Transcripts For CSPAN2 Hearing 20240703 : vimarsana.com

Friday, january 19th,2024, for information visit our website at student cam. Org. And now, a house panel looks at Violent Crime in washington d. C. , during their remarks, lawmakers talk about elements of prosecution and federal policies, and they hear from victims who share their experiences. The house judiciary subcommittee on crime hearing is about two hours, five minutes. [inaudible conversations] [inaudible conversations] good morning. The judiciary committee, subcommittee on crime is called to order. We thank all of you for being here. Well begin with the pledge of allegiance offered by the gentleman from california, mr. Kylie. Pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of america, and to the republic for which it stands, one nation, under god, indivisible with liberty and justice for all. Thank you, mr. Kylie and thank each of you. Without objection the chair is authorized to declare a recess at anytime. We welcome everyone to the hearing on Violent Crime in the district of columbia. And miss norton will be able to participate to question the witnesses and if a member wants to yield their time, were happy to have ms. Norton visiting with us today. I recognize myself for an Opening Statement. We welcome, again, each of you to who our hearing in the nations capitol and were welcoming our witnesses and the crime were witnessing a few blocks from this place, no place is selfanymore and the man who is in charge of prosecuting Matthew Graves from u. S. District of columbia appointed by President Joe Biden is failing to prosecute criminals. This office has consistently declined to prosecute criminals in the district. And opted of 67 arrests in the d. C. Superior court. To provide, 15,315 arrests made in d. C. , 10,261 did not lead to prosecution. In comparison, in 2015, u. S. Only declined to prosecute 35 of cases which suggests that the office under graves leadership is failing to prosecute crimes and protect the public. In just a few short years the city went from having 65 of cases prosecuted to having 65 of cases dropped. The complete reversal thats had a catastrophic impact on Public Safety. Mr. Graves has indicated that the type of cases he is refusing to prosecutor are primarily illegal gun possession, illegal drug possession cases. Without fail, we can anticipate that my democratic colleagues will call for more gun control, but President Bidens hand picked prosecutor from washington d. C. Refuses to enforce gun laws already on the books. Violent crime rates in washington d. C. Have seen a significant spike this year. Just last week, the district surpassed 200 homicides. The quickest the district has hit this mark at this point in the year this century. As of october 3rd, 2023, Violent Crime is up 38 from the same time last year. For example, october 4th, 2023, mpd davis shows 5700 reported carjackings, of which alarming 75 involved welcomes. Weapons. However juveniles responsible for astonishing 65 of those carjackings. Additionally october 4th year to date statistics from 2023, 16 homicides, 123 cases of sexual abuse, over 200 robberies, 1,110 assaults involving dangerous weapons. As of october 4th, 2023, the district has witnessed 4,105 Violent Crimes and 21,980 property crimes. The criminals know they will not be prosecuted by attorney Matthew Graves, but Matthew Graves is not the only one soft on criminals in washington d. C. Leadership blast the washington d. C. Budget by roughly 15 million in 2021. Washington d. C. City council has passed laws that em bolden criminals and hamstring the police. The d. C. City Council Voted to overhaul the code which reduced the maximum sentence for almost all crimes and mandatories for all, but first degree murder. That was vetoed by the mayor and later overridden. The house and Senate Passed a resolution to prohibit from becoming law and President Biden signed it. In the wake of the may 2020 murder of george floyd the district city Council Passed Police Reform legislation that radically changed policing in the district. Unfortunately, city leadership has not always supported Law Enforcement and that shows up in recruiting and failure to retain officers who theyve spent money training and simply been let go. Today well hear from a former u. S. Assistant attorney, an mpd detective and ways to make this city safe again. At this time i have two articles that im going to enter into the record. One called the d. C. City council failed criminal Justice Reform, and another blue city murder problem admitted to the record without objection. Seeing none. Im now going to show you a short video. Dead will iiest deadliest that d. C. Has seen in de decades. 200 homicides in the district. So far 2023, 12 children have been shot and killed. The murder rate in the district of columbia is skyrocketing. Crime on d. C. Public transit jumped to a horrific rate. All crime up. Murder up, Motor Vehicle theft up 107 . A violent weekend in the district. 2023 is now the third year in a row d. C. Has reached 200 homicides. Police are investigating a series of shootings that include a mass shooting. 16yearold shot and killed and then bullets went flying into two classrooms. Eight people shot and killed in the district in just 72 hours. And the shooting in shaw, two women are dead and a teenage girl is in the hospital. And seeing homicides increase 280 . The vast majority of them are just fine. I thank again the witnesses for being here, i look forward to your testimony. And we appreciate you being here, the members of the audience and members of the committee being here. I yield and recognize the gentle lady from texas, the Ranking Member ms. Jackson lee. Mr. Chairman, thank you for your courtesies and thank you to my colleagues that are here, Ranking Member nadler, congresswoman mcbath, congresswoman dean and were pleased of the district of columbia representative norton is present here today. Making many efforts to hear her voice. Let me be very clear, were in the midst of disarray, we have no speaker and for those who watched democrats caulk walk in, were in a serious caucus meeting and forgive us for any short delay you may have seen, its no offense intended and the first thing to say to those who have been victims of crime, theres no greater responsibility for those of us in congress, for of us and those of us who lead cities to realize that our people, the people there, our greatest responsibility. I want to be a Problem Solver and a crime fighter. And so, having lived here even before i was a member of congress and enjoyed the blessings of being a resident of the district of columbia, working in the district of columbia, i can assure you, i have a great affection for this city, separate and apart from historic responsibility or role as a capital of the United States which i tell all of my Elementary School children how important washington is. I do want to say that we need to be serious about what has happened to you the victims and my colleagues seem to want to exaggerate not your injury and the fear, but the idea that we were also attacked on january 6th, 2021 when there were no voices for my friends on the other side of the aisle about the violence that came into the city. And no interest in voting for the commission that we were trying to put forward. So i want to make sure that when they hearing gets through that we have solutions for you and we either work with federal funds which i know your member is working on, but as i do so, let me be very clear, this is a challenging moment. We embrace victims, we want them to be in essence never victims again, but protected in the status that theyre in. But in the record i must place 10 cities that employ the most Police Officers per capita in 2022, washington d. C. , 542. 91 per 100,000, doesnt need residents, doesnt mean not more are needed. It means we need to Work Together. The 10 cities that spent the most on policing per resident 2022, washington d. C. Number one, 751. 62 per person. So we need to find a way to get to the core of the violence, the violent criminals are off the streets. The up tick in crime is not only concerning not only for residents who call the city home, but the cities that bear the brunt of the most violence, but experience rich history, culture, its warmth and important political institutions. Thats why i hope we have a genuine discussion today that focuses on solutions. We cant win by finger pointing. Were in the midst of finger pointing now and we have no speaker. It is essential that congress prioritize the safety and security of those who live, work, and visit the district by ensuring that federal government, we must do our part. Im a big believer in federal resources matching local resources for your safety. The district of columbia is unique in many ways and one of them is the complex relationship it shares with the federal government. While its status as the Nations Capital brings many benefits, it brings challenges. Were here every day as guests and an extra burden. A multifacetted approach includes passing emergency legislation supported by the mayor that filled in gap and pretrial detention for violent criminals. Holding more criminals now, bolstering Law Enforcement programs and recruitment, implementing policing and instituting a juvenile curfew in certain hot spots and we know we have to work with juveniles. We know theyre in the midst of juveniles Going Forward into the 20s are those who are in the mix and those in the late 20s are the ones that mostly the gun violence incidents. We understand that. Enhancing cttv cameras and Crime Prevention strategies, youth programs, education, Job Opportunities for at risk individuals. It doesnt help you to say that there is a crime wave across america, every city has to take responsibility and i realize that because people are in pain. But the districts response to any type of crime, whether violent or not, can be complicated by overlapping jurisdictions, and responsibilities between local and federal Law Enforcement. I want to find a smoother way of finding that Common Ground that they can Work Together along with your distinguished member of congress. We know that the federal governments presence in the district providing unique collaboration creates challenges. Despite the obvious need for agencies from both governments that Work Together and share information vital to Public Safety. Like the identity of an individual suspected of multiple robberies, communication between the two agencies or entities can be stymied by legal red tape. Lets stop that. Its crucial for congress to assure coordination and communication between the multiple agencies that possess jurisdictions over different areas of the criminal Justice System. I hope our Witnesses Today will offer solutions, establish greater coordination and cooperation between the local and federal Law Enforcement and consider the resources required for Violent Crime. Get the violent criminals off the street is what we all should collectively want to do. And helping those who can get out of the criminal minds, get them away from this and you wont see them again. Lets not eliminate that opportunity. Lets deal with Mental Health services that may also be engaged. The local and federal governments must allocate sufficient funding and resources for Law Enforcement agencies and Community Initiatives and as they perceive the local government, the need for additional Law Enforcement officers. Public safety. Helping to strengthen the violent institutions will support the ability to underline Violent Crime. I spoke with the u. S. Attorney for the district of columbia. Matthew graves. Who lives in the district, loves this city, and will have the same impact on him as any other person that may be subject to the acts of a violent criminal. He is using every tool that he has available to address Violent Crime, including carjackings, robberies, as well as a flow of illegal guns in the city, in states from virginia and georgia. I did not hold up on the inquisition i gave of him yesterday in a very lengthy conversation. He assured me that they are at a point where 90 of the individuals arrested for the most serious Violent Crimes, which are homicides, carjacking, rape and assault with intent to kill, are being prosecuted. Also noted a significant a decline rate of 70 ,s working to get rid of that number and to prosecute cases. So theres a stitching together and a work, but we must do a lot to help