Will APS and County ever do anything about all the gun activity near Drew Elementary school?

[Anonymous]

the county and police really need to step up more then what they have been. a civic association can only do so much I have lived in green valley for 20 years and seeing people voice a opinion is a huge step in the right direction. There have been changes but it has been slow. 20 years ago when I first moved here some of the folks on this forum who say they are a resident would not have even driven through the “valley” Sometimes it feels like people move to the community and expect things to be what they want overnight and that is it how it works

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Well what do you want the police to? They are tiptoeing around the problem that Arlington is too woke to address- DA catch and release, don’t prosecute drug offenders, civic association won’t complain- likes it- it’s cultural,

You are not a snitch for calling the police and reporting CRIME!!!

As someone that was rezoned Drew and opted out of attending this is proof that Drew and GV will never change unless GV wants to solve the problems which it appears it doesn’t.

I was on the meeting also. The Civic Association breezed through efforts they are allegedly making to work with the PD-- a lot of these slides are old and many of the heavier lift items just said, "in progress" with no additional detail. They also refused to share the slide deck.

I heard exactly zero people on the call express concerns about over policing, and the overall feedback was concern for what is going on and what to do about it.

The police department's hands are tied--they can only do so much. Reaching out to the County Board seems to result in an endless loop of being pointed back to the police--the police are not going to decide if the park closure hours are enforced. The police are not going to change the parking around the Shelton to create no parking overnight. The County Board and County Manager are the ones who have to act.



The single thing the Civic Association did focus on leveraging the County about is an illuminated sign that will be attached to a nearby storage facility. They said they are sending a letter and asking for signatures. Apparently that is their priority.

Yeah, I was very disappointed. I wanted to discuss all of those issues on the list! I thought there was some good action items on there, but just telling me it is "in progress" doesn't tell me anything. I know that they had other items on the agenda, but I felt like they could have realized that we would want to discuss this issue more. Why aren't people walking the neighborhood to ask for signatures to change the parking or lighting or to encourage AHC and the Lucky 7 to hire security. I did decide to join the safety task forever, so hopefully we can bring some new energy.
I personally don't care about a sign facing the neighborhood lol.

I guess I don't 100% agree that the police have their hands tied. If they know it is an open air drug market can't they do things to stop that? Undercover work? Busting people dealing drugs. I guess I need to re-watch the wire. . .

Ummm I for one do not want gun violence, but I also do not want a neon sign. Isn’t a Civic Association’s responsibility more inline with signs in the community than trying to solve gun violence which should be a focus of the police and county departments? Hope the letter is sent to me so I can add my signature.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Well what do you want the police to? They are tiptoeing around the problem that Arlington is too woke to address- DA catch and release, don’t prosecute drug offenders, civic association won’t complain- likes it- it’s cultural,

You are not a snitch for calling the police and reporting CRIME!!!

As someone that was rezoned Drew and opted out of attending this is proof that Drew and GV will never change unless GV wants to solve the problems which it appears it doesn’t.

I was on the meeting also. The Civic Association breezed through efforts they are allegedly making to work with the PD-- a lot of these slides are old and many of the heavier lift items just said, "in progress" with no additional detail. They also refused to share the slide deck.

I heard exactly zero people on the call express concerns about over policing, and the overall feedback was concern for what is going on and what to do about it.

The police department's hands are tied--they can only do so much. Reaching out to the County Board seems to result in an endless loop of being pointed back to the police--the police are not going to decide if the park closure hours are enforced. The police are not going to change the parking around the Shelton to create no parking overnight. The County Board and County Manager are the ones who have to act.



The single thing the Civic Association did focus on leveraging the County about is an illuminated sign that will be attached to a nearby storage facility. They said they are sending a letter and asking for signatures. Apparently that is their priority.

Yeah, I was very disappointed. I wanted to discuss all of those issues on the list! I thought there was some good action items on there, but just telling me it is "in progress" doesn't tell me anything. I know that they had other items on the agenda, but I felt like they could have realized that we would want to discuss this issue more. Why aren't people walking the neighborhood to ask for signatures to change the parking or lighting or to encourage AHC and the Lucky 7 to hire security. I did decide to join the safety task forever, so hopefully we can bring some new energy.
I personally don't care about a sign facing the neighborhood lol.

I guess I don't 100% agree that the police have their hands tied. If they know it is an open air drug market can't they do things to stop that? Undercover work? Busting people dealing drugs. I guess I need to re-watch the wire. . .

