The study ranked the 鈥渇inancial toll鈥� of package theft, showing a monetary loss of $231 million in the nation鈥檚capital alone, with just over 2 million incidents occurring in D.C. overall in 2024.

Safewise鈥檚 study comes just ahead of the 2024 holiday season, a time that sees high demand in package deliveries for holiday gifts, home decor, and stocking-stuffers. The study was followed by an announcement from Amazon on Dec. 3, announcing that this year鈥檚 Black Friday Week and Cyber Monday holiday shopping event was 鈥渋ts biggest ever,鈥� breaking records nationwide.

The challenge is that with a crime of opportunity like this, it’s hard to track down a suspect, said Tom Lynch, supervisory public affairs specialist at the Metropolitan Police Department. 鈥淲hat has helped tremendously over the last few years is that what we see now is a lot more people have Ring doorbell cameras or just cameras on the front of their home, and that is both a deterrent, but also something that can help an investigation progress.鈥�

Despite this rise in so-called porch piracy, local officials in D.C.鈥檚 Advisory Neighborhood Commissions say that residents can take several steps to protect their deliveries on an individual level, such as by installing cameras, communicating with neighbors, and being intentional about scheduling deliveries for times when someone is able to immediately receive them.

Daniel Michelson-Horowitz, one of the advisory neighborhood commissioners for the Adams Morgan neighborhood, acknowledged the importance of deterring porch pirates. However, he adds that solving the problem likely doesn鈥檛 land on the top of the Metropolitan Police Department鈥檚 (MPD) priority list.

鈥淭here are bigger fish to fry amongst police than chasing package thieves, and it’s a quality-of-life issue that we hope they address when they have specific evidence. But they can’t be on every block at every moment, so we need to be good partners,鈥� Michelson-Horowitz said.

However, Peter Wood, another ANC Commissioner for Adams Morgan, said there are larger implications around porch piracy that can deeply unsettle residents and reflect larger issues in their communities.

鈥淎nytime a person gets in your space, it’s scary, and it’s also kind of a threat because we don’t know where it will stop,鈥� Wood said. 鈥淚f someone is able to access a building that you live in to take things that belong to you, that means that there’s a potential breach of security for other stuff too, and that kind of uncertainty 鈥� can be terrifying, and that can really leave a lot of questions up in the air.鈥�

On Nov. 25, a D.C. woman was arrested for stealing packages from an apartment building and loading them into a shopping cart, according to an official by the MPD.

She was charged with 2nd degree theft, a misdemeanor punishable by imprisonment for a period of no more than 180 days and/or a hefty fine.

鈥淲ith the holiday shopping season approaching, MPD would like to remind the community that all seven district stations, along with the Sixth District Substation, offer Amazon lockers for residents to have their Amazon packages securely delivered to,鈥� the release stated.

It also encouraged D.C. residents to take individual measures to prevent package theft, such as tracking deliveries online, making sure someone is at home when a package is delivered, switching delivery locations to the workplace if necessary, or seeing if the post office or store shipping the package can hold onto it until it can be picked up.

Wood said that stark economic disparities may be interconnected with porch piracy.

鈥淏eing able to address [economic inequalities] is an important way to make sure that not just in the short term, but in the long term, the city is a place that people feel comfortable living in 鈥� both for those people who are being stolen from, and people who might be inclined to start stealing,鈥� said Wood.

In February 2016, D.C.鈥檚 Office of Victim Services and Justice Grants began the (PSCIP), which provided assistance and incentives for 鈥渞esidents, businesses, non-profits and religious institutions to install security camera systems on their property.鈥�

Participants can elect to participate in two ways.

One way is by enrolling in a voucher program, 鈥渨hich provides a private security camera system to eligible residents free of charge.鈥�

It should be noted that residents are only eligible for the voucher program if they already receive public assistance through one of the following programs: General Assistance for Children; Emergency Shelter Family Services; Temporary Assistance for Needy Families; Program on Work, Employment, and Responsibility; or Interim Disability Assistance.

