Community Policing Still Needed in Georgetown South

prompted the Manassas City Council to unanimously pass a resolution focusing on making the Georgetown South area better for residents and the surronding community by increasing safety and activities for the youth in the neighborhood.

called for increased patrolling by Manassas City Police and a crack down on zoning and code violations in an effort to maintain the appearance of the neighborhood. The school system and others in the community were tasked with coming up with activities that keep the youth off the streets.

Manassas City Police Chief Doug Keen updated the City Council on Georgetown South police efforts at a mid-November meeting. Between Jan. 1 and Nov. 7 of this year, Manassas police performed 881 extra patrols. Between Feb. 11 and March 27, directly after the murders, 252 separate patrols were performed.

According to police, 259 arrests were made so far this year, mostly for drunkenness and marijuana possession, but 21 arrests were for assault and battery of a family member.

The city police department has written a total of 655 traffic tickets for the area since the beginning of the year, mostly for not having a state inspection (80), failure to stop (66) and driving without a license (66).

But Georgetown South Community President and resident Hannah Senft said the community needs more enforcement, especially in areas that affect the residents' quality of life, such as speeding, loitering and impeding traffic flow. She said groups of 10-20 people loitering in the neighborhood often make it difficult for residents to pass through an intersection or sleep at night.

Senft said the police do come when called but more follow-up communication from police regarding incidents in the neighborhood is needed. When someone is physically harmed or robbed, the neighborhood doesn't get many details about what happens after police respond, she said.

Meg Carroll, community manager for Georgetown South, said community policing, which was promised for the area back in February, would help with the quality of life issues. She said the police department's work force should help make residents feel more comfortable with reporting crime and improving their perception of the police in the community.

Carroll said that while police reported 881 extra patrols in the area so far this year, more foot and bike patrols are needed.

Senft said she is happy with the city's efforts regarding code enforcement. From August to October 2011, 131 of the community's identified 221 rental properties have been inspected. Eighty-seven of those units passed the inspection and 44 failed. Only 45 rentals were inspected in the same period in 2010.

Senft said she hopes the city will follow up on the units that failed and other blight properties in the neighborhood that have not been pursued.

Carroll said there is also a need for more community groups—who are currently heading a revitalization effort in the community. Another one of their efforts is to develop and establish consistent, reliable, and safe transportation to and from the Boys and Girls Club of Manassas for Georgetown South residents on a daily basis. The daily transportation service is set to launch Jan. 16, 2012.

It's been about nine months since an illegal immigrant from El Salvador living in Georgetown South brutally murdered two people and wounded two more in the neighborhood, including a 15-year-old girl, prompting the all-out effort by the city to revitalize the neighborhood.

The suspect, identified as Jose Oswaldo Reyes Alfaro, then walked across Grant Street where he fatally shot another victim and severely wounded an elderly woman at a home on Brent Street.

Police said at the time that all evidence indicated the shootings were an isolated, domestic incident.

But the shootings came on the heels of yet another violent attack—, just feet away from the attacks on Brent Street.

In addition to the violence seen in the Georgetown South area in the last year,  Chief Keen reported a 69 percent increase in assaults citywide for the first three quarters of 2011 compared to the same time in 2010 and a nine percent increase in arrests. Traffic tickets are up 38 percent citywide.