I'm rushing around trying (and, um, failing) to raise money for Dan to hopefully get to the Olympics without having to declare personal bankruptcy (if you can even do that any more), so I am sorry, I am putting this up with little commentary.

This came in through the National Lawyers Guild list I am on, and as we continue to think collectively about what kind of policing works and still respects the people being policed, I think it is good to keep an eye on what we can learn from elsewhere.

The Washington Post, the Examiner, and other local news outlets reported today that the MPD [DC Metropolitan Police Department] has designated the Trinidad area of NE as a Neighborhood Safety Zone, a designation that will last 10 days. The police have the authority to set up checkpoints going in and out of the neighborhood and ask for identification for anyone attempting to enter. The police will ask for identification and turn away those non-residents not entering for "legitimate" reasons. Some media coverage indicated an enhanced ability/willingness to search vehicles and arrest those who "resist" police activities falling under the initiative.

You can read more about it here and here is the Mayor's Press release.

This initiative is appalling and likely unconstitutional, despite the Mayor's insistence to the contrary. The initiative will restrict freedom of movement for low-income minority residents of our city, and the checkpoints themselves invite racial profiling. Initiatives of this type attempted in other cities have failed to effectively and sustainably reduce gang violence. Finally, given the skyrocketing property values in the Trinidad neighborhood (an average increase of around 14% annually over the last decade), we must explore connections between this initiative and the larger trends of gentrification and displacement in DC.

The Mayor's press release talked about the Neighborhood Safety Zone strategy as ongoing, so it is critical to expose the constitutional and human rights implications of it in its first trial run so that the city government does not blindly repeat or expand it.

There's a plan to put law student and lawyer observers on the street at the checkpoints. And there's community organizing going on among residents. If anyone's in DC and interested, I am happy to forward you contact information to get involved.