Patrice Sulton: Summer emergency crime bills aren’t the answer

Earlier this month, the DC Council passed an emergency crime bill that it knows will not actually reduce crime. This kind of political theater is commonplace come summer, when elected officials recognize the dearth of learning and employment opportunities will inevitably lead to a surge in crime numbers. Recall 2009’s hastily introduced “Presence in a Motor Vehicle Containing a Firearm” offense, which was swiftly struck down by the DC Court of Appeals as unconstitutional. Rather than proactively addressing the root causes of crime, the focus from DC’s executive and legislative branches remains on reactionary, punitive measures that claim to offer immediate relief but have no chance of making us safer.

Emergency bills are required to have zero fiscal impact. By some legal fiction, measures that involve aggressive policing tactics, criminalization and incarceration do not cost the city any money, so those are common themes. But, $1.6 billion per year later, the District cannot continue to pretend that mass caging comes without cost. The financial burden pales in comparison to the trauma inflicted on the families affected by upward of 10,000 proactive police stops every month. 

The council’s bill — which Mayor Muriel Bowser signed July 20 — reflects a mix of good, bad and empty ideas. One somewhat commendable aspect is the inclusion of an endangerment with a firearm offense, which was developed after years of analysis by the Criminal Code Reform Commission. However, that offense was intended to function within the framework of a comprehensively revised penal code that appropriately rank-orders other gun-related offenses. In contrast, the emergency measure continues to punish possessing a firearm more harshly than assaulting or endangering another human being with one. 

The bill also expands pretrial detention and lowers the government’s burden of proof for holding someone awaiting trial. As Ward 4 Councilmember Janeese Lewis-George explained, studies have shown that approach could actually increase crime. As for the empty gesture, the addition of strangulation as yet another assault offense on top of the many other overlapping forms of assault we already have on the books is a good example of how DC came to have one of the worst penal codes in the country. It is already a crime to strangle a person in DC.

Despite the availability of well-developed thoughtful solutions, emergency legislation often sidelines comprehensive proposals crafted through extensive community input and expert analysis. For instance, the District Task Force on Jails and Justice — whose members included DC’s deputy mayor for public safety and justice, DC’s attorney general and the chair of the DC Council’s Committee on the Judiciary and Public Safety — invested two years to formulate recommendations, but only 2% of its suggestions have been implemented to date. Even less attention was paid to the Police Reform Commission’s 2021 report, which outlined a number of gun violence prevention recommendations tailored to the current environment and DC’s unique needs. This disregard for experts and community voices undermines the credibility of emergency crime bills and inhibits the potential for effective change.

The misuse of emergency legislation to address rising crime rates in Washington, DC, has become a concerning pattern that continues to fail District residents. While these measures may feel reassuring to the public at the beginning of each summer, the reality is their impact consistently falls short of expectations. Instead of relying on reactive measures, policymakers must adopt comprehensive, community-driven strategies that address the underlying causes of crime.

During a press conference prior to the July 11 vote, Mayor Bowser, Ward 2 Councilmember Brooke Pinto — chair of the Committee on the Judiciary and Public Safety since January — and Ward 5 Councilmember Zachary Parker stated that they expect the legislation to drive down crime and violence this summer. If it doesn’t, the council should let the emergency measure expire and focus on proven interventions.

Patrice Sulton is the founder and executive director of DC Justice Lab. She previously served on the DC Police Reform Commission, the District Task Force on Jails and Justice, and the Criminal Code Reform Commission.

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