Neighbors are serious about controlling student behavior off campus.
Neighbors are considering hiring an off-duty Metropolitan Police Department officers to patrol areas where students live off campus, keeping an eye out for students misbehaving or being too noisy. The heightened patrol, which GW officials refuse to pay for, would be the most aggressive action to control students off campus in the last several years.
MPD Lieutenant Corinne Hughes, who is a police leader for the District that includes Foggy Bottom, said hiring the officer could help control behavior, and is similar to a system at Georgetown University. Hughes pitched the idea at a meeting with neighbors and GW officials including Dean of Student Affairs Peter Konwerski and Director of Community Relations Britany Waddell two weeks ago.
University spokeswoman Maralee Csellar said GW is not considering hiring an MPD officer. She said instead of starting new programs, the University is focusing on a community response program launched in August. The program involves non-police GW staff members patrolling neighborhoods that have been noisy in the past on certain weekend nights, documenting parties and holding students accountable for noise at night.
“We welcome ideas and suggestions to strengthen the strong sense of community we have with our Foggy Bottom neighbors. However, the University is not pursuing hiring off-duty police officers,” Csellar said.
To appease neighbors, GW proposed a plan two years ago that would allow University Police Department officers to patrol off-campus areas where students live. That proposal has not moved forward, and neighbors have continued to complain about off-campus student conduct.
Up until about three years ago, UPD officers would routinely patrol and knock on doors of off-campus parties, until the city reprimanded the officers, reminding them that off-campus parties are not part of their jurisdiction.
Long-time neighbor Marina Streznewski said in the 13 years she has lived in Foggy Bottom, she had never heard of the idea of hiring an off-duty officer as a solution to noisy students living off campus.
“One of the benefits is these officers are dedicated to this specific area for this specific purpose,” she said.
Diana Tiberi, who rents property to students in the Foggy Bottom’s historic district, said having officers would be helpful in deterring students from having loud parties at night, an issue she said has continued this semester.
“I think that would drive the severity of this home,” Tiberi said. “If the students know there is police enforcement with underage drinking, they might think twice about having these parties.”
Though neighbors said hiring an MPD officer could have the potential for quelling neighbors’ complaints for off-campus students, another problem behind implementing such a program is the cost.
Hiring an officer for a specific patrol purpose would cost about $60 per hour for an officer, with additional fees if the officer uses a police vehicle, according to MPD documents available online.
“It’s not an outrageous amount of money for a large organization to pay for, but it would not be something that, say the Foggy Bottom Association could pay for,” Streznewski said.