move forward the crime lab, get it on its feet and get it where its moving cases forward. We can be helpful in that and i hope the congresswoman will allow us to be helpful or to instruct us how best to do that. As democrats continue to offer solution after solution, to make all American Community safer to work, it is important that we rid the streets of illegal firearms. Lets not make light of that. Hold offenders accountable, address the root cause of violence and addiction and republicans have yet to join us on all of these issues. We cant just point the finger, weve got to work on all of them. The surge in Violent Crime in the district is a problem. I want to hug every victim, but i would like to say i dont want you to be a victim. I dont want victims in houston, texas. I want to make sure that we get to this point that we live safely in the nation in our communities so we can establish stronger partnerships, sharing information, and as well, making sure that we are together as not only washingtonians that we are now, but as americans. Chairman, im yielding a second to congresswoman hughes norton, yielding a moment on the record. Youre going to yield here. She will be given time. She will be yielded, i want to make sure. Thank you, chairman, Ranking Member nadler, by establishing this ability to Work Together, my goal here is to sit here and listen to you with respect and my mind will be calculating how we continue to work with you, your mayor, your Law Enforcement, your washingtonians, your excellent member of congress, and the federal government to do what were supposed to do, which is to ensure the National Safety of the American People. With that, i yield. Thank you, gentle lady. Without objection, the gentleman from maryland, mr. Ivy, will be able to participate in todays hearing to question witnesses if a member yields him time for that purpose. The chair now recognizes the chairman of the full committee, will jordan, for his Opening Statement. I thank the chairman, crime is out of control and Everybody Knows it, and more importantly, Everybody Knows why. When you defund the police and have prosecutors that go soft on crime you get more crime. It doesnt take a genius to figure this out. Weve done field hearings in new york, in chicago, everyone tells us the same thing. When you disparage the good men and women who put on the uniform and risk their lives in the street you also get a shortage of Police Officers and more crime. Never forget, bad guys arent stupid, theyre just bad. If they know theres less police on the street to stop them and theyre not going to get prosecuted if they get caught, they do bad things. Thats what we all have got to understand. This is as basic as it gets. I want to thank our witnesses for being here and thank the chairman for this hearing. Weve heard this in new york, chicago, and were going to other cities. We have to change this. We have to begin to say to our Law Enforcement, thank you, thank you for doing a tough job. Thats what is at stake here. Mr. Chairman, i thank you again for this hearing and our witnesses for being here today. And i yield back. I thank the gentleman from mr. Chairman from yielding back. Recognize the Ranking Member for the full committee mr. Nadler for his Opening Statement. Thank you, mr. Chairman. Mr. Chairman, no one should be afraid in their own community, no one should be afraid to walk to school or the Neighborhood Park going to work. And i want to thank our impacted witnesses for appearing today and sharing their story. The covid19 exacerbated Violent Crime bike poverty and joblessness and left many young people without daily structure and mentors to help them succeed. While some cities have largely recovered from the effects of the pandemic, washington d. C. Has more work to do for Violent Crime<\/a> in washington d. C. , during their remarks, lawmakers talk about elements of prosecution and federal policies, and they hear from victims who share their experiences. The house judiciary subcommittee on crime hearing is about two hours, five minutes. [inaudible conversations] [inaudible conversations] good morning. The judiciary committee, subcommittee on crime is called to order. We thank all of you for being here. Well begin with the pledge of allegiance offered by the gentleman from california, mr. Kylie. Pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States<\/a> of america, and to the republic for which it stands, one nation, under god, indivisible with liberty and justice for all. Thank you, mr. Kylie and thank each of you. Without objection the chair is authorized to declare a recess at anytime. We welcome everyone to the hearing on Violent Crime<\/a> in the district of columbia. And miss norton will be able to participate to question the witnesses and if a member wants to yield their time, were happy to have ms. Norton visiting with us today. I recognize myself for an Opening Statement<\/a>. We welcome, again, each of you to who our hearing in the nations capitol and were welcoming our witnesses and the crime were witnessing a few blocks from this place, no place is selfanymore and the man who is in charge of prosecuting Matthew Graves<\/a> from u. S. District of columbia appointed by President Joe Biden<\/a> is failing to prosecute criminals. This office has consistently declined to prosecute criminals in the district. And opted of 67 arrests in the d. C. Superior court. To provide, 15,315 arrests made in d. C. , 10,261 did not lead to prosecution. In comparison, in 2015, u. S. Only declined to prosecute 35 of cases which suggests that the office under graves leadership is failing to prosecute crimes and protect the public. In just a few short years the city went from having 65 of cases prosecuted to having 65 of cases dropped. The complete reversal thats had a catastrophic impact on Public Safety<\/a>. Mr. Graves has indicated that the type of cases he is refusing to prosecutor are primarily illegal gun possession, illegal drug possession cases. Without fail, we can anticipate that my democratic colleagues will call for more gun control, but President Biden<\/a>s hand picked prosecutor from washington d. C. Refuses to enforce gun laws already on the books. Violent crime rates in washington d. C. Have seen a significant spike this year. Just last week, the district surpassed 200 homicides. The quickest the district has hit this mark at this point in the year this century. As of october 3rd, 2023, Violent Crime<\/a> is up 38 from the same time last year. For example, october 4th, 2023, mpd davis shows 5700 reported carjackings, of which alarming 75 involved welcomes. Weapons. However juveniles responsible for astonishing 65 of those carjackings. Additionally october 4th year to date statistics from 2023, 16 homicides, 123 cases of sexual abuse, over 200 robberies, 1,110 assaults involving dangerous weapons. As of october 4th, 2023, the district has witnessed 4,105 Violent Crime<\/a>s and 21,980 property crimes. The criminals know they will not be prosecuted by attorney Matthew Graves<\/a>, but Matthew Graves<\/a> is not the only one soft on criminals in washington d. C. Leadership blast the washington d. C. Budget by roughly 15 million in 2021. Washington d. C. City council has passed laws that em bolden criminals and hamstring the police. The d. C. City Council Voted<\/a> to overhaul the code which reduced the maximum sentence for almost all crimes and mandatories for all, but first degree murder. That was vetoed by the mayor and later overridden. The house and Senate Passed<\/a> a resolution to prohibit from becoming law and President Biden<\/a> signed it. In the wake of the may 2020 murder of george floyd the district city Council Passed<\/a> Police Reform<\/a> legislation that radically changed policing in the district. Unfortunately, city leadership has not always supported Law Enforcement<\/a> and that shows up in recruiting and failure to retain officers who theyve spent money training and simply been let go. Today well hear from a former u. S. Assistant attorney, an mpd detective and ways to make this city safe again. At this time i have two articles that im going to enter into the record. One called the d. C. City council failed criminal Justice Reform<\/a>, and another blue city murder problem admitted to the record without objection. Seeing none. Im now going to show you a short video. Dead will iiest deadliest that d. C. Has seen in de decades. 200 homicides in the district. So far 2023, 12 children have been shot and killed. The murder rate in the district of columbia is skyrocketing. Crime on d. C. Public transit jumped to a horrific rate. All crime up. Murder up, Motor Vehicle<\/a> theft up 107 . A violent weekend in the district. 2023 is now the third year in a row d. C. Has reached 200 homicides. Police are investigating a series of shootings that include a mass shooting. 16yearold shot and killed and then bullets went flying into two classrooms. Eight people shot and killed in the district in just 72 hours. And the shooting in shaw, two women are dead and a teenage girl is in the hospital. And seeing homicides increase 280 . The vast majority of them are just fine. I thank again the witnesses for being here, i look forward to your testimony. And we appreciate you being here, the members of the audience and members of the committee being here. I yield and recognize the gentle lady from texas, the Ranking Member<\/a> ms. Jackson lee. Mr. Chairman, thank you for your courtesies and thank you to my colleagues that are here, Ranking Member<\/a> nadler, congresswoman mcbath, congresswoman dean and were pleased of the district of columbia representative norton is present here today. Making many efforts to hear her voice. Let me be very clear, were in the midst of disarray, we have no speaker and for those who watched democrats caulk walk in, were in a serious caucus meeting and forgive us for any short delay you may have seen, its no offense intended and the first thing to say to those who have been victims of crime, theres no greater responsibility for those of us in congress, for of us and those of us who lead cities to realize that our people, the people there, our greatest responsibility. I want to be a Problem Solver<\/a> and a crime fighter. And so, having lived here even before i was a member of congress and enjoyed the blessings of being a resident of the district of columbia, working in the district of columbia, i can assure you, i have a great affection for this city, separate and apart from historic responsibility or role as a capital of the United States<\/a> which i tell all of my Elementary School<\/a> children how important washington is. I do want to say that we need to be serious about what has happened to you the victims and my colleagues seem to want to exaggerate not your injury and the fear, but the idea that we were also attacked on january 6th, 2021 when there were no voices for my friends on the other side of the aisle about the violence that came into the city. And no interest in voting for the commission that we were trying to put forward. So i want to make sure that when they hearing gets through that we have solutions for you and we either work with federal funds which i know your member is working on, but as i do so, let me be very clear, this is a challenging moment. We embrace victims, we want them to be in essence never victims again, but protected in the status that theyre in. But in the record i must place 10 cities that employ the most Police Officers<\/a> per capita in 2022, washington d. C. , 542. 91 per 100,000, doesnt need residents, doesnt mean not more are needed. It means we need to Work Together<\/a>. The 10 cities that spent the most on policing per resident 2022, washington d. C. Number one, 751. 