The D.C. Council approved three emergency crime bills Tuesday. Here’s what to know about what those bills are expected to do.
The Council voted 12-1 in favor of the most controversial bill: Mayor Muriel Bowser’s proposal to make it easier for judges to hold adults and juveniles charged with violent crimes until their trial.
Council member Brooke Pinto, who sponsored the changes, told the Council that 30 of the suspects or victims of murders in D.C. last year were out of jail awaiting trial, which is one of the reasons she says judges need more tools to keep people charged with violent crimes in jail.
Last fiscal year in D.C. courts, almost 2,000 adults were charged with a felony. Of them, 701 were released prior to trial, and 374 more were released at some point later. The agency in charge couldn't say how many of those released were accused of violent crimes, but it did say that almost none of them were charged with new crimes before their trials.
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Council member Janeese Lewis George was the lone vote against the bill.
“I was raising a concern that on an emergency basis, changing a legal standard, I think, is problematic for any legislature to do, not just our legislature,” she said. “And when we brought in such a statute when it comes to pretrial detention, there are implications we should be thinking about that 95% of people who are incarcerated and on pretrial are Black residents, and when we have a pretrial basis, it’s because in this country we have a standard — innocent until proven guilty. In order to take away your liberty, you have to meet a high threshold.”
Council members unanimously approved legislation that will give police the ability to engage in pursuits with cars in limited circumstances.
“The department has a pretty strict no-chase policy, and obviously for an urban setting and a major metropolitan city, that's understandable,” Sgt. Val Barnes, the head of D.C.’s carjacking task force, said a few months ago.
“At some point they will be, the offender will be, identified, and we can apply for an arrest warrant for them as opposed to causing greater risk to the citizens that are involved,” she said. But carjackings are up 94% this year, with almost 500 so far; only 107 of them have been solved. Almost all of them involve guns.
The Council also voted to require the 911 call center to publicly report on missed calls, dropped calls and other mistakes at the call center.
Because these bills are emergency legislation, they won't need to go to Capitol Hill for congressional approval, but they will be in effect only for 90 days. They needed nine votes to pass, not the usual seven.
Bowser released a statement late Tuesday afternoon expressing support for the bills, stating in part: "The legislation that the Council passed today will fill gaps in our criminal justice system and, in doing so, will increase accountability for violent and criminal behavior and make our city safer."
The legislation is expected to go into effect within weeks. By law, the Council has to transmit the legislation to the mayor within 10 days. It will go into effect once she signs it. With most of the Council and the mayor on the same page, the process is expected to be fast.
The Council will take up broader, permanent legislation when it returns from recess in the fall.
