DC mayor and police chief brief House Oversight Committee on rising crime
December 06, 2023 05:46 PM
Washington D.C., Mayor Muriel Bowser and Metropolitan Police Chief Pamela Smith gave a briefing to the House Oversight Committee on Wednesday as crime spikes in the nation’s capital.
The closed-door briefing between a bipartisan group of lawmakers and the Washington leaders was described as “productive” by committee Chairman James Comer (R-KY) in a statement following the meeting on Wednesday.
“Today’s briefing with D.C. Mayor Bowser and Police Chief Smith was a productive and bipartisan discussion about rising crime in the nation’s capital,” Comer said. “The crime statistics alone are shocking. Homicides, property crime, carjackings are all historically high and soft-on-crime measures have only made the situation worse.”
He also pinned the blame for the crime crisis in the District of Columbia on the council and U.S. attorney for the district, saying they “have failed their basic responsibility to keep Americans safe and criminals off the streets.” He also vowed to continue to work to keep Washington “safe and prosperous for all.”
“It’s clear that the local D.C. Council and U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia Matthew Graves have failed their basic responsibility to keep Americans safe and criminals off the streets,” Comer said. “The House Oversight Committee remains committed to fulfilling its constitutional duty to conduct oversight of Washington, D.C. and will continue to explore meaningful steps that Congress can take to help ensure a capital that is safe and prosperous for all.”
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Earlier this year, Congress took the unusual step of blocking a crime bill passed by the D.C. Council that would have softened the punishment for homicide, robberies, and carjackings. Bowser had vetoed the bill, but the council overrode her veto. Both chambers of Congress voted to block the law with bipartisan support, and the bill blocking the new law was signed by President Joe Biden.
Crime in the district has spiked recently — the Metropolitan Police Department reported that violent crime in Washington is up 40% this year compared to 2022 — and all crime is up 27% when compared to last year.