DC AG proposes bill to reform DYRS, stop juvenile crime

WASHINGTON - D.C. Attorney General Brian Schwalb proposed a new bill to stop "repeat" juvenile criminals.

Schwalb on Tuesday said he’s "not satisfied" with D.C.’s Department of Youth Rehabilitative Services, which is part of D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser’s administration.

Schwalb says his three-part bill aims to reform practices at DYRS, mandates permanent, independent oversight of the agency and allows District courts to step in when DYRS is not providing appropriate services.

"More and more young people are committing violent offenses — carjackings, robberies, gun crimes, homicides — and they are committing offenses at younger ages. And while it’s a relatively small number of young people engaged in criminal behavior, that small group is causing a disproportionate amount of harm," said Schwalb.

He says the public wants action.

"Too many people in Washington, D.C., in all eight wards of our city don’t feel safe. Residents are rightly demanding from their elected leaders and their government action, and as the district’s independent elected attorney general, there is no higher priority for me," said Schwalb.

READ MORE: DC AG on prosecuting juveniles as adults: 'Kids are kids'

Last year, a D.C. Superior Court judge said she’d hold DYRS in contempt if they kept putting young offenders in jail-like facilities instead of shelters. Bowser promised to improve how it handles juvenile crime by adding beds, beefing up electronic monitors and improving facility monitoring.

READ MORE: DC council member exposes 'inhumane' conditions at Youth Services Center

In D.C., the U.S. Attorney’s Office prosecutes adults, but the elected D.C. Attorney General prosecutes juveniles.

The Bowser administration has been critical of both federal prosecutors and the attorney general for not doing enough on juvenile crime. Fox 5 reached out to the mayor’s office today for comment.