Congressional lawmakers, staffers told how to avoid becoming a victim in D.C.’s crime wave

Remove jewelry on public transportation to avoid attracting thieves. Keep phone calls short to limit distractions while walking. Leave room at red lights in case a getaway becomes necessary. Police shared those tips and more Monday with Capitol Hill lawmakers and staffers at a briefing on surviving the District’s ongoing crime wave.

Rep. Bryan Steil, chairman of the House Administration Committee, hosted the informal safety meeting in the U.S. Capitol’s Longworth Building with representatives from the Capitol Police and the union for the District’s Metropolitan Police.

The Wisconsin Republican told The Washington Times that the meeting focused on managing the risks associated with the sharp rise in violent killings, robberies and carjackings in the District this year.

“There’s no indication that crime is being reduced in our nation’s capital, so people are working to make sure that they’re protected,” Mr. Steil said.

One police tip said drivers should leave space between their car and the car in front at stoplights. That would give drivers enough room to speed off if would-be carjackers approach.

Gregg Pemberton, the head of the D.C. Police Union, advised against long phone conversations while out and about. The calls can take attention away from people’s surroundings and make them more vulnerable to armed holdups, which contribute significantly to the city’s violent crime surge.

In some more basic but crucial tips, authorities advised people to keep valuables out of sight in a car or tucked away while walking to avoid catching the eye of a criminal looking to make a quick score.

The crime prevention strategies made a lot of practical sense to the estimated 75 lawmakers and staffers on hand for the meeting, but Mr. Steil was unnerved that the topic of rampant street crime in the city had to be addressed in the first place.

“It’s incredibly disturbing that people have to even be thinking about some of these things,” the congressman told The Times. “The fact that we are in a position in Washington, D.C., where that type of advice is needed to be given to visitors to Capitol Hill or to staff members on Capitol Hill is concerning.”

The District has recorded a 29% year-over-year increase in homicides and is on track to exceed 200 for the third year in a row. The city has not reached that milestone in roughly two decades.

Carjackings are up 101% from 2022, with more than 700 violent car thefts and over 5,000 cars stolen this year alone.

Robberies have jumped 67% so far this year, and some have turned deadly. Three people were fatally shot during holdups in July.

Violent crime overall is up 38% so far this year, and all crime is up 28%.

Lawmakers on Capitol Hill are no strangers to the violence.

Rep. Angie Craig, Minnesota Democrat, was assaulted in February inside her apartment complex by a man who had 12 prior convictions.

A month later, a staffer for Sen. Rand Paul, Kentucky Republican, was stabbed multiple times in a random attack by a man who had just been released from prison.

Two Capitol Hill staffers at the meeting told their account of being mugged after a group dinner.

Mr. Steil commended the staffers’ courage for recounting the incident and said he appreciated how the staffers put a human face on the statistics.

“This isn’t some abstract, theoretical issue,” Mr. Steil told The Times. “These are real men and women who work on Capitol Hill, who visit Capitol Hill, who are directly impacted by the rising crime that we’ve seen.”

The frustration of the District’s federal overseers has prompted local politicians to refocus on crime as they return from their summer recess.

Brooke Pinto, Ward 2 Democrat, introduced legislation Monday that would make permanent the emergency public safety initiatives implemented this summer.

Ms. Pinto’s Secure DC Plan would enshrine into law the broader pretrial detention standards included in the emergency crime bill, which the council passed in July.

The emergency legislation is set to expire on Oct. 18. Its revised detention standards give judges more latitude to keep adults and juveniles accused of violent crimes behind bars before trial.

Ms. Pinto’s proposal gives judges more leeway to detain juveniles accused of homicide or carjacking.

Under the bill, judges who release violent suspects must issue written explanations.

“We are experiencing a crisis of violence in the District, and we must address the gaps in our legal system in order to prevent the proliferation of violence in our communities. Too many of our residents are afraid,” Ms. Pinto, chair of the Judiciary and Public Safety Committee, said in a press release.

U.S. Attorney Matthew Graves, the federal prosecutor who prosecutes the most severe crimes in the District, voiced support for the bill in the press release.

Mr. Graves has come under fire for his office’s decision not to pursue two-thirds of the cases brought to him by the Metropolitan Police Department.

The tentative movement toward a tougher enforcement approach to crime represents a change from the anti-police rhetoric that Rep. Steil blames for the District’s crime surge. He said calls to defund the police became fashionable among liberal politicians in the summer of 2020 after the police killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis.

Mr. Steil cited the massive rewrite to the District’s criminal code, which sought to lower penalties for many violent offenses, as evidence that the policies factored into the decline in public safety.

A bipartisan Congress voted to overturn the criminal code rewrite earlier this year, marking the first time in nearly 30 years that federal lawmakers revoked a D.C. law.

“Crime is so bad in the nation’s capital that even liberal President Joe Biden signed that nullification,” Mr. Steil said. “It shows you how disconnected the policymakers of the city of Washington, D.C., are from the reality on the ground.”