62 per person. So we need to find a way to get to the core of the violence, the violent criminals are off the streets. The up tick in crime is not only concerning not only for residents who call the city home, but the cities that bear the brunt of the most violence, but experience rich history, culture, its warmth and important political institutions. Thats why i hope we have a genuine discussion today that focuses on solutions. We cant win by finger pointing. Were in the midst of finger pointing now and we have no speaker. It is essential that congress prioritize the safety and security of those who live, work, and visit the district by ensuring that federal government, we must do our part. Im a big believer in federal resources matching local resources for your safety. The district of columbia is unique in many ways and one of them is the complex relationship it shares with the federal government. While its status as the Nations Capital<\/a> brings many benefits, it brings challenges. Were here every day as guests and an extra burden. A multifacetted approach includes passing emergency legislation supported by the mayor that filled in gap and pretrial detention for violent criminals. Holding more criminals now, bolstering Law Enforcement<\/a> programs and recruitment, implementing policing and instituting a juvenile curfew in certain hot spots and we know we have to work with juveniles. We know theyre in the midst of juveniles Going Forward<\/a> into the 20s are those who are in the mix and those in the late 20s are the ones that mostly the gun violence incidents. We understand that. Enhancing cttv cameras and Crime Prevention<\/a> strategies, youth programs, education, Job Opportunities<\/a> for at risk individuals. It doesnt help you to say that there is a crime wave across america, every city has to take responsibility and i realize that because people are in pain. But the districts response to any type of crime, whether violent or not, can be complicated by overlapping jurisdictions, and responsibilities between local and federal Law Enforcement<\/a>. I want to find a smoother way of finding that Common Ground<\/a> that they can Work Together<\/a> along with your distinguished member of congress. We know that the federal governments presence in the district providing unique collaboration creates challenges. Despite the obvious need for agencies from both governments that Work Together<\/a> and share information vital to Public Safety<\/a>. Like the identity of an individual suspected of multiple robberies, communication between the two agencies or entities can be stymied by legal red tape. Lets stop that. Its crucial for congress to assure coordination and communication between the multiple agencies that possess jurisdictions over different areas of the criminal Justice System<\/a>. I hope our Witnesses Today<\/a> will offer solutions, establish greater coordination and cooperation between the local and federal Law Enforcement<\/a> and consider the resources required for Violent Crime<\/a>. Get the violent criminals off the street is what we all should collectively want to do. And helping those who can get out of the criminal minds, get them away from this and you wont see them again. Lets not eliminate that opportunity. Lets deal with Mental Health<\/a> services that may also be engaged. The local and federal governments must allocate sufficient funding and resources for Law Enforcement<\/a> agencies and Community Initiatives<\/a> and as they perceive the local government, the need for additional Law Enforcement<\/a> officers. Public safety. Helping to strengthen the violent institutions will support the ability to underline Violent Crime<\/a>. I spoke with the u. S. Attorney for the district of columbia. Matthew graves. Who lives in the district, loves this city, and will have the same impact on him as any other person that may be subject to the acts of a violent criminal. He is using every tool that he has available to address Violent Crime<\/a>, including carjackings, robberies, as well as a flow of illegal guns in the city, in states from virginia and georgia. I did not hold up on the inquisition i gave of him yesterday in a very lengthy conversation. He assured me that they are at a point where 90 of the individuals arrested for the most serious Violent Crime<\/a>s, which are homicides, carjacking, rape and assault with intent to kill, are being prosecuted. Also noted a significant a decline rate of 70 ,s working to get rid of that number and to prosecute cases. So theres a stitching together and a work, but we must do a lot to help move forward the crime lab, get it on its feet and get it where its moving cases forward. We can be helpful in that and i hope the congresswoman will allow us to be helpful or to instruct us how best to do that. As democrats continue to offer solution after solution, to make all American Community<\/a> safer to work, it is important that we rid the streets of illegal firearms. Lets not make light of that. Hold offenders accountable, address the root cause of violence and addiction and republicans have yet to join us on all of these issues. We cant just point the finger, weve got to work on all of them. The surge in Violent Crime<\/a> in the district is a problem. I want to hug every victim, but i would like to say i dont want you to be a victim. I dont want victims in houston, texas. I want to make sure that we get to this point that we live safely in the nation in our communities so we can establish stronger partnerships, sharing information, and as well, making sure that we are together as not only washingtonians that we are now, but as americans. Chairman, im yielding a second to congresswoman hughes norton, yielding a moment on the record. Youre going to yield here. She will be given time. She will be yielded, i want to make sure. Thank you, chairman, Ranking Member<\/a> nadler, by establishing this ability to Work Together<\/a>, my goal here is to sit here and listen to you with respect and my mind will be calculating how we continue to work with you, your mayor, your Law Enforcement<\/a>, your washingtonians, your excellent member of congress, and the federal government to do what were supposed to do, which is to ensure the National Safety<\/a> of the American People<\/a>. With that, i yield. Thank you, gentle lady. Without objection, the gentleman from maryland, mr. Ivy, will be able to participate in todays hearing to question witnesses if a member yields him time for that purpose. The chair now recognizes the chairman of the full committee, will jordan, for his Opening Statement<\/a>. I thank the chairman, crime is out of control and Everybody Knows<\/a> it, and more importantly, Everybody Knows<\/a> why. When you defund the police and have prosecutors that go soft on crime you get more crime. It doesnt take a genius to figure this out. Weve done field hearings in new york, in chicago, everyone tells us the same thing. When you disparage the good men and women who put on the uniform and risk their lives in the street you also get a shortage of Police Officers<\/a> and more crime. Never forget, bad guys arent stupid, theyre just bad. If they know theres less police on the street to stop them and theyre not going to get prosecuted if they get caught, they do bad things. Thats what we all have got to understand. This is as basic as it gets. I want to thank our witnesses for being here and thank the chairman for this hearing. Weve heard this in new york, chicago, and were going to other cities. We have to change this. We have to begin to say to our Law Enforcement<\/a>, thank you, thank you for doing a tough job. Thats what is at stake here. Mr. Chairman, i thank you again for this hearing and our witnesses for being here today. And i yield back. I thank the gentleman from mr. Chairman from yielding back. Recognize the Ranking Member<\/a> for the full committee mr. Nadler for his Opening Statement<\/a>. Thank you, mr. Chairman. Mr. Chairman, no one should be afraid in their own community, no one should be afraid to walk to school or the Neighborhood Park<\/a> going to work. And i want to thank our impacted witnesses for appearing today and sharing their story. The covid19 exacerbated Violent Crime<\/a> bike poverty and joblessness and left many young people without daily structure and mentors to help them succeed. While some cities have largely recovered from the effects of the pandemic, washington d. C. Has more work to do for Public Safety<\/a>. Make no mistake, our republican colleagues have not called this hearing to solve problems. They were not looking to solve problems when they called a hearing on manhattan after charging trump with multiple felonies. And days before a potential government shutdown, so, too, today as republicans struggle to elect a new speaker, sending the house into new depths of chaos and dysfunction, this hearing is another attempt to distract and mislead the American People<\/a>. We wont fall for it. The republican majority offers no policy solutions that would actually protect residents of washington d. C. Or other big cities, instead, they seek only to flood these cities were more guns, while they work against meaningful legislation to invest in our communities and support proven Public Safety<\/a> measures. Members under democratic control, the victim act providing 100 million a year to Law Enforcement<\/a> to help solve homicides. But 178 republicans voted against it. Thats 178 republican members who oppose the bill to help prosecute murderers. 55 republicans opposing the invest to protect act, 300 million for grants with Law Enforcement<\/a> agencies with fewer than 125 officers. Now the republicans are in the majority weve not taken the bills back up, but looking to cut funding for dozens of critical grants and Government Services<\/a> for state and local Law Enforcement<\/a>. How is this supposed to impact victims of Violent Crime<\/a> in washington d. C. D. C. Has the highest spending per capita in police in the country and the largest per capita police force, the most offices per resident of any city in the country. So d. C. Is investing in Law Enforcement<\/a> and it will keep investing in Law Enforcement<\/a>, but democrats know that this is just part of the answer. Law enforcement to be effective, it also has to have the trust of the community it serves. Officers have to be able to get tips from Community Members<\/a> to solve crimes. Thats why we supported the George Floyd Justice<\/a> in policing act to fund training, promote accountability and lengthen public trust. 212 House Republicans<\/a>, that is to saw all of them at the time, voted against it. Now, communities have fewer homicides when there are fewer illegal guns and thats why theres straw purchasing in the Safer Communities<\/a> act. Over the objection of 193 republicans who voted against it. And Crime Prevention<\/a> is about much more than Law Enforcement<\/a>. Thats why we passed the break of cycle of violence act, in Community Violence<\/a> and job Training Programs<\/a> 16 to 24 years old. 207 republicans voted against it. Time and time again, democrats have put forth comprehensive Public Safety<\/a> solutions that fund the Law Enforcement<\/a>. Support community partners, provide Job Opportunities<\/a> and combat gun trafficking. Republicans opposed these efforts over and over, instead offering hearing after hearing that serve as nothing more than a press release. These political stunts are not a solution, but theyre all republicans have to offer. And dont forget, that when a violent mob of right wing extremists january 6th following encouragement from donald trump few of our republicans worried about crime on that day. And the d. C. Metropolitan police and police for support, many republicans downplayed what they faced. And when Speaker Pelosi<\/a> brought forward a bill forward to offer them gold medals, some voted against it. And also came up in the chairmans Opening Statement<\/a> this morning, the attacked u. S. Attorney for the district of columbia, Matthew Graves<\/a> for declining to charge 67 of referred to his office in fiscal year 2022, implying that hes soft on crime. What they didnt mention is that the rate of charges for the most serious Violent Crime<\/a>s is much higher. In fact, its 90 . Their misleading statistic, some cases are not resulting in charges, there simply isnt enough evident at the time of arrest to support a charge. U. S. Attorneys office continues to investigate these cases and may bring charges later, but those charges are not reflected in that misleading statistic. Further, some because the victim does not want to press charges and the government does not have enough evidence to proceed without the victims testimony. In any case, the u. S. Attorney is a federal official and if we want him to do more we can give him more resources. That would require real action from a republican majority that cannot even manage the basic functions of government na appears more interested in defunding the fbi, the a. T. F. , and other federal Law Enforcement<\/a> agencies than in Offering Solutions<\/a> to communities that need our help. I look forward to hearing from our witnesses how the Many