The other option is to enroll for a rebate program, which provides a rebate of up to $200 per camera, a maximum rebate of up to $500 per residential address, or $750 for all other eligible addresses provided that the cameras 鈥渁re registered with the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD),鈥� meaning that the footage will be continuously uploaded to the MPD鈥檚 data cloud.

鈥淚 had one nearby [apartment] complex reach out to me about getting that cap lifted, because the cost of a system for a building was higher, and I shared that with my council member,鈥� Michelson-Horowitz said.

According to Security.org, the average indoor and outdoor security camera in the United States can start at around $50, while high-end cameras with 4K resolution and advanced features usually cost around $200 or more, not including additional hardware, data storage, and a professional home monitoring subscription.

For example, Ring鈥檚 鈥淧rotected Basic Kit鈥� for private residences has a starting retail price of $329.99 including Ring鈥檚 annual Basic Professional Monitoring plan, while its 鈥淚ndoor Business Starter Kit鈥� begins at $479.99 including Basic Professional Monitoring.

Outside of cost, other residents and business-owners aren鈥檛 particularly inclined to give the MPD access to footage taken in and around their properties, said Commissioner Wood.

鈥淭he interesting thing is, I’ve actually never had a package stolen from my front doorstep,鈥� said Northwest D.C. resident Maggie Parrish. 鈥淏ut I have roommates, and I know that a few of them have had packages stolen before, so I feel like maybe I’ve just gotten lucky, and potentially my luck will run up because I feel like almost everyone I know has had a package stolen at some point.鈥�

Parrish said that she鈥檚 noticed older residences tend to have less options for discreet areas to leave packages, whereas newer properties tend to have bins or alcoves for mail.

鈥淚 do feel like part of that is just something that probably needs to be updated in a city that has so many people, and where package theft is an issue. But I also know that maybe it isn’t on every landlord’s mind,鈥� Parrish said.

Wood said that most porch piracy cases are not successfully traced by the MPD, largely due to a lack of evidence. He added that many of his Adams Morgan constituents have requested that more officers be placed on foot patrol throughout the residential areas to deter potential thieves.

鈥淎s far as I know, zero do [foot patrol]. They drive around or they park. There’s mixed opinions on if they would be effective or not,鈥� Wood said, adding that the MPD 鈥渦sed to come to our meetings for the public safety committee on a regular basis. They haven’t as much anymore.鈥�

Lynch said that package theft appears to be a crime of opportunity rather than an organized, coordinated effort by groups.

He added that this year would mark the first holiday season that the MPD uses a new package theft prevention operation, in which 鈥渃rime suppression team members鈥� leave fake packages out on community members鈥� porches (with advance permission), wait for the package to be stolen, then use the package to track the culprit and potentially make an arrest.

Lynch said that MPD encourages residents to take part in the department鈥檚 Amazon locker program, adding that MPD is the first police department nationwide to install Amazon lockers in every single police precinct.

鈥淲e’re not really reinventing the wheel with our Amazon locker program, even though we’re the first police department to institute something like this in the country. The other thing we encourage is, if you’re not going to be home, have a neighbor or a friend come by and make sure your package is secure,鈥� Lynch said.

In addition, experts at Safewise recommend the following practices to prevent your packages from being stolen this holiday season:

• Opt into delivery alerts.
• Require signatures.
• Make alternative arrangements, like using a personal delivery locker, asking a friend or neighbor, use a personal delivery locker on your porch, or ask that the carrier hold onto the package until you can pick it up.
• Use technology, like doorbell cams, outdoor security cameras, and full-on security systems.
• Work with your neighbors and make a plan to communicate frequently in cases of package theft to keep everyone in the loop.

The post D.C. breaks porch piracy records. Here鈥檚 what you can do to protect your packages first appeared on 最新蜜桃影像.

