Safe at Home? D.C. Fears
By • July 11, 2023 0 819
Washington, D.C., once again is generating headlines in a bad way. But do we feel what the victims of crime feel? So far, we’ve been hearing the news rather than directly experiencing it … So far.
Such as … “9 people, including 2 kids, are shot and wounded in the nation’s capital as violence mars July 4.” Most ironic and deplorable was a July 3 shooting near the U.S. Capitol, as CNN reported: “A former Afghan interpreter who immigrated with his family to America in 2021 was shot and killed early Monday in Washington, D.C., while on an extra shift as a Lyft driver…” Nasrat Ahmad, 31, died of a gunshot wound in the stomach just after midnight. Add to that the Metro employee, who was killed after church while getting lunch for his sick brother lunch. Need we continue or provide more details?
The frustration and sorrow of this local and national epidemic seem to be numbing us. Someone, anyone? Is our society helpless or hopeless?
We harken to the wise words of columnist Colby King, who asked last week, “Stemming youth crime is Job One for D.C. Will city leaders act like it?”
At least, our Ward 2 Council member Brooke Pinto responded to the tragedies over the July 4 weekend with a round of new legislative proposals, including her “Prioritizing Public Safety Emergency Amendment Act,” as chair of the Committee on the Judiciary and Public Safety on the D.C. Council.
“The crime and violence we have seen in recent days and months is evidence that we must move with urgency to address the crisis we’re seeing in our city,” she said. “The measures I am introducing… are necessary to prevent repeat offenders from further harming and traumatizing our community, hold perpetrators accountable, protect and support victims, ensure police are able to keep our community safe, and increase accountability and transparency around our public safety apparatus.”
Pinto’s common-sense legislation would encourage crime data-sharing among city agencies, protect victims of sexual abuse and domestic violence, shore up accountability for offenders and address criminal violence. Among her proposals are:
- Creating a rebuttable presumption in favor of pre-trial detention for adults who committed a crime of violence;
- Creating a rebuttable presumption in favor of pre-trial detention for juveniles who committed a dangerous crime or a crime of violence whether or not they were armed;
- Creating a new offense of “endangerment with a firearm” which makes it a felony for someone to fire a gun in public;
- Clarifying that GPS records in the possession of the Pretrial Services Agency (PSA) can be admissible to prove a defendant’s guilt in a criminal case or other judicial proceeding;
- Making misdemeanor arrest warrants extraditable when persons leave the District after committing a crime.;
- Extending liability for certain sexual offenses to contractors of organizations.
Testifying before Congress a few months ago, Council Chair Phil Mendelson said, “There is no crime crisis” in D.C. A days ago, Mendelson said. “You can get away with murder in this city.”
The Metropolitan Police Department reports a 17-percent increase in homicides so far this year over the same period in 2022, along with a 33-percent increase in violent crime. MPD estimates a 30-percent increase in overall crime.
As we write this, the Council is considering Pinto’s bill with slight changes. Perhaps a reason to hope will return. Enough with words. Act now, or more will live in fear. Or, die.
