Progressive DC Mayor Muriel Bowser proposed new legislation that would repeal much of the progressive policing reforms passed by the City Council following the death of George Floyd in March 2020.
Bowser’s announcement Monday came as the nation’s capital faces a rise in violent crime. Critics have long said the reforms made it harder for Metropolitan Police Department officers to enforce public safety.
In addition to rejecting liberal reforms, the new proposal would target organized retail theft and open-air drug markets in the city.
“We need to act now and send a strong message that violence is not acceptable in our city, and this perception that people have that you can commit a blatant crime and get away with it has to end,” the mayor said. he said at a press conference on Monday.
“This legislation will change that.”
“We have to have a political environment that allows us to recruit and retain officials, and not lose them to surrounding jurisdictions because our political environment makes them afraid to do their jobs,” he added.
Washington, DC, Mayor Muriel Bowser announced legislation that would scale back wide-ranging police reforms passed following the death of George Floyd.CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images
Bowser’s proposal, called the Addressing Crime Trends Now, or ACT Now, bill, would specifically clarify or amend parts of the Comprehensive Justice and Policing Amendment Act, a progressive reform approved by city officials in December, according to Bloomberg .
The ACT Now bill would limit the circumstances under which information about officer disciplinary actions is disclosed to the public, for example by denying a provision in the police reform bill that created a database of police disciplinary records. police who were eligible for open records requests.
Another provision of the bill would clarify the law’s definition of chokeholds, which Metro Police said was so broad that even “incidental” police contact with a suspect’s neck during an arrest was considered a serious use of force.
It would also allow police officers to view body camera footage before writing their police report, which officers say can protect them from creating inconsistencies that could be used against them in court.
Mayor Bowser said she thought the police reforms were “well-intentioned” but made communities “less safe.” CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images Bowser’s proposal, called the Addressing Crime Trends Now or ACT Now bill, specifically clarify or modify parts of the Comprehensive Justice and Policing Amendment Act, a progressive reform approved by officials of the city in December. CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images
Additionally, the bill’s text would specify which use-of-force incidents require the public release of body camera footage and would amend the city’s restrictions on vehicle pursuits, allowing officers to once again engage in a pursuit if believe a person has committed a crime and poses an imminent threat to others, and whether they believe persecution would not endanger others, according to DCist.
Speaking of the police reforms this legislation seeks to undo, Bower said the changes “are inconsistent with the daily practice of safe and effective policing.”
“I think they had good intentions, and all of us, after the murder of George Floyd, wanted to make sure that we were doing everything we could to ensure that we had safe and constitutional police reform,” he said.
But he added: “I think some of the reforms have made our communities less safe.”
Bowser went on to describe the suggested rules as “just common sense” as he seeks to crack down on open-air drug markets and organized retail robberies.
The bill seeks to combat organized retail theft and open-air drug markets in the city. CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images
The new bill would make it illegal for anyone over the age of 16 to wear a mask in a public area or demonstration with the intent to engage in criminal activity, and would make it a felony to shoplift more than $1,000 worth of merchandise or steal 10 or more articles. worth at least $250 over the course of 30 days.
It also establishes first-degree penalties for harboring stolen property or engaging in return fraud, while creating a new crime for organizing retail theft, punishable by up to 15 years in prison.
The ACT Now bill would also restore the drug war-era police chief’s authority to declare an area a drug-free zone.
Drug-free zones would be determined based on surveillance data from the Metropolitan Police Department as well as concerns from community members.
A similar law was repealed in the city in 2014 over fears it was unconstitutional. The repeal was supported by then-Councilman Bowser.
Bowser’s proposal would restore the drug war-era police chief’s authority to declare a drug-free area, something she had previously voted to repeal. CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images
He declined to say why he voted for repeal then and why he is changing his mind now, according to the Washington Post.
Instead, he simply said, “Part of the reason we call this Addressing Crime Trends Now is that we want to mitigate a trend that we see in open-air drug dealing that we have all but silenced in the city, and we do not want that problem to proliferate.”
Council President Phil Mendelson, another Democrat, said he was “disappointed” with the proposal.
“Residents are concerned about gun violence, robberies and vehicle thefts,” he told the Washington Post. “This proposal does not address gun violence, robberies and vehicle thefts.
“Instead, he brings up ‘solutions’ like recreating drug-free zones.”
But Acting Police Chief Pamela A. Smith said the proposal is a step in the right direction.
Acting Police Chief Pamela A. Smith said the proposal is a step in the right direction. CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images
“Residents have very real complaints about drug transactions they witness in public spaces,” he said at the news conference.
“This serves as another tool for our MPD officers to address drug-related crimes on the streets of our district and protect the public from the dangers” associated with trafficking.
Homicides in D.C. have reached their highest rate in more than 20 years in just the first six months of this year, and the number of vehicle thefts committed in the city surpassed 800 this weekend, a 108% increase over to the same period last year.
Thefts in the city that do not involve vehicles increased 22% compared to the same period last year, but remained below what the city experienced before the pandemic in 2018 and 2019, and the number of thefts is approximately the same as last year. since it remains below pre-pandemic levels.
Overall, violent crime has increased by 41%.
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Source: vtt.edu.vn