The pending law, introduced by Ward 6 Councilmember Charles Allen, is part of the district鈥檚 long-standing efforts to preserve the historic character of its neighborhoods. Preservation advocates argue that maintaining historic structures offers multiple benefits, such as highlighting the city鈥檚 legacy and culture, promoting tourism, and protecting architectural history.

However, others contend that these initiatives can disadvantage some long-time residents by contributing to the rise in property value and taxes that later results in the pricing out of those residents.

鈥淭here’s tension every day, right now as we talk. It鈥檚 a complicated situation,鈥� said John Muller, a local historian, tour guide, D.C. Public Library associate, and author of Frederick Douglass in Washington D.C.: The Lion of Anacostia.

The Council unanimously approved A25-0594 on Oct. 1, and Mayor Muriel Bowser signed it Oct. 24. It is now before the House and Senate for a 30-day review period.

The bill, the Protecting Historic Homes Amendment Act, would create higher fines for significant violations of the Historic Landmark and Historic District Protection Act of 1978. The measure would require fines assessed by the Historic Preservation Board to vary by degree of severity of the damage, up to $100,000 per violation, according to Allen.

Allen introduced the bill in November 2023 following the near demolition of a historic home in his ward, on Capitol Hill. , Allen said the district鈥檚 existing fine structure was not deterring construction companies, noting that few contractors were required to pay more than even $3,000 for violations that were severe and that fines were the same for a small violation, such as repointing, as it was for near-full scale demolition.

However, while the bill aims to help protect D.C.鈥檚 historic and cultural legacy, it comes amid existing tensions around gentrification, displacement, and rising home prices.

According to Muller, discussions about historic preservation in D.C. neighborhoods are often oversimplified.

鈥淚n the 50s and 60s, Georgetown was kind of a low-rent neighborhood. So, the city has developed 鈥� let鈥檚 say eastward 鈥� and now, the priority is to deliver resources such as new libraries, school buildings, new government [resources]. There鈥檚 been a greater investment in public services in these neighborhoods,鈥� Muller said.

Muller added that as public services improve, the demand for higher-income residents who can afford these new, revamped resources increases, driving up housing prices and attracting more expensive retailers.

This results in the displacement, or 鈥減ricing out,鈥� of low-income residents who, in many cases, have lived in these neighborhoods for generations.

analyzed the changes in median income in the Washington region from 1980 to 2017. The study found that, 鈥渂etween 2000 and 2017, the most notable change in the maps is that, as most of D.C. between Rock Creek and the Anacostia gentrified, the region鈥檚 poorest neighborhoods almost all became concentrated east of the Anacostia River.鈥�

According to Redfin, the median sale price of a home in Anacostia was $485,000 in October, up 8.5% from 2023, while in contrast, neighborhoods further southeast like Congress Heights saw a 4.0% decrease in home prices compared to 2023.

Muller said Congress Heights is one example of a residential area that has seen less attention to historical community relics, despite sharing a rich history with Anacostia and Georgetown further northwest.

But he emphasized that friction exists between longtime residents with differing needs.

 鈥淪ome older residents say, 鈥榃e want to have new residents, because then we can get a grocery store that we can walk to, and there鈥檚 greater attention on the neighborhood.鈥� Then there鈥檚 other people who say, 鈥榃ell, that鈥檚 not good for me because it鈥檚 driving up our property taxes,鈥欌�� he said.

With increase in debates around housing prices and rising property taxes, there have been greater efforts to address the growing disparities in communities targeted for historical preservation.

Scott Texeira is a partner with Hartman-Cox Architects whose work mainly focuses on designing and preserving cultural, academic, and civic buildings in D.C.鈥檚 monumental core.

鈥淐ommunity involvement, community participation, is an incredibly important part of the process. You know that these buildings are forever a part of their community, and so the decisions that we make have lasting implications. They impact the neighboring community the most, you know,鈥� Texeira said.

