Thursday, June 30, 2022

Public Safety Go Teams and a New Multiagency Nightlife Task Force Will Engage Residents and Businesses throughout the Weekend; Families Encouraged to Find Safe Activities at summer.dc.gov

(Washington, DC) – Today, Mayor Muriel Bowser was joined by members of her Administration to highlight public safety preparations ahead of July Fourth weekend, including the deployment of Go Teams and the launch of a new multiagency Nightlife Task Force. The Mayor also encouraged families to go to summer.dc.gov to find safe activities for young people and families to participate in throughout the summer.

“This weekend, we want people to have fun and enjoy our beautiful city — safely,” said Mayor Bowser. “We’re deploying additional public safety resources throughout the weekend and we’re also calling on families and community partners to work with us to keep people safe. Let’s work together to engage our youth and young adults. Check in on the people in your circles – know where they are and who they’re with. And, all summer, let’s work together to keep our community safe. Families who are looking for safe, fun activities can go to summer.dc.gov to see what’s happening across the city.”

The new Nightlife Task Force is led by the Office of the Deputy Mayor for Public Safety and Justice and the Metropolitan Police Department, in collaboration with other District agencies, and the public safety Go Teams are comprised of non-law enforcement partners such as violence interrupters, credible messengers, and roving leaders.

Go Teams will be in the community throughout the evening on Monday, July 4 to engage residents in areas where large gatherings are anticipated. Teams will be staffed by violence interrupters, such as Credible Messengers, Cure the Streets staff, and Roving Leaders, as well as members of the Mayor’s Office of Community Relations and Services also staffs these teams. Go Teams will address the use of fireworks and any other issues that may arise throughout the evening.

The Multi-Agency Night Life Task Force was created to engage community members and bring together resources in busy nightlife corridors. The task force, which will be piloted throughout the summer months, will implement targeted strategies to increase safety in the identified nightlife corridors, with particular emphasis on reducing crime, addressing ATVs, enforcing traffic and parking regulations, and identifying gaps in staffing and resources. The task force will go be out on Friday and Saturday nights, through the early morning, and on Sunday evenings when there is a Monday holiday.

Residents and visitors are encouraged to:

• go to summer.dc.gov to find safe activities for young people and families to participate in throughout the summer;

• visit FEMS.dc.gov for firework safety tips;

• text JULY4DC to 888-777 to access real time traffic and other updates for this weekend’s activities; and

• go to alert.dc.gov to sign up to receive real-time road closure and safety alerts and follow @AlertDC on Twitter.