Kairi Moss, Jillian Burford | Washington Informer
Mayor Bowser signed the “Secure DC” omnibus bill passed by the DC Council last month. But we already know that this bill will be disastrous for all of Washington, D.C., especially Black and brown residents.
Supporters claim the bill will “make D.C. residents safer and more secure,” but in reality it does nothing to address the root causes of the harm in the first place, instead increasing violence, poverty, and more. , sustaining a cycle of breakdown of community bonds. The omnibus bill calls for increased surveillance, the creation of drug-free zones, and would expand pretrial detention, where people are imprisoned for an indefinite period at significantly higher rates before being tried. This bill sets back decades of national policy reform efforts and efforts to keep our communities safe and whole, and is completely inconsistent with what the “Safe” D.C. bill claims to be. I am.
What's happening in Washington, D.C., is part of a dangerous trend across the country. We have seen a resurgence of egregious crime bills in several jurisdictions across the country. Policy experts have dubbed this phenomenon “zombie laws,” which are ineffective, costly, dangerous to communities of color, and, most importantly, fail to create public safety. there is no. Pour- ing more money into policing without putting money into prevention will not keep us safe.
The Washington, D.C., crime bill and other similar bills would impose new, harsher penalties, deploy thousands of police and surveillance measures in black and brown communities, and force more states to build prisons. It is reminiscent of the 1994 crime bill that encouraged this. Huge injection of federal funds. While it was not the root cause of mass incarceration, it significantly accelerated it, forcing generations of Black and brown families into an endless cycle of state-sanctioned violence and incarceration. Thirty years later, many of these provisions remain in effect, and despite spending billions of dollars each year to enforce these policies, they have done little to create long-term preventive solutions. yeah. Instead, a perpetual moving target will be placed on the backs of black people, and the Washington, D.C., crime bill will do the same.
The bill seeks to expand pretrial detention. When our loved ones are in pretrial detention, they are held under a presumption of guilt for an indeterminate amount of time until they can face a judge, which can destabilize people and their families. There is likely to be. Experts at Harvard University's Malcolm Weimer Center for Social Policy say even one day in prison can have “devastating consequences.” Approximately 750,000 people are detained in prisons across the country every day, which is approximately 100,000 more than the population of our nation's capital. Once in custody, people risk losing wages, jobs, housing, mental and health treatment, and time with their families. Studies have shown that even a few days of pretrial detention increases the likelihood that a person will be rearrested.
This bill also puts people at risk by continuing a misguided and dangerous war on drugs, doing nothing to take drugs off the streets and curbing drug use and subsequent substance use disorder (SUD). I can't do it either. Drug policy is a public health issue and should be treated as such. Many states, including Alabama, Iowa, and Wisconsin, are treating the current fentanyl crisis as “crack 2.0” and reintroducing a series of failed policies that sent millions of people to prisons and jails instead of prioritizing harm reduction. are doing. Instead, we propose a simple solution. It means listening to the voices of affected community members. Through the Decrim Poverty DC Coalition, community members, policy experts, and other stakeholders have formed a campaign to decriminalize drugs and propose comprehensive legislation to do so.
Among the many concerning provisions in the omnibus bill, car chases pose a direct physical threat to community members. In July 2023, NBC4 reported that the D.C. Council approved emergency legislation that would give MPD officers the ability to engage in vehicle pursuits in so-called “limited circumstances.” Sergeant Val Barnes, head of MPD's carjacking task force, expressed concern even months before the decision, saying, “Police have a pretty strict no-pursuit policy, and they are It’s natural that it is, but that’s not surprising.”” If our law enforcement officers themselves are acting with more concern than our elected officials, what happens to the omnibus bill's purported intent to keep us safe? Is it?
And what does it mean that the pursuit itself poses a risk of physical harm? On Saturday, February 10, an Eckington resident had a near-miss when a stolen car plowed into her and her dog on the sidewalk, leading to a chase by Metropolitan Police officers. What responsibility does the city have if this bystander is hit? What does reparations look like? Why do our elected officials force law enforcement officers to do things that are contrary to their own policies?
Just a few summers ago, during the 2020 riots, we saw a shift in the public's view of police, and the highly publicized murders of beloved victims of the drug war, Breonna Taylor and George Floyd. This led to the enactment of legislation aimed at limiting police power. Powers gained by the Police and Crime Bill 1994. Yet here we are. These measures will not keep us safe and will further jeopardize the health of our community. Research shows that communities focused on harm reduction and improving material conditions have a greater impact on public safety and community health. Missing from the mainstream conversation about violent crime is the violence that stems from state institutions and structures that perpetuate racial and class inequality. People in Washington, D.C., have a right to feel safe, and that includes feeling safe from harm by police.
Kairi Moss is a staff attorney at the Advancement Project, a national racial justice and legal organization, and Jillian Burford is a policy organizer at Harriet's Wildest Dreams.
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