鈥淪o we manage that by trying to involve the community early on. We do that by attending or presenting at the neighborhood commission meetings 鈥� ANC meetings,鈥� Texeira said.

D.C.鈥檚 Advisory Neighborhood Commissions, or ANCs, are nonpartisan, neighborhood bodies made up of locally elected representatives. Each commission regularly holds meetings that are open to the public during which residents can express their concerns, air their grievances, or highlight important issues before officials.

According to the D.C. government鈥檚 website, 鈥淭he ANCs’ main job is to be their neighborhood’s official voice in advising the District government (and Federal agencies) on matters that affect their neighborhoods. Although they are not required to follow the ANCs’ advice, many District agencies are required to give the ANCs’ recommendations 鈥榞reat weight.鈥欌��

鈥淲e oftentimes schedule information sessions and so forth, or open houses to try to get opportunities for members of the community to come and talk about their concerns,鈥� Texeira said.

Doing so allows his firm to interact with the local residential community, conducting outreach and communicating during the design process, Texeira said.

Among the D.C. buildings that needs attention is the Grant Building, which was constructed in 1912 as a residential portion of the U.S. Soldiers Home in the Park View neighborhood of Northwest. The building has been abandoned since 1998 and is listed on the D.C. Preservation League鈥檚 as one of the city鈥檚 most endangered places.

Christian Malarsie, a D.C. resident of five years and a relative newcomer to Park View, lives within three blocks of the Grant Building.

He said he is worried about what might come from a renovation project targeting the building, adding, 鈥淚 would be concerned if whatever development or project would displace people, or push people out, or make the area unlivable. I鈥檓 not passionate about what they do with it; I would just prefer they not harm people in the process.鈥�

When asked whether he was open to attending an ANC meeting around the Grant Building鈥檚 preservation, Malarsie said that he wasn鈥檛 sure whether he would make much of an impact by attending. He had yet to hear any announcements about his advisory neighborhood commission and was not aware until then that it was a public forum that he and his fellow neighbors were welcome to attend.

Another property of concern is 1220 Maple View Place SE.

Muller said the L鈥橢nfant Trust is working on that property, which has been vacant for about 50 years. He said the grand, wooden structure sits in Anacostia鈥檚 residential core, visibly abandoned and boarded up.

Originally established in 1978, the L鈥橢nfant Trust is a nonprofit organization that aims to play a critical role in D.C.’s development and historic preservation initiatives throughout its residential neighborhoods.

With an influx in government funding and federal grants from the D.C. government over the past seven years, Muller said the area surrounding the mansion has seen millions of dollars of investments. These include improvements to nearby commercial thoroughfares and new local businesses like Busboys and Poets.

 鈥淣ow, several of these vacant properties have been reclaimed, or people have bought them up and fixed them up, et cetera,鈥� Muller said, adding that 1220 Maple View is soon to join that list.

When it comes to the threat of D.C. natives being priced out of their own neighborhoods, residents face the price gouging issue with a variety of approaches and attitudes. Muller points to the approach of a resident he refers to as Mr. Sampson as an example of this variety in approaches.

鈥淏ecause Anacostia is a historically black neighborhood, there are black professionals [like Mr. Sampson] that have said, 鈥業 don’t want to move to Capitol Hill, or NoMa Gallaudet, or Penn Quarter,鈥� or wherever. [Mr. Sampson] was very deliberate and wanted to live in the historic black community,鈥� Muller said. 鈥淪o, you know, there are some of those dynamics.鈥�

The post D.C. residents face competing priorities as historic preservation bill awaits congressional review first appeared on 最新蜜桃影像.

As part of an initiative that aims to give parents more autonomy in their child鈥檚 education, Trump has promised to sign an executive order that would cut federal funding for schools that incorporate critical race theory, gender ideology or other 鈥渋nappropriate racial, sexual or political content鈥� in curricula. 

