March 19, 2002
A Command Performer
Police Commander Peter Newsham Puts the Second District
First
By Jane
Lingo
Second District Police Commander Peter Newsham has
a modest, direct manner that cloaks a quiet dedication to the safety
of the residents and neighborhoods under his protection.
Arriving at his present post in January 2000, he is
a veteran of some 12 years of police work, and has had broad experience
in many parts of the city.
I was an officer in the Sixth District, a sergeant
in the Seventh, a lieutenant in the Fifth, and then a captain in the
Sixth, he recalls. In spring 2000, he received his law degree
from the University of Maryland Law School and is a Bar Association
member in Maryland and DC. He earned his undergraduate degree from the
College of the Holy Cross in Worcester, MA.
One of his first assignments as commander was protecting
the neighborhood in the spring of 2000 during the World Bank and International
Monetary Fund meetings. It was a huge drain on the police,
he says. We had shifts that lasted 16 hours. We were very concerned
about whether we could protect everybody. We didnt think wed
have the people to give the same protection in the city. We needed to
protect the students, the protesters, the people at the meetings, and
the residents. One group of officers had to sleep here (at the Second
Districts Indiana Avenue headquarters). We actually have some
cots. One night they really only got about four hours sleep.
Newsham observes that it is very predictable that those types of large
crowds are going to be drawn to meetings of organizations such as the
World Bank and the IMF.
Theres other venues which would be a lot
easier to protect, he comments.
Since Sept. 11, he sees changes in the neighborhoods. People are
being more careful, he says. I think a lot of people are
trying to be vigilant, alert. People want to know what they can do.
We emphasize vigilance. People should watch for things like an unusual
package, a bag left unattended.
Newsham comes to his office at Second District headquarters
by 8 am. A lot of times, the community needs help in the evening,
he says. When youre district commander, youre on call
24 hours a day. There are nine patrol service areas (PSA) in the
Second District with a lieutenant assigned to each of them. The University
is in PSA 207.
A new initiative in the Second District is a program
to recruit reserves and interns to work with the police. A prime mover
in this effort is Jim Lively of the Georgetown Advisory Neighborhood
Commission. Lively wants the various ANC representatives to recruit
people for the program.
Well do everything we can to reduce crime
with this added personnel, says Newsham. Chief Charles Ramsey
wants to increase the reserves. The reserve program is voluntary. The
volunteers actually serve with us and wear our uniforms. One of [GWs]
deans works here.
Richard Southby, interim dean of the School of Public
Health and Health Services, who also is the Ross Professor of International
Health and professor of health care sciences. Southby holds the rank
of lieutenant and works out of the Second District headquarters.
The GW Community Policing Station on 22nd Street (opened
in March 2000) is a help to officers in the neighborhood.
It is used. Ive seen police cars there,
Newsham says. It gives a visibility to the area and gives officers
opportunity to do reports and use the phone and the desks there.
Looking back on changes in the police department,
Newsham says, We went through a real economic downturn in 1995.
We had almost no money at all. Now there is a significant difference.
We have a lot more and better equipment.
One change in the Second District is that it is not
possible to give leave so freely as it was in the past.
There was a tendency to give leave quite readily
and then we sometimes did not have enough people, Newsham says.
Officers are often away for training, leave, or sickness. A lot
of times we cant give leave. We need people on duty. A majority
of the officers understand this and take it very well.
According to 2001 MPD statistics, crime in the Second
District dropped by 12 percent. We monitor our statistics city-wide
on a daily basis, the commander explains. He notes the next closest
district was the fourth, adding that some districts actually experienced
increases in crime. The district commanders meet regularly with Chief
Ramsey and the executive assistant chief, Terry Gainer, to discuss trends
and concerns.
Among the issues the chiefs and commanders discuss
is traffic, but Newsham is always open to hearing more feedback from
those in the community.
Traffic is a huge issue in the city, he
observes. We had a community meeting not long ago and it seems
that people feel the police and DPW [Department of Public Works] have
been more responsive of late. If people dont complain, they dont
get anything done. I think its very important for them to tell
me. Then, I know what they want. People are very polite and respectful
in the way they present things.
Newsham is not the only member of his family to heed
the call to protect and serve. An uncle is chief of police in Providence,
RI, and several other uncles are on the force there, as well. He also
has a brother who worked for two years with MPD in Washington and then
returned to Massachusetts to continue as a police officer there.
Asked what he likes most about his work, Newsham modestly
answers, I think you like it whenever you can feel as though youre
helping people.
Send feedback to: bygeorge@gwu.edu