Crime
DC’s new police chief announces plans to reduce crime
According to NBC Washington, recently appointed Metropolitan Police Chief Pamela Smith faces an uphill battle to reduce crime in DC. Crime statistics show that violent crime is up 36% from last 12 months and homicides are up 18% from last 12 months. Smith is taking up the department needs a staff increase because about 3,000 officers patrol town’s population of about 641,301, or roughly one officer for each 213 residents.
Smith, to her credit, reveals that her plans concentrate on ensuring the general public sees her as much as possible: “The community wants the police to be the police and to do it in a constitutional, safe and respectful way. Make no mistake: I will be focused on us doing everything we can in this space. What I want people to know about Pamela Smith is that I will be a visible leader. I will be conducting safety walks in all of our neighborhoods, PSA. I’m meeting people probably at inconvenient times. People will see me show up in different places and spaces, not because other chiefs haven’t done so, but because I live here and it’s important to me that members feel safe in the District.”
Washington Commanders running back Brian Robinson Jr. was shot during an attempted carjacking in August 2022, before his rookie season. In January 2023, it was revealed that one among the automotive hijackers was a 15-year-old teenager who shot and killed one other teenager per week later. Car thefts in Washington have gotten more common How Axles reports that the number has been rising steadily for five years, peaking in 2022. This has put the area people in a difficult position, with 60% of automotive theft arrests involving minors. Smith has the support of the police union, which appears outraged by the passage of laws geared toward ensuring police don’t overstep their bounds, union president Greg Pemberton said NBC Washington: “The city council passed such a burdensome law Act on the reform of the police and justice system that you can’t go out and do your job, and I’m talking about a professional, responsible and constitutional police force,” Pemberton said. “Officers can no longer do this without risking their lives, without risking their careers, without risking criminal, administrative and civil penalties.”
One of Smith’s top priorities is reducing the violent crime rate amongst juveniles. He wants to reach out to his parents to help him achieve this goal. It also focuses on increasing utilization hot-spot police., who goes to areas where there may be numerous crime and polices those areas. Police practices database Crime solutions rates the practice as promising in reducing violent crime and effective in reducing overall crime, which makes Smith’s concentrate on the practice useful, especially because the department struggles with staffing shortages. Smith is D.C.’s first black police chief and takes over at a critical time for the department. Smith has yet to be officially confirmed by the District of Columbia City Council, which could cause confusion. Still, Smith is seen as a robust candidate with a proven track record of improving perceptions of the departments through which she has worked.
Crime
Celebrity chef and former NFL player Tobias Dorzon is recovering from a shooting attack
Celebrity chef and former NFL player Tobias Dorzon is recovering after being shot during an alleged robbery.
The shooting occurred on the evening of Tuesday, November 5 in Hyattsville, Maryland, when multiple suspects attempted to rob a man and woman who had just returned from dinner, based on statement from the Hyattsville Police Department.
Police said the victims were taken to hospital with non-life-threatening injuries. Although authorities didn’t initially discover the victims, local council member Wanika Fisher revealed that Dorzon was amongst those attacked.
“I am disheartened and saddened by the news that Prince George’s County restaurant owner Tobias Dorzon was one of two people shot during an attempted robbery Tuesday evening in my neighborhood,” Fisher began in a news release.
She added that Dorzon, a Riverdale native, owns two “amazing” restaurants in Hyattsville and is considered a “dear” friend of hers.
“Such a terrible act could not have happened to a better person,” Fisher continued within the statement. “I offer my sincere condolences to him and the other victim, as well as their families and friends, and wish them both a speedy recovery. This type of senseless violence has no place in our county and county.”
According to Fisher, Dorzon is an “extremely talented” chef who has represented Prince George’s County on the national stage and appeared on several Food Network shows. Most recently, the 39-year-old chef participated within the Food Network’s “Last Bite Hotel,” where he made it to the ultimate 4. He also hosts “Time Out with Tobias” on ESPN.
Off-screen, Dorzon currently owns and manages a company Huncho’s house and exclusive 1123 By Chef Tobias. This spring, he was named Maryland Chef of the Year, the primary honor for somebody from Prince George’s County. In 2021 helped James Harden open his restaurant Thirteen in Houston.
Before becoming a master chef, the Maryland native played within the NFL for each the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and the Tennessee Titans. He also had a stint playing for the Winnipeg Blue Bombers of the Canadian Football League.
