Anita Chavis is a staunch believer in renowned law enforcement theorist Dr. Herman Goldstein’s “broken windows” concept—that when a community visually shows signs of decay, more serious forms of crime occur. She has made enormous strides in solving the District’s extraordinary problem of illegal dumping through her singular devotion to breaking the cycle of environmental crime.

Chavis works to not only hold offenders accountable for their actions, but also to make them a part of the solution to neighborhood blight. She engaged the U.S. Attorney to create a program where, in addition to fines, offenders are sentenced to cleaning up as a component of community service. To date, she has no repeat offenders.

Chavis has served as an Investigator in the Department of Public Works Environmental Crimes Unit (ECUECUECU) since its inception in 1998. A former Ward 8 resident, she was initially attracted to the unit because she grew tired of her community being the “dumping ground for the city.”

Through the ECUECUECU’s primary mission of capturing and prosecuting residents and nonresidents who dump large quantities of construction materials and hazardous waste, Chavis has the opportunity to be on the front lines of this crucial battle. She was directly responsible for cleaning up one of the District’s most notorious environmental crime sites at 60th and Blaine Streets, NENE. Working alongside partner Paul Kurgan, she arrested more than 35 suspects in a three-month period. Their actions saved the District hundreds of thousands of dollars in cleanup fees and other expenses, while seizing dozens of vehicles for civil forfeiture.

During her tenure, Chavis has been responsible for more than 1,400 misdemeanor arrests and 75 felony arrests. Her expansive knowledge and ability to articulate the complexities of environmental crime investigations to coordinating agencies led assistant police chief and former Cafritz award winner Joshua Ederheimer to remark that “the success she has enjoyed directly correlates to a higher quality of life for District of Columbia Residents.”

“Ms. Chavis is one of those key, indispensable, and irreplaceable leaders
who are absolutely essential to the effective functioning of the District,” said Merrit Drucker, former director of the mayor’s Office of Community Services and Relations. “She has given unstintingly of her time and talents in a very difficult, demanding and dangerous area of responsibility that very, very few are willing to even venture into.”

Demonstrating the selflessness she displays in her job, when Chavis was notified that she was to receive the Cafritz Award she said: “I’m very honored to receive this award on behalf of the entire ECUECUECU. I love what I do; it puts a smile on my face to see a smile on someone else’s face and it does my heart good. I am even more honored and appreciative of the opportunity to expand ECUECUECU throughout the District.”

Chavis’ personal life mirrors her devotion to duty. She worked tirelessly at the Pentagon following 9/11 and continuously teaches District citizens and government employees about the importance of environmental crime enforcement. She is extremely proud of her thriving 15- and 16-year-old daughters, whom she adopted 10 years ago through the D.C foster care system.