(Washington, DC) – Today, Mayor Muriel Bowser and Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) Chief Robert J. Contee III announced the Homicide Reduction Partnership, a collaborative effort to reduce violent crime through strategic prevention and focused enforcement. With this new partnership, MPD will focus resources and intelligence-led policing strategies in collaboration with local and federal law enforcement and criminal justice partners, DC government agencies, and community partners.
“I have said that we will throw every resource at the recent rise in violent crime, and that is exactly what we are doing,” said Mayor Bowser. “When we find a program that works, we scale it. We know that the Summer and Fall Crime Prevention Initiatives work in reducing crime, so now we are deploying a similar approach year-round in our hardest hit neighborhoods.”
The Homicides Reduction Partnership (HRP) will focus on reducing violent crime within four Police Service Areas throughout the entire 2022 calendar year. These areas include PSAs 603, 604, 706 and 708, which accounted for 21% of all murders city-wide in 2021. The objective of the HRP is to use a “whole of government” approach to reduce violent crime, have a positive impact on the community’s perception of safety and security, and increase trust among residents in the police and DC government. By committing an entire year, the goal is to sustain success after the conclusion of the initiative.
MPD has achieved reductions in violent crime and overall crime during previous Summer and Fall Crime Prevention Initiatives. During the most recent 2021 Summer Crime Prevention Initiative (SCPI), focus areas experienced a 20% reduction in violent crime, a 9% decrease in property crime, and an overall 12% reduction in crime. During the 2021 Fall Crime Prevention Initiative (FCPI), focus areas experienced an 11% reduction in overall violent crime. The HRP will include elements of past SCPI and FCPI initiatives, but will be enhanced by greater collaboration and contributions by other agencies. Those agencies will include law enforcement and criminal justice partners as well as non-law enforcement DC government agencies and community organizations.
“In an effort to reduce and address violent crime, MPD has been intentionally focused on intelligence led policing strategies that target individuals we know are committing violent acts. And we know that this approach works,” said Chief Robert Contee III. “Together with our law enforcement partners, we will be laser-focused on providing areas hit the hardest with all available resources and utilizing intelligence-driven strategies to reduce homicides affecting these communities.”
In addition to the HRP, MPD continues to deploy the Community Focused Patrol Unit (CFPU), which is a data-driven unit that assists in supplementing MPD’s existing patrol districts in areas of the city that are experiencing higher volumes of criminal activity, emerging crime trends, and/or significant events. The establishment of CFPU has allowed MPD to have a flexible resource that can be deployed to address “acute” crime issues and allow patrol districts to focus on their strategic deployments. MPD plans to expand this unit to allow for additional deployments during prime violent crime hours over the course of 2022.
MPD is also working closely with federal and local law enforcement such as the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives, Federal Bureau of Investigations, Drug Enforcement Administration, U.S. Marshals, the U.S. Attorney’s Office, the Court Services and Offender Supervision Agency, and the DC Housing Authority to monitor and identify individuals at high-risk of becoming involved in violent crime.