Summoned to Congress, DC Council fails to explain crime-friendly policies
David J. Terestre
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The House Oversight and Accountability Committee hearing with the Council of the District of Columbia on Wednesday was interesting. Council members faced tough questions on public safety, particularly in view of an upsurge in overall crime and homicides in the nation’s capital.
Republicans chastised the council for passing lenient crime legislation at a time when crime in the city is surging. Committee Chairman James Comer (R-KY) observed that the D.C. Council’s approach would worsen the crime crisis and jeopardize the lives of tourists and locals alike. He highlighted figures indicating that murders and carjackings have risen significantly in the last two years, with many of them committed by repeat offenders. He also accused the council of disregarding the mayor’s and the majority of Washington citizens’ wishes for harsher sanctions for felony offenses.
In response, the D.C. Council presented its approach as a necessary change to a faulty criminal justice system that disproportionately affects communities of color and low-income neighborhoods. The council claimed, laughably, that severe punishments do not prevent crime but rather support a prison industrial complex. The council added that the law would have provided options for rehabilitation and readmission for offenders and reduced prison expenditures, saving money for taxpayers.
DC DENIES CRIME CRISIS AMID NOTABLE UPTICK
Phil Mendelson, chairman of the D.C. Council’s Public Safety Committee, asserted that the council was attempting to strike a balance between accountability and transparency, along with respect for the police officers who risk their lives every day.
Really? What legislation has Mendelson introduced in the past two years to support the Metropolitan Police Department and its officers? The answer is that he has introduced no such legislation. Indeed, every single bill has seemingly been designed to punish police officers for doing their jobs. Perhaps, then, Mendelson’s signature legislation reflects more of his liberal patriarchal white guilt than any true concern for the protection of the community that he and his fellow members were elected to serve.
Fortunately, Congress and even President Joe Biden have ensured that the council’s crime legislation won’t enter law.
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David J. Terestre served as a sergeant with the Metropolitan Police Department and is a nationally published author on public safety and policing issues.