Armed with the support of his secretary of education pick, Linda McMahon, he has said he intends to sign an executive order to reinstate 鈥淭he 1776 Commission,鈥� an advisory commission made up of 20 members appointed by Trump that enforces the incorporation of 鈥減atriotic鈥� values in the classroom. 

Among his biggest campaign platforms, however, has been his calls to dismantle the Department of Education as a way to 鈥渆nd education coming out of Washington, D.C.鈥� and 鈥渟end all education work and needs back to the States,鈥� as his campaign website states. 

鈥淥n top of regular educators and paraeducators, we have a lot of staff that are solely here to support very specific students,鈥� said Alessandra Portillo, administrative secretary and financial specialist at Diamond Elementary School in Gaithersburg, Maryland. 鈥淭hey know that in cases like this, their programs are the first ones cut, which is really unfortunate.鈥� 

Diamond Elementary School is a Montgomery County public school that hosts a nationally recognized support program for children on the autism spectrum among its standard course offerings. Portillo said that the school relies heavily on funding allocated by the Department of Education and federal grants to keep critical resources and programming available for children with special needs. 

鈥淎 lot of these parents that send their kids here don’t have the specialized skills, training, or knowledge to be able to care for their kids [in] the way that they need,鈥� Portillo said. 

According to Portillo, the tone at most schools in the Washington region hosting specialized education programs has been one of anxiety, shock, and apprehension. Many are experiencing uncertainty about whether the changes Trump has promised on a federal level may influence them on a local level. 

Not all educators are worried about potential changes, particularly those in states with greater local autonomy.

Donna Norton is an 8th grade English teacher at Bonny Eagle Middle School in Scarborough, Maine. She鈥檚 not particularly worried about incoming changes at the federal level, and added that neither is the administrative body at her school. 

鈥淓verybody always just says, 鈥極h my god, I’m so glad I don’t teach in Florida,鈥� or 鈥業’m so glad I don’t teach in Texas.鈥� That’s more what the feeling is,鈥� Norton said. 鈥淔or me personally, I don’t know how much would be affected at the state level, or even at our local level, because a lot is done at our [local level]. 鈥� So I’m not hugely worried.鈥� 

In contrast to Portillo鈥檚 concerns, Norton said that she was doubtful anything would be affected at Bonny Eagle, even if Trump was able to get Congress to enact legislation shuttering the Education Department. 

Norton added that after the Common Core Learning Results were implemented under President Ronald Reagan and further developed under President Barack Obama, they were 鈥渒ind of done away with鈥� in Maine on a district-by-district basis.

鈥淚 think everybody’s just about providing a good education,鈥� Norton said. 鈥淚 know in Maryland, [curriculum is determined] by county, but a lot of people don’t even have faith in the public school system there. I don’t think that’s because of [anything at] the national level. I think that’s because the districts are so huge, they鈥檙e just absolutely difficult to manage.鈥� 

Christina Cropper is a school counselor at Dunbar High School in Baltimore, Maryland. Similarly to Norton, she is skeptical about whether Trump鈥檚 promises will be fully carried out in schools when so many decisions around education happen at the state and local levels. 

鈥淚’m really not worried about the Department of Education closing,鈥� said Cropper. 鈥淲hat worries me is the shift in rhetoric that will then actually affect policy on a state and local level.鈥�  

School administrators sent out resources for teachers to help them navigate the intricacies of politically charged discussions among students, including guidance on when to intervene and shut conversation down if it became too combative. 

Other than mitigating the immediate emotional impact on students, however, Cropper said that the school administration at Dunbar High School has largely been waiting to see what comes of Trump鈥檚 promises.

鈥淗e’s not in office yet. The impact鈥檚 not quite there yet,鈥� Cropper said. 鈥淭his might just be me personally, but I think we’re all kind of waiting just to see what’s going to happen, what he’s actually going to be able to accomplish,鈥� she said.

The post Educators anticipating changes during a second Trump administration first appeared on 最新蜜桃影像.