We are ‘absolutely’ in a crime emergency, council member Robert White says, as he introduces public safety bill
Council member-atlarge Robert White introduced a bill Thursday morning in response to a public safety system falling short as crime rates rise.
"This bill is a response to a city that is increasingly unsafe and a public safety system that is siloed,” said White.
Violent crime – homicide, sex assault, robbery and assault with a weapon – has increased by 41% compared to this time last year, according to the D.C. Metropolitan Police Department.
White’s Whole Government Response to Crime Act of 2023 addresses several components of the District’s public safety system, from improving 911 operations to data collection to tackling the rise in juvenile crime. White urges public officials to work with the community to address crime holistically and collaboratively.
The bill proposes:
- Tracking and publishing where firearms flowing into D.C. are coming from. Data tracked by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives is not accessible or as comprehensive as outlined in the bill. “District reports show that the majority of gun violence in the city is caused by as few as 200 people. … We need to know where they are coming from,” said White.
- Quickly improving 911 reliability, responsiveness, and accuracy through a 911 Systems Improvement Task Force.
- Expanding staffing and talent at the Department of Forensic Services crime scene division. The U.S. Attorney’s Office could not prosecute 67% of people arrested last year in the District. “We can’t go back to seeing the types of gaps that we saw in the past,” said White.The agency lost its accreditation in 2021 as concerns over accuracy and compromised prosecutions mounted. “We hope DFS will be accredited in 2024, which obviously requires them gaining and retaining the best and the brightest,” said White.
- Establishing a full-time victim services coordinator: The bill creates a position to centralize where survivor victims and grieving families can turn to after a violent event.
- Addressing violence along nightlife corridors through a Hospitality Working Group that will find solutions to keep customers and neighbors safe. “Most of us don’t want to see all of the nightlife in our city shut down,” said White, “nor can we have people living in fear.”
- Tackling the sharp rise in juvenile crime by installing a director of emerging adults to develop a strategy in collaboration with community partners, young adults and experts. “Even with good programs,” said White, “we can’t counter the rise in crimes committed by young adults without a strategy.”
- Systemizing access to violence prevention data to outline the effectiveness of the various efforts and programs. “Public safety must be data-driven,” said White. “In this bill, we don’t dictate what data these organizations need to report .. but I want all these organizations reporting the same data points as a start.”
The legislation is the first in a series of public safety bills White said he expects to introduce to address crime prevention and community recovery from violence.