The D.C. Council has approved - on an emergency basis - a law aimed at supporting the fight against the serious crime crisis plaguing the District. The legislation contains more than a dozen reforms and amendments to the Criminal Code aimed at improving public safety.
The "Public Safety Amendment Act" gives judges the power to detain (in custody) those suspected of committing violent crimes while awaiting trial. It also increases penalties for offenders for robbery and theft, and makes it a felony to discharge a firearm in public, among other things.
Dc Crime Bill by Verónica Silveri
The text of the regulation stated that so far in 2023, the District has experienced a "30% increase in violent crimes and a 29% increase in crimes against property" when compared to last year. Council Chairman Phil Mendelson acknowledged during an interview with the FOX 5 media outlet, that a criminal who commits murder in D.C. can go unpunished:
ICYMI
“You can get away with murder in this city,” is what @ChmnMendelson told me TWICE talking @CMBrookePinto’s emergency legislation. He argues closing cases over pre-trial changes & is throwing public safety back policing & @MayorBowser. @NSBonsu_ covering tonight.@fox5dc https://t.co/3L1htEyDDz pic.twitter.com/NOWxtTAvPR— Stephanie Ramirez (@RamirezReports) July 7, 2023
Washington D.C. "in a state of emergency."
A similar package of legislation had been rejected by D.C. officials a few months ago. Brooke Pinto - councilwoman and author of the bill - commented that the District is "in a state of emergency" due to high levels of crime:
We are in a state of emergency at the moment and as in any emergency, we have to act as such, and we have to act urgently as a government to address the problem we are seeing.
The regulations state that D.C. "is currently experiencing a significant spike in violent crime." with a 19% increase in homicides (over the same date in 2022). She adds that if "this pace continues, for the first time in 2 decades, the District will see 3 consecutive years in which the homicide count exceeds 200."
As of July 5 this year, there had been 127 homicides, a 19% increase from the same date in 2022. There have also been more than 500 people shot in more than 400 separate incidents.
Homicides are not the only crimes that have increased in the District. The area is experiencing a significant increase in other violent crimes: "Robberies have increased by almost 50%. compared to 2022 and vehicle thefts have increased 116%. "The District is on track to double the number of car thefts compared to 2022" (Last year's figure was already record breaking).
Mendelson explained that in D.C. "most robberies are not solved. Half of the homicides are not solved very quickly, if they are solved at all. Approximately 50% of the homicides are not solved within a year of their occurrence."