Every week after the shooting, Dorzon updated followers Instagram on his progress.
“I’m still here, thank you all for your prayers. See you soon…. Huncho,” he wrote within the caption of a post that included a screenshot of a tweet during which he admitted that, all things considered, he should be “God’s favorite.”
Crime
US bans airlines from flying to Haiti and UN suspends flights after gangs shot up planes
PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti (AP) – The Federal Aviation Administration has banned U.S. airlines from flying to Haiti for 30 days after gangs shot three planes and the United Nations also temporarily suspended flights to Port-au-Prince on Tuesday, limiting humanitarian aid flowing into the country.
On Monday, bullets hit a Spirit Airlines plane that was about to land within the capital, injuring a flight attendant and forcing the airport to close. Photos and videos obtained by The Associated Press show bullet holes scattered throughout the plane’s interior.
On Tuesday, JetBlue and American Airlines announced that post-flight inspections showed their planes were also shot down on Monday while departing Port-au-Prince. The American suspended flights to the capital until February 12.
The shootings were a part of a wave of violence that erupted because the country tormented by gang violence swore in a brand new prime minister after a politically turbulent process.
U.N. spokesman Stephane Dujarric said the agency documented 20 armed clashes and more roadblocks affecting humanitarian operations during Monday’s violence. Port-au-Prince airport will remain closed until November 18, and Dujarric said the United Nations will redirect flights to the country’s second airport, within the northern, quieter city of Cap Haïtien.
Difficult access to the epicenter of violence, Port-au-Prince, is probably going to be devastating as gangs choke life within the capital pushed Haiti to the brink of famine. Dujarric warned that cutting off flights would mean “reducing the flow of humanitarian aid and humanitarian personnel into the country.”
A convoy of 20 trucks full of food and medical supplies has already been rescheduled south, and an operation to provide money assistance to 1,000 people within the Carrefour area, where violence broke out, had to be called off.
“We are doing everything we can to ensure business continuity in this difficult environment,” he said. “We call for an end to the escalation of violence to allow safe, sustainable and unimpeded humanitarian access.”
Life in much of Haiti’s capital got here to a standstill on Tuesday after a wave of violence. Heavily armed police in armored cars checked passing public transport trucks outside the airport.
Schools were closed, as were banks and government offices. The streets, where just the day before there had been a fierce shootout with gangs and police, were eerily empty, with few people passing by apart from motorcycles with a shot man hanging on behind.
In the afternoon, the sounds of heavy gunfire continued to echo through the streets – a reminder that despite political maneuvering by Haiti’s elites and a robust push from the international community to restore peace, the country’s toxic gang group retained a robust grip on many of the Caribbean nation.
The United Nations estimates that gangs control 85% of the capital Port-au-Prince. UN supported mission run by Kenyan police to quell gang violence, scuffling with an absence of funding and staff that prompted the calls for the UN peacekeeping mission.
President Luis Abinader within the Dominican Republic, which borders Haiti, was the primary leader on the island to condemn the violence, labeling the shooting an “act of terrorism.”
On Tuesday, the transitional council established in April to restore democratic order in Haiti also condemned the violence.
“This cowardly crime, which threatens Haiti’s sovereignty and security, goals to isolate our country on the international stage. The perpetrators of those heinous acts shall be tracked down and brought to justice,” the council said in a press release.
The council has faced fierce criticism from many in Haiti who say its political struggles and corruption charges against three members has created political instability, allowing gangs to violently seize power, as happened on Monday.
This happened on the weekend when the primary shot was fired interim Prime Minister Garry Conille – he argued with the Council for a very long time. They replaced him with businessman Alix Didier Fils-Aimé, who was inaugurated on Monday surrounded by suit-wearing officials and diplomats as gangs terrorized the encompassing capital.
Neither Fils-Aimé nor Conille commented on the wave of violence.
Conille initially called the council’s move illegal, but on Tuesday he confirmed Fils-Aimé’s appointment in a post on the X social media platform.
“(I) wish him success in fulfilling this mission. At this crucial moment, unity and solidarity are essential for our country. Long live Haiti!” he wrote. Fils-Aimé promised to work with international partners to restore peace and hold long-awaited elections, a promise also made by his predecessor.