Solutions<\/a> the democrats have offered can improve Public Safety<\/a> in d. C. And across our nation. Unlike our colleagues, we are ready to act. I yield back. Without action, all of those Opening Statement<\/a>s will be included into the record. I will now introduce todays witnesses. Detective pemberton, thank you for being here. Served as the d. C. Police union, represents more than 3600 officers and has testified before congress previously about the challenges that Police Officers<\/a> face on the job. Are you not retired . Im an active duty detective, sir, thank you. Maybe i got that wrong i think i did get that wrong. I apologize. Ill take you up on being retired. I apologize, detective. Mr. Jablonski, developers focus bar washington d. C. June he was robbed in the presence of his son. The prosecutor offered the assailant a plea deal to sentencing. Mr. Soblesky, and robbed in d. C. , and assailant had sentence reduced and went on to rob two additional people. And the director of the Edwin Meese Center<\/a> at Heritage Foundation<\/a> and work focuses on criminal law and armed conflict. Miss richards, july 31st, 2020, assaulted and beaten by two people who called 911 for assistance. One of her attackers cases was dropped and the other was recently sentenced to approximately 60 hours of Community Service<\/a>. Deputy mayor lindsey appiah. For safety and justice in washington d. C. , previously as general counsel and interim director of the d. C. Youth rehabilitation services. And his research focuses on Violent Crime<\/a> and Public Safety<\/a> programs. Thank you each of you for being here today. We look forward to your testimony. Its important and i know, youre going to provide us with some real enlightenment today. Well begin by swearing you in. Would you each please rise and raise your right hand . Do you swear or affirm under penalty of perjury that the testimony youre about to give is true to the best of your knowledge and belief, so help you god . Let the record reflect the witnesses have answered in the affirmative. Please know that your written testimony will be entered into the record in its entirety. And in accordance, if you speak for five minutes and the light will go yellow and youll hear me lightly tap, if you havent wrapped up yet. Well begin with mr. Stimpson first. Youre recognized for five minutes. Chairman biggs, representative lee, and members of the subcommittee, thank you for inviting me to talk this morning. And im from the Heritage Foundation<\/a>, and im testifying to offer solutions. Ive practiced as a criminal defense lawyer, prostate and federal local level in four different jurisdictions and a trial judge in the jag corps. And i was in the d. C. Attorneys office. I was born in the district. Let me start by saying the obvious. Its narrow, but noble to help solve crime, to solve criminal law on the books in a fair manner. Not designed to fix societys ills. We have a murder problem in the city. If d. C. Was a state, would have the highest homicide rate per hundred residents of all states. In my testimony i want to address five quick points. First, the d. C. City councils laws and statements by members of that council have eroded accountability and contributed to the rise of crime across the city. The council has proven themselves incapable of creating a revised criminal code for the district. Their goal was to shrink the system not hold criminals accountable, they had an agenda from the part. Laws so radical they eliminated all, all mandatory sentences for all crimes except for murder. And Public Safety<\/a> in the city, two examples, one, guns, the use of guns by a career felon is a huge problem in this city. Every single day, arrest felon in possession of firearms. Ask mr. Pemberton. But theyd receive a mandatory minimum sentence at least five years, the office instead takes those to d. C. Superior court and often get probation and hardly ever prison time. Thats a policy choice. Another example, the office has a 67 declinenation rate as the chairman mentioned. It was 31 in 2017. And the size of the offices prosecutors exist this san diego. Over a 20year period that office has had a 22. 6 decline rate. San diego doesnt have a crime problem. D. C. Does. Third, the judges of the d. C. Superior court eroded accountability in the criminal Justice System<\/a> by notoriously light sentences across all categories of crime contributing to a culture of lawlessness in our city. D. C. Court of appeals have issued opinions causing restrictions to be placed on Law Enforcement<\/a> authorities and prosecutors that are far beyond the requirements the u. S. Supreme court has in precedent. Fourth, d. C. Attorney Generals Office<\/a> handles juvenile crimes for decades failed holding individuals accountable, murders and carjackings. Most juveniles need and are handled in the juvenile Justice System<\/a>. We need a juvenile Justice System<\/a>, there are crimes, murder, sexual abuse, and other crimes handled in the adult court and congress should strip them from all crimes and give that to the d. C. Office. And the suspension of certificate if ications is emblemamic as a whole. Opened in 2012 at the cost of 2010 million dollars, the crime lab had problems from the beginning. Accreditation suspenses in 2021 and the u. S. Attorneys office had to use other labs. If the lab gets accreditation back next year, theres no guarantee it wont lose it again. Its time to solve the problem and offer a solution. Congress should federalize the lab and give it to the fbi, de a a tf which would handle all dna, fingerprints, firearms and other requests from the d. C. Attorneys office. In conclusion, the crime problem here is a man made problem. Krifl Justice Reform<\/a> is not rocket science. The vast of those are minorities, they deserve to sleep in peace and sleep at night not worried about their kids getting shot and worry about Public Safety<\/a> privilege in their neighborhoods. Thank you for the opportunity to testify and look forward to your questions. Thank you, mr. Stimpson. Mr. Pemberton, to you, and i recognize you for five minutes. Thank you, good morning members of the committee and thank you for the opportunity to testify. As the chairman of the d. C. Police union i speak on behalf of approximately 3,000 sworn Police Officers<\/a>, detectives and sergeants, im a detective grade one and worked for the city for 18 years and take great pride in serving the city. Much of my testimony here will be a reiteration to the testimony i provided to the House Oversight<\/a> committee seven months ago. Since that hearing, the crime rates in district of columbia have only continued to skyrocket and this testimony will relate to Public Safety<\/a>, crime, Law Enforcement<\/a>, more specifically, numerous actions by the d. C. Council to include their rhetoric has resulted in a mass exodus of sworn Law Enforcement<\/a> officers and increase in Violent Crime<\/a>. Beginning in june of 2020, began introducing antipolice legislation designed in their own words to quote, act according toly to bend to the arc of justice. And id like to provide a list of legislation the d. C. Council would enter over the course of the next two years, at Justice Reform<\/a> Amendment Act<\/a>, Accountability Police<\/a> act. Revised criminal Code Amendment<\/a> act. Reducing Law Enforcement<\/a> presence in schools act. Law enforcement cessation act. Law enforcement vehicular pursuit act. School and oversight and accountability act and White Supremacy<\/a> police and prevention act. The rhetoric that Council Members<\/a> use when speaking publicly were nothing short than virulent attacks. And one Public City Council<\/a> stated i know for a fact there are police in the district that are bad actors and going without the proper penance and for the Police Officers<\/a> to receive some kind of retribution. Other Council Members<\/a> bragged about defunding the department or making quote, the biggest reduction to mpd he had ever seen. Without delving into how terrible these amendments are, i can assure that the direct result was a mass exodus of Police Officers<\/a> from the department. To put a finer point on the incident of attrition when i took ahead of the Police Department<\/a> in 2020, 3,626 members of the rank and file. Which is all officers, detectives and sergeants. Our most recent membership report from october 5th of 2023, states we were down to 3,021. A net loss of 605 union members. Since the beginning of 2020, mpd has lost 1,0329 officers more than one third of the department. 501 of those separations, nearly 40 , were resignation is and employees who just walked away from a career with the metropolitan Police Department<\/a>. These dangerously low Police Officer<\/a> Staffing Levels<\/a> take away valuable resources from our assignments and impede the departments ability to engage and speak with victims in a timely manner. While theres much rhetoric around the concept of the number of police and crime, the following facts are indisputable. Crime stats in the district are staggering. Homicides have reached 218, 38 increase. Carjackings reached almost 800, 110 increase. Robberies are up 70 . Violent crime overall is up 40 and all crimes are up 28 . These statistics ive mentioned are city wide. If one parses out the data to the neighborhood level some communities have grown to look like war zones. Over the past three and a half years, our union has been sounding the alarms to anyone within ear shot including the d. C. City council. We tried to inform of the unintended consequences, and ignored. The visitors, your constituents are being targeted and attacked yet the d. C. Council fails to admit they played a role in the outcome. Over three years later weve seen the result of d. C. Councils experiment, the Empirical Data<\/a> is in and we know their efforts have been abject failure resulting of thousands of more victims of crime in the city and lastly, these will not be recognized for some time and in the decades to come. We do not accept the actions that are pushing our officers to leave p. D. , crime will rise and the purpose of my testimony today is to inform the committee on the ongoing issues in the district and assist in any way we can. I thank you for the opportunity to testify and welcome any questions the committee may have. Thank you. Thank you for your testimony. Now, deputy mayor appiah, we recognize you for five minutes. Good morning, chairman biggs, Ranking Member<\/a> jackson lee and members of the committee. I serve for the district of columbia. Appointed by my mayor bowser and serving for the council. And serving the district in that capacity is the honor of my life. Ive worked in district government all of which of Public Safety<\/a> and justice and the department of outrehabilitation service the districts juvenile Justice Agency<\/a> and i want to acknowledge the witnesses and perspectives, including miss richards and mr. Pemberton on behalf of the mayor and residents of the district of columbia, expression gratitude for their service and able to share information on the challenges were facing in the district. Percents and numbers provide critical context, but never lose site every number red on a website is a number. We recognize the harm and trauma many experience and acknowledge our responsibility to respond urgently and vow to make our city safer. And as deputy mayor for safety and justice, i provide, guidance and support and coordination for the agencies and the d. C. National guard, for interagency public initiatives to include the quality of life. The issues are complex. Each plays a Critical Role<\/a> in the Overall Health<\/a> and functioning of our eco system. We call our system an eco system because its a complex interacted system thats dependent upon each part for health and optimal functioning. Our interdependent is around enforcement, accountability c. D. C. Programs, services and strategies aimed at individuals committing Violent Crime<\/a> and include those that lead to high rates of Violent Crime<\/a> in our city. It encompasses our work on providing coordinated wrap around services and connecting our residents in communities that care. Intervention enforcement are primarily Law Enforcement<\/a> strategies led by mpd. Mpd does currently have the lowest force strength since 1999. Were making investments to ensure that mpd can recruit and train officers to enhance our ability to efficiently and effectively solve cases and bring much needed