Washington Mayor Muriel Bowser nominated Pamela Smith to become the District of Columbia's new chief of police on Monday. Former chief of the U.S. Park Police, Smith is a good choice. She's a smart leader who rose up the ranks and is respected by police officers. Smith seems to recognize the deep…
Washington Mayor Muriel Bowser nominated Pamela Smith to become the District of Columbia's new chief of police on Monday. Former chief of the U.S. Park Police, Smith is a good choice. She's a smart leader who rose up the ranks and is respected by police officers. Smith seems to recognize the deep challenge facing Washington as it contends with rising crime.
Unfortunately, Smith will also have to deal with the Council of the District of Columbia's utter disregard for reality and disrespect for the police. The devil is in the data. Violent crime in the nation's capital is up 36% as of this point last year. Robbery rates are up 58%, and homicides are up 18%. Vehicle theft is up 118%. These statistics underline the fundamental problem driving Washington crime: a sense of impunity on the part of far too many habitual offenders.
Unfortunately, U.S. Attorney for Washington Matthew Graves doesn't appear up to the challenge. While his office has faced major workload pressure to prosecute Jan. 6 cases alongside other Washington crimes, Graves has hesitated to prosecute in many other cases. Indeed, Washington failed to prosecute in 67% of all 2022 arrests.First, a 27-year-old biking enthusiast was robbed and shot to death early Saturday morning.
This 911 problem is a familiar one in Washington. The 911 call center's motto might be"We answer the call," but the 911 call center regularly fails to do that. I can speak from personal experience that many 911 dispatchers either come across as rude or incompetent. One Washington police officer once told me that the dispatch center regularly sends officers to the wrong location. Bowser was forced to remove the dispatch center's former chief, Karima Holmes, in December.
Sadly, where Bowser has actually pushed for more police officers and tougher penalties for habitual offenders, the D.C. Council has often taken the opposite approach. Although longtime councilmembers have sought to obfuscate their role in creating the conditions for the crime spree that is now underway, the record is clear.
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