Progressive DC Mayor Muriel Bowser is proposing new legislation that would roll out most of the progressive police reforms passed by the city council following the death of George Floyd in March 2020.
Bowser’s announcement on Monday comes as the nation’s capital faces a surge in violent crime. Critics have long said the reforms make it harder for Metropolitan Police Department officers to enforce public safety.
As well as rejecting liberal reforms, the new proposal would target organized retail theft and the city’s open drug market.
“We need to act now, and we need to send a strong message that violence is not acceptable in our city – and the public perception that you can commit a brazen crime and get away with it needs to stop,” the mayor said. said at a press conference Monday.
“This legislation will change that.”
“We need to have a policy environment that allows us to recruit and retain officers, and not lose our officers to surrounding jurisdictions because our policy environment makes them afraid to do their jobs,” he added.
Washington, DC Mayor Muriel Bowser announced legislation that would scale back sweeping police reforms passed after the death of George Floyd. CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images
Bowser’s proposal — dubbed the Addressing Crime Trends Now bill, or ACT Now — would specifically clarify or amend parts of the Comprehensive Policing and Justice Amendment Act, a progressive reform approved by city officials in December, according to Bloomberg.
The ACT Now bill would limit the circumstances in which information about officers’ disciplinary actions is disclosed to the public, for example, negating a provision of the police reform bill that created a database of police disciplinary files eligible for open records requests.
Another provision of the bill would clarify the legal definition of choke hold, which the Metropolitan police say is so broad that even “intentional” police contact with a suspect’s neck during an arrest is considered a serious use of force.
It would also allow police officers to view body-worn camera footage before they write their police reports – which officers say could protect them from creating any inconsistencies that could be used against them in court.
Mayor Bowser said he thinks police reform is “well-intentioned” but makes communities “less safe.” CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images Bowser’s proposal — dubbed the Addressing Crime Trends Now, or ACT Now bill — would specifically clarify or amend parts of the Comprehensive Policing and Justice Amendment Act, a progressive reform approved by city officials in December .CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images
Additionally, language in the bill would specify use-of-force incidents that would require the release of body-worn camera footage to the public, and would amend city restrictions on vehicular pursuits — allowing officers to once again engage in a pursuit if they believe someone has commit a crime and pose a definite threat to others, and if they believe the pursuit will not harm others, according to DCist.
Speaking about the police reforms that this law seeks to undo, Bower said the changes “are not commensurate with the day-to-day practice of safe and effective policing.”
“I think they mean well, and all of us in the wake of the killing of George Floyd want to make sure we do everything possible to make sure we have safe and constitutional police reform,” he said.
But, he added, “I think some reforms have made our community less safe.”
Bowser went on to describe the proposed rules as “common sense” as he seeks to crack down on open drug markets and organized retail theft.
The bill aims to target organized retail theft and open 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 place or demonstration with the intent to engage in criminal activity, and make it a crime to collect goods worth more than $1,000 or steal 10 or more goods. worth at least $250 within 30 days.
It also spells first-degree punishment for fencing stolen goods or engaging in counter-fraud, while also creating a new crime for organizing retail theft punishable by up to 15 years in prison.
The ACT Now bill would also restore the war on drugs era police chief’s power to declare areas drug-free zones.
Drug-free zones will be determined based on Metropolitan Police Department surveillance data, as well as concerns from community members.
A similar law was repealed in the city in 2014 over concerns it might be unconstitutional. The repeal was supported by then-Councilman Bowser.
Bowser’s proposal would restore the war on drug-era police chiefs’ power to declare areas drug-free zones — which he previously voted to repeal. CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images
He declined to say why he voted for the repeal and why he changed his mind now, according to the Washington Post.
Instead, he simply said: “Part of the reason we’re calling this Tackle Crime Trends Now is because we want to blunt the trends that we’ve seen in open drug dealing that we’ve stopped in the city, and we don’t want that problem to multiply.”
Council Chairman Phil Mendelson, another Democrat, said he was “disappointed” in the proposal.
“Residents are concerned about gun violence, robberies, and carjackings,” he told the Washington Post. “This proposal does not address gun violence, robbery, and carjacking.
“Instead, it comes up with ‘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 the drug transactions they witness in public spaces,” he said at the press conference.
“This serves as another tool for our MPD officers to deal with drug-related crimes on our county’s streets and protect the public from the dangers” associated with dealing.
Homicides in DC have hit their highest rate in more than 20 years in just the first six months of the year, and the number of carjackings committed in the city surpassed 800 this weekend — a 108% increase over the same time last year.
The city’s non-vehicle thefts are up 22% compared to the same time last year but remain below what the city experienced before the pandemic in 2018 and 2019, and the number of burglaries is about the same as last year — as it remains below pre-pandemic levels. -pandemic.
Overall, violent crime increased 41%.
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Source: thtrangdai.edu.vn/en/