But many Haitians, like 43-year-old Martha Jean-Pierre, don’t have any taste for political fighting, which experts say only gives gangs more freedom to further expand their control.
Jean-Pierre was amongst those that braved the streets of Port-au-Prince on Tuesday to sell bananas, carrots, cabbage and potatoes, which she carried in a basket on her head. She said she had no alternative – selling was the one way she could feed her children.
“What good is a new prime minister if there is no security, if I cannot move freely and sell my goods?” she said, nodding at her basket of vegetables. “This is my bank account. My family depends on it.”
The frustration alarmed international actors comparable to the UN and the US, who called for a peaceful resolution to the situation in Haiti.
On Tuesday, the US State Department regretted that Conille and the Council had been “unable to make progress in a constructive manner” and called on Fils-Aimé and the Council to present a transparent plan of motion with a shared vision to reduce violence and pave the way in which for an electoral path that is meant to “prevent further deadlock.”
“The urgent and immediate needs of the Haitian people compel the interim government to prioritize governance over the competing personal interests of political actors,” the statement said.
Crime
After the mass shooting in Baltimore, there were no homicides for an entire year
BALTIMORE (AP) – As gun violence continues to say no in Baltimore after years of rampant bloodshed, the historically turbulent neighborhood in the city’s southwest corner is celebrating a long-awaited victory: zero homicides in greater than a year.
These numbers have particular significance for the Brooklyn community where: mass shooting in July 2023, it tore through the annual summer party, leaving two people dead and 28 others injured in the courtyard of an aging public housing estate. Majority victims they were teenagers and young adults.
In the wake of the tragedy, the city’s flagship anti-violence program Safe Streets has stepped up its efforts in the area, and officials say the efforts are paying off. On Tuesday afternoon, residents and city officials gathered near the site of the mass shooting to have fun a year of progress.
“This just isn’t just an achievement for Safe Streets. It’s a testament to Brooklyn’s resilience and community strength,” said Baltimore Mayor Brandon Scott. “This is a community that has been sold out, neglected and ignored for a protracted, very long time. But together, together, we are saying enough is enough.
Citywide, homicides are down about 24% in comparison with this time last year. That’s roughly it 20% decline in 2023when Baltimore recorded fewer than 300 homicides for the first time in nearly a decade, ending a surge that began in 2015 after the death of Freddie Gray and widespread civil unrest.
Violent crimes too decreased nationwide after a surge during the pandemic.
The Baltimore Safe Streets program includes 10 offices situated in the city’s most dangerous neighborhoods. It was released in 2007 and has developed in recent years under Scott, who has ceaselessly pledged to treat violence as a public health crisis and address its root causes.
Safe Streets focuses on de-escalating conflicts by employing mediators with credibility and street knowledge. This is an inherently dangerous job because they develop close relationships with people who find themselves most liable to becoming perpetrators or victims of gun violence. Officials say reaching young people is vital.
Adanus Sprillium, 22, said he recently enrolled in a residential job readiness program that was really useful by Safe Streets staff in Brooklyn. He had his first GED class last week. Sprillium said he previously struggled with drug addiction and homelessness.
“I would probably end up dead or in jail,” he said.
A community survey conducted in the weeks after the mass shooting in Brooklyn found that city officials consider many borough residents place more trust in Safe Streets than Baltimore police, local schools, nonprofits and other institutions. Only neighborhood churches ranked higher.
Still, the presence of Safe Streets staff at the block party was not enough to forestall it from ultimately degenerating into chaos and bloodshed.
Baltimore police faced heavy criticism for their response to the incident. The report pointed to potential bias amongst officers after finding police he ignored many warning signs and didn’t take proactive motion in the hours before the shooting broke out. Critics questioned whether police would have responded in another way if the shooting had occurred in a wealthier neighborhood.
The department announced disciplinary charges against a dozen officers earlier this year.
Five teenagers arrested in reference to the shooting. Four of them have already pleaded guilty to varied charges.
Sean Wees, director of Safe Streets’ Brooklyn chapter, said a lot of the staff have deep roots in the community. In response to the shooting, the team has made every effort to advertise safety and ensure residents have access to services. However, Wees said there continues to be much work to be done.
“We are working to promote peace and progress here in Brooklyn,” he said during Tuesday’s meeting. “We cannot stop until these kinds of ceremonies are no longer needed – until peace becomes the standard, not a streak measured in days or months.”
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