DC Council set to vote on, approve sweeping crime bill
WASHINGTON (DC News Now) — The D.C. City Council is set to approve a sweeping crime bill on Tuesday that calls for longer prison sentences for crimes but is criticized for potentially spurring mass incarcerations, particularly of juveniles.
Council members have been under tremendous pressure by Republicans in Congress given its role overseeing the District to pass the legislation known as the Secure D.C. Omnibus Amendment Act.
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The bill would restore more powers to the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) eroded in the wake of the George Floyd killing, target retail theft by lowering the felony threshold from $1,000 to $500, give longer prison sentences for gun violence and lock people up as they await trial.
“I support the bill,” said Councilwoman Brianne Nadeau, who is facing a possible recall over anger that she has not done enough to combat crime. “We’re seeing crime go down. That’s good. And there are some things in this bill that I think will help build on that foundation. But no one bill is going to solve this stuff.”
Critics, though, said the proposed act – which is on its second reading and vote by the council as required by Congress – challenges people’s civil liberties and doesn’t get to the root causes of crime.
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Shay Bird, 32, who lives in Northeast D.C. – which has seen its share of violence in the past several years – isn’t convinced that the bill will lower crime.
“It increases it because it’s literally targeting anybody and everybody, whoever they feel is a threat to them. And that’s just not right,” Bird said.
“I understand that they’re trying to resolve the crime, but there’s different ways to do that,” she added. “There’s just different ways to do it.”
The proposed act, which is strongly backed by Mayor Muriel Bowser, is the result of last year’s crime wave where violent crime jumped 39 percent from the previous year and homicides were at their highest levels in 20 years.
Many crimes last year, including robberies and carjackings, were committed by juveniles, according to MPD statistics.
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Gerald Henneghan, 57, of Northeast D.C., said he’s seen his share of crime over the past several decades. And he’s read the contents of the crime bill, he said.
“I studied it in detail and it’s more of the same,” Henneghan said. “It does not make parents responsible for the acts of their children. Until that’s addressed, it doesn’t matter what you legislate.”
Jay Brown, who runs a community activist group called Community Shoulders, said that this crime bill is a serious mistake by the council.
“So I want the city to understand that when we’re advocating to keep our civil liberties in check and not to have our constitutional rights violated,” Brown said. “Don’t ever think that I haven’t been a victim of crime.”
Brown said he’s experienced crime in multiple ways in the District including a recent incident that could have taken a family member.
“Just a few short months ago, four young men pointed a gun at my four-year-old daughter and almost killed her,” he said “We have been victims of crimes. But because I was a victim of crime doesn’t mean you deserve to have your constitutional rights violated.”
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