Metropolitan Police Chief Charles H. Ramsey said today that he is taking a number of immediate steps designed to halt the recent spate of lethal violence in the District of Columbia. Among the measures announced by the Chief are the following:

• Officers assigned to the focused mission teams in those police districts experiencing a rise in homicides are being directed to work in uniform, concentrating on areas where violence has recently occurred. The focused mission teams often work in plain-clothes assignments, addressing a variety of crime problems in the community.

• Officers from the Special Operations Division who typically respond to barricade situations and demonstrations are being assigned to patrol duties in the communities hardest hit by the recent violence.

• The start date for the new Summer Mobile Force, originally scheduled for May 1, is being pushed up to mid-April. Under this program, the Department will ask up to 100 police officers a day to work volunteer overtime shifts on their regular days off. The Summer Mobile Force will target hot spots of violence throughout the city, as well as open-air drug markets, prostitution and other visible signs of neighborhood disorder.

• FBI agents and MPDC officers assigned to the joint fugitive task force will step up efforts to help the Police Department identify suspects and trace weapons used in crimes.

In addition, Chief Ramsey said residents of those communities hardest hit by the recent violence can expect police officers to be making more street and traffic stops looking for suspicious persons.

"We will have a higher presence. We will be stopping people to make sure they are decent, law-abiding citizens and not the individuals responsible for the violence we are experiencing in some neighborhoods," the Chief said. "People need to be understanding and not feel offended if they are questioned by one of our officers."

From January through March 24 of this year, the District had recorded 67 homicides, up from 49 during the same period of 1998. There have been 24 homicides in the month of March alone, with approximately half of those occurring in the last five days. Last year, the District recorded 260 homicides , its lowest total in more than 10 years.

Ramsey said the Department is continuing to analyze the recent homicides in depth, but a preliminary analysis does not suggest the violence is the result of gang warfare or any other single identifiable cause. The recent homicides have occurred in the city's Southeast, Northeast and Northwest quadrants.

Ramsey also said it was unusual that while homicides have increased, non-lethal shootings and assaults with other deadly weapons have continued to decline. According to preliminary figures, assaults with a deadly weapon are down 8 percent this year through March 24. These crimes declined almost 15 percent last year.