support it. AS LONG AS THE DOOR IS LOCKED FROM BOTH SIDES!!

Zoo's have been for the most part successfully containing their animals for some time.

My wife's two brothers live in DC (which is fine by me, it is keeping one of them from messing up Texas - he fit in to Bolder, and fits into DC even better).  In the first year, they were involved in 2 drive by shootings (one to their house, one to their car).  Last interesting one (made regional news) was a police standoff by their front door (think it involved an armed car jacking of an H2).  I do not know which hood they are currently living in.

I managed to "Escape from Houston" 18 years ago (too much crime then, can not imagine post Katrina).  I can not imagine anyone wanting to live in DC unless they just have an urge to become a statistic.

Quoted: Quoted: We need to build a wall around DC. We'd be fine if we just built walls on all the bridges coming from Maryland and DC.

 That's an awesome idea!  I almost never venture into DC (don't have any reason to).  And my in-laws are in Maryland.

ETA: but seriously, this is a bad idea for DC and the rest of our country.

Anyone else find it odd that a woman, Lanier, would seem to delight in so much power and authority?  I find it a bit disturbing.  It seems so, unfeminine, wrong, unladylike.

Quoted: Pretty bad that the capitol is the least free of our "free" country.

Welcome to the new America. "Papers Please"

Sorry guys, Red Dawn didn't happen like we thought. No cool paratrooper landing scenes, just a covert takeover by communist politicians and beurocrats.