Ummm I for one do not want gun violence, but I also do not want a neon sign. Isn’t a Civic Association’s responsibility more inline with signs in the community than trying to solve gun violence which should be a focus of the police and county departments? Hope the letter is sent to me so I can add my signature.

Ha. I think it is on the website.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Well what do you want the police to? They are tiptoeing around the problem that Arlington is too woke to address- DA catch and release, don’t prosecute drug offenders, civic association won’t complain- likes it- it’s cultural,

You are not a snitch for calling the police and reporting CRIME!!!

As someone that was rezoned Drew and opted out of attending this is proof that Drew and GV will never change unless GV wants to solve the problems which it appears it doesn’t.

I was on the meeting also. The Civic Association breezed through efforts they are allegedly making to work with the PD-- a lot of these slides are old and many of the heavier lift items just said, "in progress" with no additional detail. They also refused to share the slide deck.

I heard exactly zero people on the call express concerns about over policing, and the overall feedback was concern for what is going on and what to do about it.

The police department's hands are tied--they can only do so much. Reaching out to the County Board seems to result in an endless loop of being pointed back to the police--the police are not going to decide if the park closure hours are enforced. The police are not going to change the parking around the Shelton to create no parking overnight. The County Board and County Manager are the ones who have to act.



The single thing the Civic Association did focus on leveraging the County about is an illuminated sign that will be attached to a nearby storage facility. They said they are sending a letter and asking for signatures. Apparently that is their priority.

Yeah, I was very disappointed. I wanted to discuss all of those issues on the list! I thought there was some good action items on there, but just telling me it is "in progress" doesn't tell me anything. I know that they had other items on the agenda, but I felt like they could have realized that we would want to discuss this issue more. Why aren't people walking the neighborhood to ask for signatures to change the parking or lighting or to encourage AHC and the Lucky 7 to hire security. I did decide to join the safety task forever, so hopefully we can bring some new energy.
I personally don't care about a sign facing the neighborhood lol.

I guess I don't 100% agree that the police have their hands tied. If they know it is an open air drug market can't they do things to stop that? Undercover work? Busting people dealing drugs. I guess I need to re-watch the wire. . .

Ummm I for one do not want gun violence, but I also do not want a neon sign. Isn’t a Civic Association’s responsibility more inline with signs in the community than trying to solve gun violence which should be a focus of the police and county departments? Hope the letter is sent to me so I can add my signature.

The way it has been relayed is that the County often takes its cues from the Civic Association re: what to address. And then the trickle down happens to the police, etc. So, if the Civic Association is more worried about a sign, that speaks volumes.

Obviously its a gentrifying area and change won't happen overnight, but, that doesn't mean that an open air drug market, gun violence, or other issues are acceptable or something to be tolerated.

[Anonymous]

Considering police were on the Civic Association call and heard directly from residents, and are not doing anything should tell you something right there.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Well what do you want the police to? They are tiptoeing around the problem that Arlington is too woke to address- DA catch and release, don’t prosecute drug offenders, civic association won’t complain- likes it- it’s cultural,

You are not a snitch for calling the police and reporting CRIME!!!

As someone that was rezoned Drew and opted out of attending this is proof that Drew and GV will never change unless GV wants to solve the problems which it appears it doesn’t.

I was on the meeting also. The Civic Association breezed through efforts they are allegedly making to work with the PD-- a lot of these slides are old and many of the heavier lift items just said, "in progress" with no additional detail. They also refused to share the slide deck.

I heard exactly zero people on the call express concerns about over policing, and the overall feedback was concern for what is going on and what to do about it.

The police department's hands are tied--they can only do so much. Reaching out to the County Board seems to result in an endless loop of being pointed back to the police--the police are not going to decide if the park closure hours are enforced. The police are not going to change the parking around the Shelton to create no parking overnight. The County Board and County Manager are the ones who have to act.



The single thing the Civic Association did focus on leveraging the County about is an illuminated sign that will be attached to a nearby storage facility. They said they are sending a letter and asking for signatures. Apparently that is their priority.

Yeah, I was very disappointed. I wanted to discuss all of those issues on the list! I thought there was some good action items on there, but just telling me it is "in progress" doesn't tell me anything. I know that they had other items on the agenda, but I felt like they could have realized that we would want to discuss this issue more. Why aren't people walking the neighborhood to ask for signatures to change the parking or lighting or to encourage AHC and the Lucky 7 to hire security. I did decide to join the safety task forever, so hopefully we can bring some new energy.
I personally don't care about a sign facing the neighborhood lol.