justice for victims in our city. Accountability includes the criminal Justice System<\/a> which we recognize is vital Holding People<\/a> accountability for the future behavior determines. Currently the d. C. Court has 11 judicial vacancies. Our system has many pain and pressure points, but the district is investing significant resources into a multipronged safety investment approach. Law enforcement, reentry and rehabilitation. Another complexity is the uniqueness of the districts criminal Justice System<\/a>. Many of which are not under the authority of the mayor. We need them to not just combat crime, but approach with the belief that we can prevent the next crime and prevent someone else from becoming a victim. Mayor bowser maintained we have to have a policy environment that supports appropriate accountability. In the district were leaders in systemic reform, this is certainly true in the criminal justice space and we lead in pushing bounds of what is possible, to achieve equal justice for all under the law, we can and should be proud of our progress, but we must not be so proud that were unwilling to critically evaluate our form and adjust when theyre leading to harmful outcomes. Which is why in may, the safer and stronger Amendment Act<\/a> of 2023. A common sense set of policy proposals aimed at additional tools across our system to combat crime. The d. C. Council recognized this as prioritizing the public Amendment Act<\/a> which encorporates several from the safer, stronger act. We know more must be done and i he can no what the mayor testified in may. Our Public Safety<\/a> agencies here in d. C. , and across the country need the support of congress. Im happy to answer questions about more ways that congress can help to support all of the efforts that weve described in d. C. Government to actually lower crime in the district. Thank you, deputy mayor. The chair recognizes for five minutes mr. Apt. Chairman biggs, Ranking Member<\/a>s jackson lee and the entire committee. I am in the Violence Reduction<\/a> center or vrc located at university of maryland, college park. Vrcs mission is simple. We aim to save lives by stopping violence. Thank you for the opportunity to speak before you today on Violent Crime<\/a>s in the district of columbia. This issue is personally and professionally important to me, i have live in the district and first exposed to violence while teaching at Roosevelt High School<\/a> where one of my students was shot and killed. I fought crime in consumers in new york city while working as a prosecutor, and government official, recently studied the issue of Violent Crime<\/a> while working in academia. Violent crime in the United States<\/a> should not be a partisan issue. In the wake of the coronavirus pandemic, violence surged around the nation and rose in urban, suburban and rural areas. It rose in red states and in blue states. It rose in cities run by republicans and in those led by democrats. Recently, rates of Violent Crime<\/a> have started to decline, again, theyre decreasing in both red and blue jurisdictions alike, while violence is falling in most cities around the country, that is unfortunately not the case here in the district. As of this past tuesday, Violent Crime<\/a> is up 40 compared with the same time last year and up 30 compared to the same period in 2019 before the pandemic began. Crime has been falling steeply in the district for the past 30 days no one should be satisfied with that. Why is crime rising here while falling nationally. We need to acknowledge that is a complicated question hard to answer with certainty. Nationally, our best answer is that violence surged during the pandemic, due to the pandemic. Unrest following the murder of george floyd and a massive surge in legal gun sales. As we get farther from those factors, violence across the country seems to be slowing. Locally, we need to understand that washington d. C. Is unique. The metropolitan Police Department<\/a> is one of more than 20 Law Enforcement<\/a> agencies operating in the jurisdiction. The prosecution is split between the u. S. Attorneys office and attorney general. And there is no other jurisdiction in the nation thats jointsly administered in this way. If theres one thing i know, after more than 25 years in this field, its this, reducing crime and violence is a team sport. If individual players do not play well together, the team will not succeed. Collaboration is key. Collaborating is hard in any jurisdiction, but it is especially hard here in the district due to its unusual local, federal structure. That is no excuse. The district can and should do better in communicating, collaborating and executing its strategies, its not easy however, and in concrete ways, ill list a few year. Every criminal Justice System<\/a> needs sharing of function. Here in the district, however, the privacy act of 1974 prohibits federal agencies from disclosing critical agencies to local agencies. Congress could amend the fact for the sharing of information. The crime lab will have been without accreditation for three years. The city needs and deserves a first rate lab. Congress could support accreditation by providing funding for the lab. The district as you heard is struggling with numerous vacancies. Congress could apply a 60 day congressional review period, d. C. Nominees and remove the requirement that the senate holds hearings on these nominations. None of these actions are likely to garner headlines, but they would make a difference in terms of safety for d. C. Residents. Theyre all nonpartisan and members of both parties should be able to agree on. More broadly, just over a year and a half ago when rates of Violent Crime<\/a> in the country were at their peak, i urged this committee to put aside partisanship and put ford antiviolence strategies by local communities and local Law Enforcement<\/a> agencies. That funding and those strategies are sorely needed today in the district and around the nation. Then as now, when it comes to Violent Crime<\/a>, its about solving a deadly serious problem. Not winning an abstract argument. Its about emphasizing evidence over ideology. And its about bringing people together not pulling them apart. Thank you. Thank you, mr. Abt for your testimony and now the chair recognizes for five minutes. Thank you, chairman biggs and Ranking Member<\/a> jackson lee for the opportunity to address the subcommittee today. While its been the current d. C. , i would like to honor and recognize my fatherinlaw who was shot and killed in jacksonville, florida, december 4th, 2022. Going to discuss my experience as a victim of Violent Crime<\/a> in the district of columbia. On december 16th, 2020, i made a series of mistakes that almost cost me my life. Some may say its victim blaming, but the reality is crime exists and if youre not careful in violent cities like d. C. , you may end up just as another statistic. Shortly after 5 p. M. On december 16th i left my apartment on 9th street and shaw, just a short walk from the white house. I was headed to get groceries and did not realize i would soon face a loaded barrel. Just as i began walking i noticed a man acting suspiciously. Looking over at me across the block, and i told myself nothing was wrong, and that nothing bad was going to happen to me. After all the, the street was busy, what could go wrong. Turned down the block and headed towards the Grocery Store<\/a> and checked behind and there he was still eyeing me. He followed my direction. Alarmed, i noticed a couple walking just behind me and behind them the wouldbe criminal. I thought to myself dont worry there are people right behind me, its okay. A few moments passed and i look again, and the couples nowhere to be seen and the man is quickly approaching. Before i could think hes next to me asking for money and politely said no, kept walking without realizing he pulled a gun. He stepped in front of me, and said you know what it is, before pressing it against my forehead. Reality set in and i thought i would lose my life to a criminal on street and ill never forget the interaction line by line he told me, do what i say and you aint going to die tonight. All i could hear is youre going to die tonight and that my mom would have to come down to d. C. To identify my body on some cold street in washington d. C. I remember looking into his eyes and seeing no life, no thought, no empathy, just evil. During an entire interaction hes a man after property for me and his finger lay on the trigger and the pistol pointed at my head. I fortunately concealed my phone, and while i was foolish not to hand it over, and i remember his last words, youre not going to die. He stood me up and told me to walk, i did, and after a few steps i could see him run. And i repeatedly told myself, mitchell, you have your phone, call 911. And i hid behind a parked car and who youd want in that situation. The police. Within minutes squad cars lining 10th and n and never forget seeing the lights come and thanking god for the police and a young female officer responded and my life was spared. Trying to remain in five minutes. Note after the arrest in coordinating with the u. S. Attorneys office in d. C. My criminal went to trial and i gladly and passionately wrote a victim impact statement and i pleaded with the judge not to give a lenient sentence as this man would commit worse crimes than what he did to me. The judge proceed today give my criminal 24 months and suspended a year of his sentence because the judge briefed his judgment was still forming. This light sentence was given despite my criminal robbing six victims and two businesses, thats right. One year for multiple armed robberies. Within weeks of my criminals release he would go on to rob two more people, at gun point. And i would only find this out because i was reading the d. C. Weekly arrest. Never be able to eradicate Violent Crime<\/a> completely, but we can take actions to ensure that it happens less frequently. Today, d. C. Has the highest amount of homicides in almost 020 years theyre short 400 Police Officers<\/a> with the average homicide suspect having 11 prior arrests. I implore subcommittees to understand that policing, prosecutors and most importantly incarceration works. It should not be dealt with lightly. How many more do we have to read about preventible tragedies. I look forward to your questions. Thank you for being here. Mr. Jablonski, i understand you have a video. Yes, sir. Well show that video to begin. Is the five minutes running, mr. Chairman . Yes, its running. [inaudible conversations] [inaudible conversations] [inaudible conversations] [inaudible conversations] mr. Jablonski. Thank you. Thank you for inviting me, mr. Chairman. Ranking member lee. As horrific as that video is, what happened after was even worse. He was arrested, we found out he was a door dash driver and no reason why he acted that way, for that reason. Within 10 days of him being arrested, after numerous conversations with the d. A. s office saying i would do anything they needed to to not plea this down. There were numerous eyewitnesses, theres a loaded. 