D.C. Council passes bill to crack down on crime, toughens carjacking, gun penalties

The D.C. Council on Tuesday distanced itself from the soft-on-crime policies behind last year’s crime wave and passed a massive public safety bill aimed at cracking down on street violence.

Council members voted unanimously to pass the Secure D.C. Omnibus Amendment Act, which targets carjackings and shootings. The crimes raised rates of violence and motivated residents to seek a recall of two council members.

Brooke Pinto, Ward 2 Democrat and author of the bill, guided the proposal to the finish line almost a year after Congress shot down a major overhaul of the D.C. criminal code over accusations that it was too criminal-friendly.

“Residents have been clamoring for change — for improvements — to public safety in the city,” said Ms. Pinto, who chairs the council’s public safety committee. “Today is a good day. Today is a step in the right direction.”

The bill, which awaits Mayor Muriel Bowser’s likely approval, is set to tackle some offenses at the heart of the crime surge last year.

Council members heralded a broader definition of carjacking as a solution to a problematic legal loophole that disarms prosecutors.

Under current law, a victim has to be physically inside their car and forced out by a perpetrator for the charge to hold up in court.

If the victim is mugged for their car keys while standing near their car, such as at a gas pump or while walking toward their home, the thief could be charged only with armed robbery.

A new felony of “endangerment with a firearm” offense also made the final bill.

The crime bill would more severely penalize people who fire guns in public. Ms. Pinto has argued that shooters can face only charges of reckless endangerment, a misdemeanor, if no one is targeted in a wanton shooting.

The legislation empowers the Metropolitan Police Department to declare a 100-square-foot “drug-free” zone for up to 15 days, an attempt to deter the kinds of drug-related street-corner gatherings that legislators and police leaders say contribute to violent crime.

Violent crime is down 12% so far this year, with sizable drops in homicides and a more modest decline in carjackings.

The bill would make “strangulation” its own felony offense and bring back a penalty for wearing a ski mask while committing a violent crime.

Ringleaders of retail theft crews could get 15 years in prison, though the council approved an amendment to keep the felony theft threshold at $1,000. The bill sought to lower the felony amount to $500.

The final text of the bill included Ms. Pinto’s amended version of her DNA collection provision.

Council members voted last month to remove a stipulation that would let police collect DNA upon arrest. Ms. Pinto won her colleagues’ support by modifying the language to permit DNA collection after charges are filed.

None of the lawmakers tried to salvage the “no bail” powers that the council granted D.C. Superior Court judges on an emergency basis over the summer.

Kenyan McDuffie, at-large independent, passed an amendment during the bill’s first reading last month to have the procedure sunset seven months after the law takes effect.

The temporary law gave judges greater latitude to keep violent adult and juvenile suspects behind bars while they await their trial. D.C. Department of Corrections data showed that the number of inmates increased by more than 300 from July — when the temporary law first took effect — through December.

Council Chairman Phil Mendelson said Monday that he is interested in studying the law’s effect on public safety but expressed confidence that the city would revive the practice if it’s found to be effective.

On Tuesday, Mr. Mendelson reminded the public, and especially the mayor, that the city’s legislative body has held up its end of the bargain when it comes to fighting crime.

“It’s very easy for the mayor to point fingers at the council … instead of, in my view, stepping up with identifying resources that we will fund, with the police, to close cases, and the other areas for law enforcement that are under her control,” Mr. Mendelson said. “I just can’t make that point enough.”

Critics of the city’s leadership have argued that “defund the police” policies after the death of George Floyd have contributed to the crime crisis.

Charles Allen, Ward 6 Democrat, and Brianne Nadeau, Ward 1 Democrat, are facing recall efforts amid criticism that they led the charge to cut police budgets and were too lenient on criminals.

Mr. Allen, who represents Capitol Hill and the H Street Corridor, among other neighborhoods, has drawn the ire of the D.C. Police Union and residents for his calls in 2020 to reduce MPD staffing. The department is at a 50-year low for the number of officers on the street.

Mr. Allen was head of the council’s public safety committee when it passed the eventually doomed criminal code rewrite last year.

Ms. Nadeau, who represents Columbia Heights, Adams Morgan and the U Street Corridor in Northwest, among other neighborhoods, backed the rewritten code and was a vocal supporter of having fewer police in the city.