WASHINGTON DC COMPUTERS STOLEN http://www.wusa9.com/news/local/story.aspx?storyid=122907&catid=187

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Burglars Hitting Non Profits And Small Businesses In SE

WASHINGTON, DC (WUSA) -- Burglars have been targeting non profits and small businesses along a popular strip of Martin Luther King Avenue in Southeast, DC.

The Peaceaholics headquarters was ransacked, with computers, audio and video equipment stolen. The office safe was discovered in a back alley with its cash, checks and personnel files stolen.

The Peaceaholics is a non profit anti-gang organization that had been getting millions of dollars on contracts from the DC government to train, employ and keep the peace among fighting gangs and neighborhood crews. Forty employees were recently let go when the contracts were not renewed by the DC Council.

The offices of the Informer Newspaper, two blocks away, were also broken into and a computer stolen Thanksgiving night.

A few doors away, the Amen Computer Training School was burglarized. Computers, video equipment and a web camera were stolen.

Denice Rolark Barnes, Publisher of the Informer, says police in the 7th District should at least make neighborhood calls informing businesses of the crimes. More police presence is also needed, she says.

Written by Bruce Johnson

9NEWS NOW & wusa9.com