I guess I don't 100% agree that the police have their hands tied. If they know it is an open air drug market can't they do things to stop that? Undercover work? Busting people dealing drugs. I guess I need to re-watch the wire. . .

Ummm I for one do not want gun violence, but I also do not want a neon sign. Isn’t a Civic Association’s responsibility more inline with signs in the community than trying to solve gun violence which should be a focus of the police and county departments? Hope the letter is sent to me so I can add my signature.

The way it has been relayed is that the County often takes its cues from the Civic Association re: what to address. And then the trickle down happens to the police, etc. So, if the Civic Association is more worried about a sign, that speaks volumes.

Obviously its a gentrifying area and change won't happen overnight, but, that doesn't mean that an open air drug market, gun violence, or other issues are acceptable or something to be tolerated.

Not sure if that is 100% accurate. Civic Associations do not hold that much weight. Aren’t they a volunteer group? No one wants violence or an open air drug
market. However, if the police are aware along with Arlington County, and nothing is happening, what else can be done? Posting in this forum doesn’t seem to be helping or doing much.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Considering police were on the Civic Association call and heard directly from residents, and are not doing anything should tell you something right there.

The police cannot change the parking around the Shelton (no overnight parking), or, arbitrarily enforce park hours without the backing of the Civic Association and County Board. They even said if something like too many people gathering in the street happens, they can send someone out, but, if it has dissipated by the time they arrive, there is not much they can do.

Direction from on high needs to convey that the police have the full support and mandate to address these issues.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Considering police were on the Civic Association call and heard directly from residents, and are not doing anything should tell you something right there.

The police cannot change the parking around the Shelton (no overnight parking), or, arbitrarily enforce park hours without the backing of the Civic Association and County Board. They even said if something like too many people gathering in the street happens, they can send someone out, but, if it has dissipated by the time they arrive, there is not much they can do.

Direction from on high needs to convey that the police have the full support and mandate to address these issues.

Who’s stopping them?

[Anonymous]

Arlington County & the police do lots of things without civic association approval across all of Arlington. I am on one (in N Arlington). We try to work together, but the associations do not dictate what can and cannot be done in their community out right.

[Anonymous]

Getting buy in and needing “approval” are two different things

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Well what do you want the police to? They are tiptoeing around the problem that Arlington is too woke to address- DA catch and release, don’t prosecute drug offenders, civic association won’t complain- likes it- it’s cultural,

You are not a snitch for calling the police and reporting CRIME!!!

As someone that was rezoned Drew and opted out of attending this is proof that Drew and GV will never change unless GV wants to solve the problems which it appears it doesn’t.

I was on the meeting also. The Civic Association breezed through efforts they are allegedly making to work with the PD-- a lot of these slides are old and many of the heavier lift items just said, "in progress" with no additional detail. They also refused to share the slide deck.

I heard exactly zero people on the call express concerns about over policing, and the overall feedback was concern for what is going on and what to do about it.

The police department's hands are tied--they can only do so much. Reaching out to the County Board seems to result in an endless loop of being pointed back to the police--the police are not going to decide if the park closure hours are enforced. The police are not going to change the parking around the Shelton to create no parking overnight. The County Board and County Manager are the ones who have to act.



The single thing the Civic Association did focus on leveraging the County about is an illuminated sign that will be attached to a nearby storage facility. They said they are sending a letter and asking for signatures. Apparently that is their priority.

Yeah, I was very disappointed. I wanted to discuss all of those issues on the list! I thought there was some good action items on there, but just telling me it is "in progress" doesn't tell me anything. I know that they had other items on the agenda, but I felt like they could have realized that we would want to discuss this issue more. Why aren't people walking the neighborhood to ask for signatures to change the parking or lighting or to encourage AHC and the Lucky 7 to hire security. I did decide to join the safety task forever, so hopefully we can bring some new energy.
I personally don't care about a sign facing the neighborhood lol.

I guess I don't 100% agree that the police have their hands tied. If they know it is an open air drug market can't they do things to stop that? Undercover work? Busting people dealing drugs. I guess I need to re-watch the wire. . .

Ummm I for one do not want gun violence, but I also do not want a neon sign. Isn’t a Civic Association’s responsibility more inline with signs in the community than trying to solve gun violence which should be a focus of the police and county departments? Hope the letter is sent to me so I can add my signature.

