WASHINGTON-
Police beefed up patrols around national landmarks Thursday, a day after the District of Columbia's police chief declared a crime emergency in response to a string of violence that included the killing of a British activist.
Police Chief Charles Ramsey's emergency declaration Wednesday allows commanders more flexibility to adjust officers' schedules and reassign them to high-crime areas.
Just hours after the emergency declaration, two groups of tourists were robbed at gunpoint on the National Mall, both by men dressed all in black. The U.S. Park Police, who patrol the Mall and are separate from the D.C. police, posted more officers in the area in response.
The tourist-friendly National Mall, a grassy area lined by museums leading up to the Capitol building, is under the jurisdiction of U.S. Park Police rather than D.C. police. It is usually considered safe. But the recent crimes against tourists have raised calls for a larger police presence.
The murdered activist, Alan Senitt, was attacked in the Georgetown area on Sunday, his throat was slit and police say the attackers attempted to rape his companion.
Senitt was a volunteer for the potential presidential campaign of former Virginia Gov. Mark R. Warner. It was the 13th homicide in the city this month. Robberies are up 14 percent, and armed assaults have jumped 18 percent in the past 30 days.
"We're going to reallocate our resources. We're going to see what improvements we can make," said Park Police Sgt. Scott Fear.
Park Police were looking for connections between the robberies and three similar incidents in the area in late May. There have been no arrests in any of those cases.
Park Police Chief Dwight Pettiford met Wednesday with Eleanor Holmes Norton, the city's delegate to Congress, to discuss the deployment of officers. Norton said the Interior Department had ordered the Park Police to assign officers at fixed positions, rather than walk beats.