9 millimeter, hard to see there that was pointed at my son. It wasnt loaded one in the chamber, when i knocked it out of his luckily it didnt go off. And they had to take into account their resources and my resources and they would plead this down to attempted assault with a dangerous weapon. And illegal possession of a firearm. When i challenged them as to why they could do that and how would you how does that take into account the endangerment of a minor, i was told d. C. Doesnt have a law for endangerment of a minor. After all of that, i asked, okay, whats the sentencing guidelines youre asking for, 12 to 18 months. I went to the sentencing date. He was released on his own recognizance, basically. Went to the sentencing date and made a victim impact statement and without a doubt in my mind if i didnt do that, his attorney was asking for divergence and he probably would have been released. So out of this entire situation i now have had publicity for my own business because people now are worried that theres somebody on the street Walking Around<\/a> with a gun because its 2 30 in the afternoon, and people are now telling me im hesitating about ordering from door dash, which maybe hurts door dash, but ultimately hurts the Small Businesses<\/a> that support through door dash. On top of everything else, he gets eight months and left with explaining to my 5yearold that why i had to fight this man and my 5yearold tells me when i drop him off at School Every Day<\/a> to be safe i understand im born here been in the industry for 25 years and ive seen the craziest things you can imagine. I, in the last two, three years, the brazenness of the violence acts that are going on in the city, but just around in general have gotten to the point where its ridiculous and now that ive been through the whole process from start to finish, you could enact whatever law you want, we could have a thousand new gun laws. A thousand new Police Officers<\/a>. You could throw millions at this d. A. s office. If nobodys going to do their job and prosecute and hold people accountable, whats the point . Thank you. I look forward to any questions. Chair biggs thank you for your testimony. The chair recognizes ms. Richards for your five minutes. Ms. Richards good morning. My good morning, i name is Aisha Richard<\/a> and im a five dash a firefighter paramedic. Ive been in the fire servicen since 2009 and i began as a volunteer and loved every minute of my duties. My dreamom is to become a firefighter paramedic in the Nations Capital<\/a>. I spent countless hours perfecting my craft in the hopes of being able to serve the citizens of washington, d. C. My hard work finally paid off and i and i was hired on october 16, 2017. When i graduated from the academy i was assigned engine 32 in ward eight. I loved every minute while working in the community and being able to help the citizens in any way that i can. My favorite things to do is to engage with the community and talk with the officers. At times we played basketball together with neighborhood kids when we had some downtime. On july 31, 2020, apartment not responded to a 9 11 call for c19 email in respiratory distress. When i arrived on scene we had to get fully dressed from head to toe in full covid ped before we could enterer the home. In the academy 50 just staying 61 the most important things on a call. As as everybody have to be safe, make sure your partner safe, to ensure proper and safe patient care. Once we entered, we found to maximus and one male and a back bedroom. The female caller was irate and stated we took too long and did not care about covid, and she did not care about covid. The gentleman standing in the corner told her to allow us to do our job. The two subjects thenn began to fight each other. My partner and i did what we were trying to do, which is get out of the house and call at 1033 code to bring police for help. I made it to the landing of the steps, reach for my radio and before i could call the 1033 both of the females jumped over the banister onto the landing and began ton punch and kick me while pulling my hair and holding my head down in place. Naturally making the radio fall down the flight of steps. The man on scene stood holding my partner at the top of the stairs. Two minutes went by before its able to getet free and get my radio to call for help. I suffered a severe concussion and had a laceration above my eye which required stitches. These were the physical wounds that in time healed. However, the mental impact will last a lifetime. Since this event ive h been to the center ofen excellence which is a rehab and Mental Health<\/a> facility for firefighters. I am having to learn now to live with ptsd and still do the job i lovefe without being anxious and fearing for theve the worsty call. To 2020 i felt like mpd response to these routine medical calls more and more. The Police Presence<\/a> was all that was needed to ensure our safety and to make sure citizens were safe and able to get the care without any violent interruptions. I feel safer on the job when a new mpd is either there or just a quick call away. And we as a department are grateful g for them especially when theyre looking out for us on these streets. The amount of assault, violence in shootings in the district are skyrocketing,fe and it makes me feel less safe especially after my incident. Just this week my coworkers can be heard screaming over the radio for a 1033 because an educated patient tried to climb into the drivers compartment may be even trying to steal the incomes. During all of this chaos a gunshot wound victim was dropped off in the same place. This year i received a phone call from the da telling me nothing was going to happen to the two women who assaulted me. I was told one of the women would receive Community Service<\/a> not because of what she did to me but because while in the process of prosecuting her for this crime she picked up additional charges. The other womans charge would be dropped. I lovewe this cd but we need too better and her First Responders<\/a> need to feel safe. The Nations Capital<\/a> is no longer a place for firefighters and ems workers can render care to those in need without worrying of becoming a patient themselves. Several times a month werere on calls running from nearby gunshotsts or having a stage pay into a violent scene because were waiting for Police Officers<\/a> tor respond. When i took the oath, it was sworn in to be a firefighter paramedic in washington, d. C. Ii was fully prepared and aware the possibility of dying in a fire to become a a reality at any moment. However, i did not expect that while helping someone during their most mobile time and need during a medical emergency that the tables could quickly turn on me and i could become a victim of an assault and lose my life trying to save another. In closing, i want to thank you all for this opportunity to share my story in hopes to find a solution to this detrimental uptick in violence in crime we have in the Nations Capital<\/a> and that our firstst responders are being looked out for so we can look out for the citizens of washington, d. C. Who need our help. Thank you for your testimony. The chair recognizes mr. Gates 45 minutes of questions. Are people more or less safe this year compared to last year in washington, d. C. . [inaudible] sorry. Ay i can so with that theyre more laissezfaire i can say i that crime is upp and so long as anyone doesnt feel safe, then thats an issue for us. What higher crime rates be one of the more important indicators as to when that people are more or less safe . It would be an medicator d what enough people feelle more r less safe. Are its somethingt we certainy look at in determining. I dont know. I think people could feel unsafe even if they were safe, but this doesnt seem to be of the delusion, right . The cases of Sexual Assault<\/a> rose 111 over the course of a year. Homicide increased by 38 . Motor vehicle thefts doubled increasing 106 . Instances of arson over 125 , and carjackings by 55 . Why do you think that is . Theres a host of complex reasons why thats the case. You heard some. We talk about our ecosystem. Policy reasons, right softet on crime policy is one reason. With i dont know i o would y soft on crime policies. Theres number of reforms in policy that it made, been made in the district we believe need to be adjusted which is why theres been a p number of proposals from the mayor, legislation passed by the council to take a look at. When we are getting the type of impact that we dont want. I agree with mr. Abt the only way this works is with collaboration. What do you think you would highlight as the main policy change that the mayor has proposed that could put some downward pressure on this rise in Violent Crime<\/a> . Theres a host of proposals the mayor made related to penalty enhancements to align penalties for gun crimes with federal penalties. There is those but theres also those information sharing. Hold on that so with those, the underlying premise there is that enhanced punishment can have a deterrent effect and reduce crime, right . We have so to agree with that yes. Callaghan is important part of crime. On deathly not blaming you for this because its not your job but when we looked at the fact the prosecutor over the d. C. Area has doubled their declinations, like from your standpoint on the front lines in City Government<\/a> do you think that doubling the number of declinations goes in the right direction or the wrong direction . I would say what we believe is that a it mpd has made arress the people need to be held appropriately accountable. We always maintained that. But like it seems like the underlying premise of appropriately accountable is to have penalty enhancements, that is not as if you think people being held to accountable. Its that theyre not being held accountable enough, right . There actually needs to be accountability for those engage in violent crack. I think mr. Richards would probably agree with that. Your testimony was harrowing but it really concern to me that people might not be willing to do these lifesaving critical important jobs like firefighting and ems if they feel like theyre going into a war zone. You gave testimony about what it was likepo to wait on police as youre trying to say peoples lives and help them. Is anything youd like to add to that . I mean, thats the state were in right now. I weight in excess of 20 minutes before, to try to get mpd unseen for a violent call. What do you do for 20 minutes . We stage and would wait because at this point we are no longer going without going to those scenes. Therefore, as citizens that getting treated. They cant have our services because its not safe for us to go in there. That sounds like light orat death to meet the people could actually die it is a dont have enough police to keep even our own First Responder<\/a> safe that want to say peoples lives. Is it, i mean have you been confronted with these typeat of life or death situations where people cant get the care they need because youre waiting for essentially you are waiting for firepower and cover to be able to go help people . Yes, theres been times when you have to wait and like i said i waited in excess of 20 minutes for mpd to arrive on scene. I would observe, mr. Chairman, d. C. Has some of the strongest gun control laws in the country, and increasingly the lawabiding people, the people who want to be helpful, the want to be Good Neighbors<\/a> are constrained by this gun control laws, and yet the violent criminals are putting ms. Richards and all the people what to do the good work she does in graver danger, and that might be Something Worthy<\/a> of some federal review. I yield back. Gentleman just the chair recognizes the Ranking Member<\/a>. At this time i want to yield to the ranking, member of the full committee mr. Nadler who will then yield to the district of columbia congresswoman. Mr. Chairman, this hearing is thate a sears exercise. A republican politician very low interest in the welfare of the people of washington, d. C. This political stunt is further evidence of at. Rather than asking questions myself i would like to you my tongue to the person has dedicated her life to represent the Nations Capital<\/a> and its residents, the gentlewoman from washington, d. C. Come ms. Norton. I just want to just kind of personal clarification. So whose time is mr. Nadler, it is mr. Nadler stunt going to ms. Norton, okay. Ms. Norton you are recognized. Thank you and i think my good friend for yielding. As the only member of congress elected by the nearly 700,000 district of columbia residents i appreciate the opportunity to waive onto this committee for the purposes of this hearing. I am deeply saddened that some of the witnesses for the searing were victims of crime in the district. However, while the federal government controls much of d. C. s criminal Justice System<\/a>, to the extent that this hearing focuses on d. C. s local laws and local government,nt it violates the purposesme of the d. C. Home rule act which is among other things and encoding, grant the inhabitants of the district of columbia powers of local selfgovernment, and relieve the congress of the burden of legislating upon essentially local district matters, end quote. While congress has Constitutional Authority<\/a> to legislate on local d. C. Matters, it does not have a constitutional duty to do so. Instead, legislating on local d. C. Matters is a choice. James madison said and federalist 43 about the residents of the district, and im quoting, a Municipal Legislature<\/a> for the local purposes derived from their own suffrages will be of course be allowed them, end quote. The Supreme Court<\/a> has held that congress may delegate, quote, full legislative power to d. C. On local d. C. Matters. D. C. s localal