Scott McCabe, The Examiner
2007-08-09 07:00:00.0
Current rank: Not ranked

WASHINGTON -

A summer crime initiative has left the D.C. police force undermanned this week, with fewer than half the number of officers needed to patrol some neighborhoods. D.C. Police Chief Cathy Lanier placed every available officer on the streets Monday and Tuesday as part of the third All Hands on Deck initiative to combat the violent crime that spikes during the hot summer months.

But this week’s initiative has left the force shorthanded today, as well as on Wednesday and Friday.

Roll calls were down by about a third in most of the police districts on Wednesday, and officers had to hustle from one call to another. There could be fewer officers working today because patrols have to take two consecutive days off, and most took either Wednesday and Thursday or Thursday and Friday.

D.C. police spokeswoman Traci Hughes said the initiative was the only way to increase the police on the streets without costing millions in overtime.

“The initiative in no way compromises the safety of the city,” Hughes said.

The Metropolitan Police Department does not release its patrol figures, but based on the conservative counts by officers around the city, the force was down by about a third.

In the 1st District station on Wednesday afternoon, 14 officers were on patrol for an area where the department requires at least 30 officers, according to a police officer who agreed to speak on the condition of anonymity.

D.C. police union head Kristopher Baumann said he was concerned by the low numbers.

“It’s not safe for citizens. It’s not safe for officers,” he said. “I believe the chief has a vision and some great ideas. We just need to figure out a way to do them without disrupting the schedules.”

Baumann said he believes high-ranking holdovers from the previous police administration have not met Lanier’s challenge to put more cops on the streets in targeted areas during key crime hours.

Lanier, in her first year, has vowed to make the police force proactive rather than reactive. She has promised to do it without calling costly crime emergencies like the one declared last year, when officers were forced to work six-day weeks for several months.

This summer, Lanier scheduled three All Hands on Deck initiatives. The first one cost about $1.2 million to pay for overtime. The last two didn’t cost any overtime because commanders were able to juggle the officers’ schedules, police said.

smccabe@dcexaminer.com