President Donald Trump called D.C. crime “ridiculous” in remarks Wednesday in the Oval Office. He threatened to federalize the police department and even bring in National Guard troops.
But Metropolitan Police Department data shows crime in D.C. is down. Violent crime dropped 26% this year so far, compared to the same period last year. Homicide dropped 12% and assaults with a dangerous weapon dropped 20%. These include non-fatal shootings and stabbings.
Carjackings are down 37%. Two summers ago, D.C. saw a spike, with about five carjackings every day in June 2023. This June, it was about one per day. Half the people arrested in D.C. for carjacking this year are juveniles.
U.S. Attorney for D.C. Jeanine Pirro highlighted youth crime in remarks on Thursday.
“We’re seeing far too much crime being committed by young people – 14, 15, 16, 17 years old – that I can’t get my hands on. I don’t know if you’ve seen some of these pictures. But young people are coddled, and they don’t need to be coddled anymore. They need to be held accountable,” she said.
According to D.C. statistics, more juveniles have been arrested in D.C. this year through the end of June, at about 1% more than the same time last year.
Without changing D.C. laws, the U.S. Attorney’s Office can prosecute 16 and 17-year-olds solely by its choice for the most serious crimes, including murder, rape and armed robbery. Other crimes can be moved to adult court after a hearing.
Fifteen-year-olds can be prosecuted as adults in D.C. if a judge determines they cannot be rehabilitated by the juvenile system; those 14 and younger cannot.
In a letter to the D.C. Council on Wednesday, Pirro asked council members to reconsider three D.C. laws that she called detrimental to public safety: the Second Chance Act, the Second Look Act and the Youth Rehabilitation Act. Only the third law would directly affect current juvenile cases by possibly increasing sentences for young people. The others deal with changes after sentences are imposed.
Get the D.C. area’s top news and weather delivered to your inbox every morning. Sign up for First & 4Most, our free newsletter.
from Local – NBC4 Washington https://ift.tt/nuX9EWl
0 Comments