DC Council to take first vote on big omnibus legislation tackling crime

Tosin Fakile
·2 min read
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WASHINGTON (DC News Now) — The DC council will get the chance to take the first vote on Tuesday on the Secure DC Omnibus Amendment Act, a large comprehensive crime bill introduced by Councilmember Brooke Pinto.

When Pinto introduced the omnibus legislation she said it would increase crime prevention and strengthen accountability. The package combines provisions from Pinto’s Secure DC Plan — introduced in September 2023 — as well as several provisions including some from Mayor Muriel Bowser’s Safer Stronger Bills.

DC residents debate ACT now crime bill

D.C. leaders said the Secure DC Omnibus Legislative Package will do several things including harsher penalties for gun-related crimes and shoplifting, expand the definition of carjacking to improve how it’s prosecuted, reinstate MPD’s ability to declare drug-free zones in crime hotspots just to name a few.

Some provisions in the Omnibus Act have sparked controversy among some groups.

The legislative package is a response to the rising crime the district saw in 2023. According to police data, violent crime went up about 39% from 2022 to 2023 in the district.

DC Police Chief told DC News Now last week that they’re continuing to work hard to drive crime down and one critical aspect is working with juveniles, and she said passing the Secure DC Omnibus will help.

“It seems to be for almost every report we receive that its usually a juvenile wearing a ski mask. We’ve got to ensure that we pass this legislation for DC secure because that’s going to give us an additional tool in order to address these crimes and we need to make sure there’s some accountability to these young people,” said DC Police Chief Pamela Smith. “We can arrest them all day but there has to be an opportunity for them to be either held accountable for the crimes they’re committing and divert it to a program. If it’s a program, there has to be some accountability behind that.,” she added.

The DC Council’s legislative session starts this week.

The Secure DC Omnibus legislation is expected to pass the first vote on February 6.

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