The way it has been relayed is that the County often takes its cues from the Civic Association re: what to address. And then the trickle down happens to the police, etc. So, if the Civic Association is more worried about a sign, that speaks volumes.

Obviously its a gentrifying area and change won't happen overnight, but, that doesn't mean that an open air drug market, gun violence, or other issues are acceptable or something to be tolerated.

I find it infuriating that the county decides the best approach is reactive not proactive regarding a known issue. I saw on arl now how they realized the Arlington way unfairly is biased against those without a lot of free time. Moreover why is it the community that has to come up with ways to help improve the area and not the government who has access to a million more resources (including research, scientists, community planners, etc). Especially when again it is a known issue. It isn't like we are bringing an unknown problem to light.

[Anonymous]

https://www.arlnow.com/2021/10/05/is-the-arlington-way-too-narrow-to-include-all-residents-some-say-yes/

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Well what do you want the police to? They are tiptoeing around the problem that Arlington is too woke to address- DA catch and release, don’t prosecute drug offenders, civic association won’t complain- likes it- it’s cultural,

You are not a snitch for calling the police and reporting CRIME!!!

As someone that was rezoned Drew and opted out of attending this is proof that Drew and GV will never change unless GV wants to solve the problems which it appears it doesn’t.

I was on the meeting also. The Civic Association breezed through efforts they are allegedly making to work with the PD-- a lot of these slides are old and many of the heavier lift items just said, "in progress" with no additional detail. They also refused to share the slide deck.

I heard exactly zero people on the call express concerns about over policing, and the overall feedback was concern for what is going on and what to do about it.

The police department's hands are tied--they can only do so much. Reaching out to the County Board seems to result in an endless loop of being pointed back to the police--the police are not going to decide if the park closure hours are enforced. The police are not going to change the parking around the Shelton to create no parking overnight. The County Board and County Manager are the ones who have to act.



The single thing the Civic Association did focus on leveraging the County about is an illuminated sign that will be attached to a nearby storage facility. They said they are sending a letter and asking for signatures. Apparently that is their priority.

Yeah, I was very disappointed. I wanted to discuss all of those issues on the list! I thought there was some good action items on there, but just telling me it is "in progress" doesn't tell me anything. I know that they had other items on the agenda, but I felt like they could have realized that we would want to discuss this issue more. Why aren't people walking the neighborhood to ask for signatures to change the parking or lighting or to encourage AHC and the Lucky 7 to hire security. I did decide to join the safety task forever, so hopefully we can bring some new energy.
I personally don't care about a sign facing the neighborhood lol.

I guess I don't 100% agree that the police have their hands tied. If they know it is an open air drug market can't they do things to stop that? Undercover work? Busting people dealing drugs. I guess I need to re-watch the wire. . .

Ummm I for one do not want gun violence, but I also do not want a neon sign. Isn’t a Civic Association’s responsibility more inline with signs in the community than trying to solve gun violence which should be a focus of the police and county departments? Hope the letter is sent to me so I can add my signature.

The way it has been relayed is that the County often takes its cues from the Civic Association re: what to address. And then the trickle down happens to the police, etc. So, if the Civic Association is more worried about a sign, that speaks volumes.

Obviously its a gentrifying area and change won't happen overnight, but, that doesn't mean that an open air drug market, gun violence, or other issues are acceptable or something to be tolerated.

I find it infuriating that the county decides the best approach is reactive not proactive regarding a known issue. I saw on arl now how they realized the Arlington way unfairly is biased against those without a lot of free time. Moreover why is it the community that has to come up with ways to help improve the area and not the government who has access to a million more resources (including research, scientists, community planners, etc). Especially when again it is a known issue. It isn't like we are bringing an unknown problem to light.

Yep. This.

[Anonymous]

The Police’s hands are not tied and it seems strange that they don’t want to act. So what do they gain by not acting? Obviously something. Wonder what

Also it’s a sad day when someone says they are more worried about a sign then gun violence. I am pretty certain that gun violence adversely effects housing prices. Which might matter when you want to sell your home due to … gun violence

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The Police’s hands are not tied and it seems strange that they don’t want to act. So what do they gain by not acting? Obviously something. Wonder what

Also it’s a sad day when someone says they are more worried about a sign then gun violence. I am pretty certain that gun violence adversely effects housing prices. Which might matter when you want to sell your home due to … gun violence

PP - Good thing I am not looking to sell or move.