GUARDIAN ANGELS ASSIST DC POLICE

D.C. RESIDENTS FRUSTRATED with the failure of city police to curb packs of teens beating and robbing Southeast residents have turned to the volunteer crime-stoppers D.C. Guardian Angels.

"It's a situation that has frankly spiraled out of control," said Commissioner Neil Glick of Advisory Neighborhood Commission 6B, which represents the southeastern area of Capitol Hill.

Mr. Glick said he has received dozens of resident complaints in the past few weeks about violence near the Potomac Avenue Metro station, specifically about groups of three to five teens robbing and assaulting people. He said his office has received more than 50 complaints in the past 18 months.

"Our neighborhood has seriously declined and become a less desirable place to live given the threats of criminal-minded juveniles," said my Caspari, a Capitol Hill resident whose husband, Matthew, was the victim of an August 12 midday attack by a knife-wielding juvenile on the corner of 17th and C streets Southeast.

Said Mr. Caspari: "It's very frustrating trying to raise two kids when you have this kind of stuff going on."

As a result, Mr. Glick has asked for help from the D.C. chapter of Guardian Angels, a volunteer group of unarmed residents who patrol streets and make citizen arrests, if necessary.

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