Capitol Riverfront BID wants to pay police to patrol Navy Yard on non-game days but can't always find them

WASHINGTON D.C., DC — The neighborhood around Nationals Park has not been spared from the crime concerns plaguing the District. Now, area business leaders are working to increase the number of D.C. Police even on days there isn’t a game.

“There was some concern that there had been two high profile targeted shootings, murders that occurred here,” said Capitol Riverfront Business Improvement District President Michael Stevens

D.C. Police stats show violent crime in a three-quarter mile radius around Nationals Park up is up 7% in the past two years. Theft is up 21%, robbery is up 44%, and vehicle theft is up 102%.

On gamedays extra police patrols outside of Nationals Park, paid for by the team, adds an extra layer of safety and security for people who live and work in Navy Yard. Now Capitol Riverfront BID is working to add more D.C. Police officers on non-game days as concerns about violence in the area grow.

That’s why Capitol Riverfront Business Improvement District decided to take part in a city-run program to hire more police. It will pay for two, two-person foot patrols to keep watch over Navy Yard on nights there’s no baseball game.

The Nationals use the same program to provide added D.C. Police patrols on game days and game nights.

Part of the cost to pay the officers OT is reimbursed by the District, but signing up for those shifts is voluntary. And so far, Stevens says only about 50% of those patrols are being filled.

“I think they are so stretched thin, and crime is across the city,” Stevens said.

The Nationals would not comment on whether it was adding extra police patrols around the stadium on game days, beyond what it had in previous seasons. The team said it does not talk about security operations.

Earlier in March, Monumental Sports and Entertainment announced it was using the same city-run program to add additional officers around Capitol One arena, on game nights.