Councilmember Nadeau convened a meeting last night – A Conversation with Assistant Chief Morgan Kane about Public Safety in the U Street Corridor and an Update on the Nightlife Task Force. Following welcome remarks, the Councilmember turned the meeting over to Chief Kane and the Task Force to answer questions about policing, liquor licenses and more.
D.C. government is working across agencies to address crime, with multiple enforcement agencies – not just the Metropolitan Police Department – working together. As the Councilmember has said, no one agency can solve this. At the meeting were representatives from the Department of Public Works parking enforcement, a liaison to the D.C. Department of Youth Rehabilitative Services, Office of Gun Violence Prevention and Office of Neighborhood Safety and Engagement, the federal Court Services and Offender Supervision Agency, and the District Department of Transportation, which provides traffic control officers as part of the coordinate Nightlife Task Force initiative.
Councilmember Nadeau is focused in the short-term on supporting MPD and partner agencies with funds and resources and following up on oversight issues that are raised at meetings like the one last night.
Longer term, she is working to implement one key recommendation from the U St. Safety Initiative she established last year: a funding source to create a BID-like agency to manage nightlife/daytime issues, address service gaps, manage nighttime parking demand, and direct resources. She also spoke to the bill she recently introduced that would crack down on fake and expired temporary vehicle tags, which are often tied to reckless driving.
Councilmember Nadeau is taking a comprehensive approach to public safety that encompasses multiple enforcement agencies – not just police – and other organizations and agencies, including mental health services, safety ambassadors, expanding the camera rebate program, and resources to address substance use disorder.
She is working with Acting Police Chief Pamela A. Smith to do a ward-wide meeting on public safety soon.