legislature, the d. C. Council has 13 members. The members are elected by d. C. Residents. If d. C. Residents do not like the laws theik council adopts, they can vote the members out of office. That is called democracy. Congress has 535 voting members. The members are elected by residents of states and none are elected by or accountable to d. C. Residents. If d. C. Residents do not like the Laws Congress<\/a> adopts, they cannot vote thehe members out of office the revolutionary war was fought tot give consent to the governed and in taxation without representation. Yet, d. C. Residents cannot consent to any action taken by congress whether on national or local d. C. Matters, and pay full federal taxes. Indeed, d. C. Residents pay for federal taxes for capita than any state and more local federal taxes than 19 states. D. C. Residents, the majority of whom are black and brown, or capable and worthy of governing themselves. If House Republicans<\/a> cared about democratic principles or local d. C. Residents, they would bring my d. C. Statehood bill which would give d. C. Residents voting representation in congress, and full local selfgovernment to the floor. Congress has the Constitutional Authority<\/a> to admit the state of washington, d. C. Its simply that simply lacks the will. I yield back and i think the chairman. The gentlelady you back. The chair recognizes the german from california mr. Kiley. Thank you, mr. Chairman. We have our y testimony about a culture of lawless, lawlessness in washington, d. C. And how crime rates on absolute be staggering. This of course sadly true in other places across the United States<\/a>, in manhattan and chicago, in San Francisco<\/a> and los angeles. But d. C. As a particularly compelling case study because of the unique nature of the district as a sort of selfcontained jurisdiction. It allows us to really parse the different elements of that culture of lawlessness and how they become mutually reinforcing a way that is cause crime to spiral out of control. And specifically those elements would be the laws, police, prosecutors and judges. Soso starting first with the la, detective pemberton, you represent 3000s were officers officers, is that right . 00 yes, sir thats correct. Thank you for your service and for all of them for the incredibly important and dangerous work that they do on a daily basis. You described in your testimony estate of antipolice legislation such as a comprehensive policing and Justice Reform<\/a> act of 2020, the revised criminal Code Amendment<\/a> act of 2021, the reducing Law Enforcement<\/a> residents in schools act of 2021. How would you summarize overall effect of this legislation on criminal penalties . Its very wide reaching, so the first thing i would point to is thehe Staffing Levels<\/a> and the morale within the Police Department<\/a>. And as i stated in my testimony we are down somewhere in the neighborhood of 500 Police Officers<\/a> from where we were just before this legislation was introduced. The legislation is designed to hamper and hamstring Police Officers<\/a> and make it difficult for them to do their jobs. And in addition to that it exposes into liability if administrative, civil, even criminal penalties even mythic and what do the job properly, responsibly and constitutional. So the one major aspect of that is people believe an agency they dont want todo work under those sort of onerous provisions. But the other part of it is that has a Chilling Effect<\/a> that there are still obviously Police Officers<\/a> will notno let the agey but it now theres a second guessing as to whether or not they want to engage in a positive proactive policing the use engage in which are so effective at keeping these crime rates low. So those are the two major aspects of what has happened. At least in the rankandfile. As you stated in your question, theec effects go into the entire ecosystem as the mayor mitchard are ofe aspect of the criminal Justice System<\/a> is broken in recent it is broken is because of these laws. That answers my next question. You have this lowering the penalties across the board and even more penalties exist,e you still have to get caught to be subject to those penalties and the defunding of police and the antipolice rhetoric from politicians here has decreased that presence, is that right . Thats right. When you talk about this ecosystem of criminal justice the front end of that the intake system is Police Officers<\/a>sy put handcuffs on people who their probable cause to believe the committed a crime. If we are not that a lot of the stuff downstream in the prosecutions, judges, supervision has very little effect because the number of people that are arresting and bringing a a speedy and when o downstream, mr. Simpson used to work for the chief prosecutor, how did the prosecution rates here compared to other jurisdictions . I i worked in four da offices and here this is the highest declination rate of any of those four the offices. Ny as i said a witness testimony testimony in the middle statement take two like sized city da offices in san diego has 330 das, the u. S. Attorneys office has 330 das. As was just mentioned are 700,000 700,000 residents are in the district which is about 2000 and some persons per prosecutor san diego has 3. 2 million residents in the county. So those prosecutors each server about 9000 plus residents. The san diego das office in the last 20 years as 22. 6 declination rate and a 77 issuance rate of charges. San diego doesnt have a crime problem and i would respect we disagree with one of the other witnesses. Crime started going up in 2016 in cities with soft on crime prosecutors. You also testified as to the judges ines the district end a much lighter sentencing and in other jurisdictions as well. At each stage of driven unavailability of serious penalties. You had a limited Police Presence<\/a> because of defunding and other antipolice policies. You have a very high declination rate by theio prosecutor and evn when people are prosecuted for a license is from the judges. That culture of lawlessness has contributed to this jurisdiction have a higher reverberate than peshmerga rate than any other place in the country. I am out of time but a final question detective commerce and i think perhaps the biggest thing we can t do to change a culture of lawlessness is to create a c new level of support for Law Enforcement<\/a> to recruit more folks into the profession to approval gift thoughts and having get . The time of the gentleman has expired but detective pemberton you may respond. Thank you, mr. Chairman. Yes, thats right. These particularly when we talk about these bills passed by the city council of the conference of policing and Justice Reform<\/a> act this is absolutely detrimental to the hiring and attrition rate. Without getting rid of at least some of the provisions within that bill its going to be impossible for us to staff the Police Department<\/a>s at the level that meets the demand thats out there for citizens who are requesting police services. Thank you. The chair recognizes the Ranking Member<\/a>me ms. Jackson lee. Thank you very much, mr. Cha. Let me firstut of all asked to t into the record the information about washington being number one in Police Per Capita<\/a> and the amount of money spent on crime. Without objection. Thank you. Let me again, these stories were horrific, and crime victims, there should be zero tolerance and we all had to come together to make that happen. I am, the mr. Sobolevsky, to watch a little one, i know what that means to you. Thank you for your courage to come today, sir. Thank you, congresswoman. Thank you. Let me try to get our hands around what we need to do. So let me just get right to the heart of things. What is the district and to address Violent Crime<\/a> is what is it district into address carjackings . We discovered ecosystem because its important and soe the district is make investments and all the spaces. The first is prevention. I agree with mr. Pemberton that obviously enforcement is important but to us i have Public Health<\/a> aggregate preventing crime iss the best would have less victims. So that the significant investments made in Violence Intervention Prevention<\/a> which we are grateful for the investments that were made to the American Rescue<\/a> plan act which allowed us to put funds into violence Interruption Services<\/a> and also Victim Service<\/a>s, a host that the disagreement 100 million worth of grants to providers, community but you are not, youre not stopping your police from engaging right on the streets, arresting andg bring in carjackers . . Thats correct. Theres a number ofra policing strategies come all these have to Work Together<\/a>. You are respecting the place for them to do their job. Mayor bowser you will find no mayor who is more supportive of the police then mayor what is a greater chance for the district come dish its ability to respond to file a crime . The complexity of our federal local system. You heard mr. Abt described information sharing. We know even Law Enforcement<\/a> strategies like focused deterrence work when the injuries all Work Together<\/a>. We dont have one by making noted that by death. Thosehe no reason they should nt be information sharing. Me with quickly if you dont mind. I have a short time period you enacted emergency legislation to change the landscape of prosecutions. You want to just let us know how that is happening . Is at the same legislation as the privatizing Public Safety<\/a> emergency and . Thats correct. This is law. So correct. Give us a snippet. It increases the presumption for pretrial detention which is led to more people being held pretrial. It increases penalty for things like unlawful discharge of a firearm. Theres things related to pretrials for juveniles which we know is an issue. There also is a companion bill that clarifies the ability of Law Enforcement<\/a> to pursue in a manner consistent with safe policy. Okay. Does the declination rate is at come down because the u. S. Attorney said it is . I can speak him have abuse attorney but we are seeing more holds for those with gun crimes, so we can make i cant say causation but certainly a correlation. So you have strong gun y laws but you are surrounding neighbors dont, and so the issue is you dont like any citizen for having their guns but what youre seeing is the gun trafficking on the street . Thats correct. How doeswe that happen . We have significant gun traffickingg from her neighbors in virginia, maryland, north golani, southaven and georgia. I that is when the illegal flow of guns into the district is. We worked with the partners like atf and fbi and our federal partners is deeply important to help us stop gun trafficking and the flow of youre your committed tg gun trafficking and carjacking. Absolute expert and robberies on the street. Without equivocation where. So the alkyl tobacco and firearms and fbi for those academics may not be familiar, they can do a lot more or you can look a lot more with income is at madison . Thats correct. Mr. Ja abt, let me first of al very quickly indicate that correction of mr. Stimson, there is the mandatory minimum for gun possession in the federal laws but there is a mandatory minimum in d. C. They are not we cant find in many instances but they do have to help the victims and stop that. Mr. Mr. Abt, why dont you explore your covid pandemic concept because i agree with you. Though you say that crying here is huge but just explained that concept about the surge in crime across america. Sure. The time of the gentleman has expired but you may answer the question, mr. Abt. Give the edge of the question. So in 2020 we had one of the largest single your increases in homicides across the country that weve ever seen, approximate 20 . And as i said no jurisdiction almost no jurisdiction was spared regardless of political affiliation. Violent crime rose again theheim following year, was flat in 2022 and is now slightly coming down, thankfully. And as i said, most experts agree on generally three reasons forso this surge in crime. Although mr. Stimson is correct that the was this surge in crime in 2016 as well. But focusing on this 2020 surge it was the pandemic itself, unrest following the murder of george floyd, and this massive surge in s gun sales. All three of these things together contributed to pushing the rates higher, and as we get farther from that, they seem to be decreasing. Thank you very