PSA 407 manager Lieutenant Anthony Washington reached out to me today regarding the recent gun violence around 7th Street and Emerson to say that he's well-aware of the area and resident concerns, and is taking steps to address the issue.

Lt. Washington said he has assigned a patrol unit to the area that will be there 24-hours a day until further notice. "The boundaries of the patrol initiative are 5th to New Hampshire, Crittenden to Emerson," Lt. Washington said. "This will cover 4th and Delafield but not as far down as 7th and Emerson. If I make the area too big, the impact will not be that effective."

"I will continue to monitor the crime trends and make adjustments to the high impact patrol area as necessary," he added.

11/18 Update: Quick update from Lt. Washington about the patrols around 7th & Emerson: "Based on further analysis and information provided by the PSA 407 stakeholders, I have adjusted the high impact patrol area to cover the following geographical area:

8th Street N.W. to 5th Street N.W., Decatur St. N.W. to Farragut St. N.W.
A special emphasis shall be given to the 4900 & 4800 blocks of 7th Street N.W."

"At this time I believe the incident at 7th and Emerson is a result of a larger problem to the east. This is just my initial deployment. As this changes and develops, it's very likely that I will make adjustments to cover further west."

While "no police agency in the world can stop every person from firing a gun or committing other crimes," Lt. Washington said that the goal is to "deploy officers in the right area to give them the best opportunity to either prevent a criminal occurrence or to make an arrest."

If you see something suspicious, call 911. If you want to share your concerns or ask MPD questions, you can contact Lt. Washington or even better, come to the next Police Service Area (PSA) 404/407 meeting coming up on Thursday, December 17th at 801 Shepherd Street NW.

Related Petworth News coverage:
- Not OK Corral: Gunshots continue at Emerson & 7th (Nov 16, 2015)
- Resident calls about gunshots on Delafield lead to quick arrests (Nov 12, 2015)