Liveliest D.C. Neighborhoods Also Jumping With Robberies

More than one-third of robbery suspects arrested this year were juveniles, a pattern that Ramsey finds especially troubling. At this point last year, police had arrested 129 juveniles in robberies; this year, they've arrested 197 -- a 53 percent jump. Ramsey said the younger offenders are more apt to travel in packs and tend to get jumpy if victims resist.

Two of the five people who recently pleaded guilty to robbing tourists on the Mall were juveniles. Police said the group was bored until one suggested mugging victims there, a place long viewed as safe by residents and visitors.

The crimes on the Mall, which happened in May and July, generated a swift police response that led to the arrests. In other areas of the city, particularly the hard-hit 3rd District, D.C. police have made more than 50 arrests in robbery cases since July.

Solving robberies is not easy. Police have closed about 17 percent of their cases this year, near the national average for cities of the District's size.

Robberies happen so fast that many victims cannot identify their assailants. "Try to focus on what he looks like," Ramsey said. "Don't focus on the clothing."

That was the mistake made by a 73-year-old woman July 4 in Southeast Washington. That afternoon, she was sitting on the porch of a house in the 700 block of 51st Street near Benning Road, reading a book, when a youth walked up, his underwear peeking out from oversize pants.

"You got the time?" he asked her. She said she didn't.

The youth grabbed her purse and ran. She'd have a hard time recognizing his face, she said, adding that she "could identify the guy's lower half better than the upper half because of his drawers showing."

A Variety of Victims

Based on volume, the top location for the city's robbers is near 14th Street and Columbia Road NW, in the heart of Columbia Heights. The place jumps with activity, and luxury condos and new stores are on the way. The buzz makes it seem like a safe, lively place. But robbers pop up in the area regularly -- there is an average of five holdups a week. It comes in spurts. A few days might go by without anyone getting mugged; then two, three or four people will be held up in a single night.

Cmdr. Larry McCoy, who heads the 3rd Police District, said the victims span the economic and professional spectrum: "I've seen them all -- waitresses, lawyers, construction workers, people who work on the Hill."

Doug Bryant, 35, a technical recruiter, and his wife moved to Columbia Heights almost three years ago because it was vibrant and diverse. But after being around so much crime -- and getting attacked on the street by a young man last year -- they plan to move. "I don't like walking around here at night," he said. "And I don't mean midnight. I'm talking after 8."

In June, a construction worker walking home in Columbia Heights with $75 worth of groceries was held up by a group of juveniles. It was the third time he'd been robbed in that area.