much. Thank you, mr. Chairman. Thank you to the witnesses. Thank you for your presence today. The chair recognizes the gentleman from wisconsin, mr. Tiffany. Are using the lockdowns did not work . Im not the lockdowns lead to higher crime is what i heard you say. No commerce certainly did not say that. Congressman. Can you repeat the question . You said during the covid lockdowns that crime went up in 2020. During the pandemic they went up, yes. And so the American People<\/a> were locked down. I came here, i was sworn in here on may 19 of 2020. I couldnt believe i could drive from the suburbs of virginia to this location right here in about five minutes. Nobody was here. You said Violent Crime<\/a> went up. Due to covid lockdowns. Werent they part of the contributing factor . I think thats an inappropriate connection between these two. I cant speak to that. Mr. Tiffany deputy mayor, d. C. Council chairman phil mendelssohn said tkhrs not a crime crisis in washington, d. C. Ms. Appiah signs of crisis as a tim of intense difficult, trouble or danger. I would say we find ourself in intense time of trouble or danger. I would say there is a cry sis any time someone is a victim of any time someone is a victim of mr. Tiffany it seems we have found part of the problem, when somebody will not acknowledge theres a crisis, by definition, as the deputy mayor said, there is a crisis. Mr. Pemberton. Were hearing about guns are the problem. Guns coming from other states are the problem. Are crimes being prosecuted to their fullest that include guns here in d. C. . Is prosecution are the judges giving the fullest sentences they can with gun crimes . No, absolutely not. Some of the rhetoric we hear about crime in the district sit comes from illegal guns and we have to focus on illegal guns and that if we find a way to get illegal guns out of the hands of criminals crime will come down. Thats not necessarily wrong. Our officers, i think last year we arrested around 3,100 people for possession of an illegal firearm. The problem is, is that even when were able to get those cases papered and prosecuted and a conviction, the average sentence that judges are handing out for that penalty is six months supervised release which is zero jail time that. Is the going rate is what we say for people who are in possession of illegal guns. Mr. Tiffany repeat that, six months . Mr. Pemberton six months of supervised probation. Thats somebody who is convicted of being in possession of an illegal firearm the maximum penalty is five years under d. C. Code. However the penalties that superior court judges are handing out regularly are more along the lines of probation only. Mr. Tiffany probation only for a gun crime . Mr. Pemberton yes. And to make a finer point it doesnt seem the city takes the crimes as seriously as they suggest given that the courts are not penalizing period not penalizing people who are guilty of those crimes. Mr. Tiffany was that your experience . Yes. I was told they were glad they came because most likely he would have received divergence. Mr. Tiffany is Victims Services<\/a> doing their job in d. C. . They were very nice, they were helpful. But theres really the only thing i wanted, that i wanted to see real justice. I want t. D. See something that showed me that they took into account what happened to me and my family and what i saw wasnt. Mr. Tiffany mr. Soaplesskey is Victim Service<\/a> doing their job in washington, d. C. . I would say they are doing their job. Its hard to say that the police, the prosecutors, and the judges are doing their jobs. Maybe the police are out there making arrests, prosecutors are not prosecuting. What is going on there . Judges, they are letting criminals out industry. Out in the street. Mike i was given one year in jail. Why did he do within weeks upon release . Fa my fatherinlaw was murdered by a guy with a rap sheet. In 1971. Why are the on the streets . Oculus, mr. Pemberton, have you lost offices to other jurisdictions around this region . . Absolutely. Along the officers that leap up and going ton neighboring jurisdictions, take the was interesting is whether virginia takes a lot of our members im going to close with this, mr. Chairman. Im going to make the case once again, i want this committee to come to milwaukee, wisconsin, to the story. Weve heard in europe city come chicago and on washington, d. C. I urge this committeend and the chairman to schedule hearing in milwaukee, wisconsin, for the District Attorney<\/a> said will i divert some who will go on to kill someone . Absolutely. Thats the problem here in the United States<\/a> of america is the soft on crime attitude. The time of the gentleman has expired. The chair recognizes theen gentlelady from georgia ms. Mcbath. Thank you, mr. Chairman and also Ranking Member<\/a> jackson lee and thank you to our Witnesses Today<\/a> and for all of you that ii witnesses that it suffered these horrific tragedies, and you continue to be inflicted with this, every single day. I am so, so very sorry. I set before you today as a mother who are suffered as a victim of gun violence. Im here because of an epidemic that is unequivocally and completely justag made our country, plater country for just too long. I have dedicated my time ive been here in congress to reducing gun violence and advocating for common sense gun laws to keep our neighborhoods come to keep our families say, to keep you safe. Regardless of the city that you call home or the person representing you in public office, one fact remains true. We need apprehensive common sense gun laws to end the violence that threatens the American People<\/a>. As members of congress we are taskedf with making a genuine difference in this country and taking steps to reduce violence by enacting federal gun laws to keep our families and our childrene. Safe. This committee alone has numerous bills that produce of Violent Crime<\/a>s in d. C. And across our country once they are implemented. We made historic step in the right direction last congress with the passage of the bipartisan Safer Communities<\/a> act, which invests 750 million into extremist protection orders to improve crisis intervention and the power all Law Enforcement<\/a> and loved ones. And also invests 250 million in Community Based<\/a> violence intervention programs to support our communities that are crying out for our help. The successful passage of the bipartisan Safer Communities<\/a> act is a testament to our ability to unify in congress and continue to fulfill ourll promise to figt for the safety of every american. These are our communities. In order our children, our loved ones. In gun violence should be a in gun violence should be a and every one of us here today, including all of my colleagues in this committee. And following this hearing i would urge that all my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to turn their concerns about violence in action. Continue the fight against gun violence with me and join on my federal extremist protection back to 2023 so that we can link our actions into words. And power loved ones, those who seek the warning signs of being in crisis first and Law Enforcement<\/a>. Help them to help keep guns away from those who are danger or at risk to themselves orat hurting others. What truly matters is that which side of the aisle that we all fall on, but the countless lives that are lost in this country to unnecessary gunun violence every single day. Mother, no parent, no american should ever experience the pain of losing a loved one. We must Work Together<\/a> to end the epidemic of gun violence. Now, investments are being made by the bipartisan Safer Communities<\/a> act that are aimed at prevention. Deputy mayor and mr. Abt as you look forward to ways to reduce Violent Crime<\/a> across the country, how will a federal bill to authorize federal extremist protection orders contribute to reducing Violent Crime<\/a>s across ourou country . Thank you for the question. I think if you look at the research thats been assembled by the rand institute, theres Good Research<\/a> showing that extreme Risk Protection<\/a> orders can save lives here they can particularly said lives in terms of avoiding homicides and is can avoidg homicides and is homicides as well. So i think that those laws and the support that congress made for those laws in terms of an active in in the best ways is a very strong step forward. I would say the same same thing as mr. Abt. The district actually currently, i am coaching with our d. C. Council a working group on how we can better utilize resources around extreme Risk Protection<\/a> orders to keep District Residents<\/a> more safe. Thank you so much. S ink know i have crisscrossed ths country fighting to change or dangerous gun laws. I know there are many inng this room had also worked as activists on the ground in the movement to do the same. No one in this country deserves ever to be affected by this violent culture that were living in. I promise you that myy colleagus and i will do whatever we can to keep you safe. Gentleladys time has expired. The chairge recognizes the gentlelady from florida, ms. Lee. Thank you, mr. Chairman. Earlier this morning this hearing was referred to as a political stunt. I would like to begin by asking us all to remember that we are joined her today at a minimum of Law Enforcement<\/a> First Responders<\/a> and victims of Violent Crime<\/a>s. They deserve our serious consideration of this gravely important issue. So lets start with reality. The number of Law Enforcement<\/a> officers assigned to a region per capita will not stop crying when Law Enforcement<\/a> officers are prevented from doing their jobs by bad law. The number of prosecutors in the community will not stop crying when they do not bring cases desha crime and they do not enforce the law. And it is enough to judges on the bench. When judges wont follow the rulesul and wont enforce the laws. We all of responsibility to the citizens of washington, d. C. And the visitors from around the world who come to our Nations Capital<\/a> to keep them safe, and all too often they are here and there the victims of Violent Crime<\/a>. They are being carjacked. We are being assaulted. They are being shothe in the street. We must face the reality of the crime epidemic in washington, d. C. And do more. And the reason that were here is playing andt it is obvious. It is the reckless and irresponsible rhetoric ande failed policies of the Democrat Party<\/a> and the Biden Administration<\/a> that has emboldened emboldened criminals in cities across america. We are the residents here and the visitors to our capital so much more. And as a formerr federal prosecutor and judge i will tell you this. There is one thing that reliably keeps a violent predator number set of aging, and it is called prison recidivism. To some offenders deserve Second Chances<\/a> . Absolutely. But do murderers, sex offenders and rapists need to be out on bond . Do they need Wraparound Services<\/a> . Do those who are out on conditions of bond who violate them deserve another chance . No. They deserve to be in custody at the need to remain in custody for the safety of the citizens of this community. We need to support the men and women of Law Enforcement<\/a>. We need prosecutors who will enforce the laws. We need judges who will force, follow the loss and enforce the rules. It is that simple, and what we see here today, the testimony that with her today, is the entirely predictable outcome of the reckless and irresponsible rhetoric and policies of the Democrat Party<\/a> who are undermining the menu limit of Law Enforcement<\/a> and the rule of law in america. Mr. Stimson, iyo would like to start with you. In your prior testimony you referenced a juvenile offender specifically. I would like to explore the effects that you believe policies related to juvenile offenders are having on the crime problem in d. C. And how we could be doing more to ensure that that issue is under control. Thank you for your question. I think we both agree as former prosecutors we need to do a dude juvenile Justice System<\/a> that is designed to rehabilitate people to make dumb mistakes when they are young. We believe most can be rehabilitated but when you do murder, ultimo murders, rapes, carjackings. Youre the chevy mentioned a number of carjackings committed issue by juvenile offenders. The number one ages 15 here in the district who are doing armed carjackings. And so under title 60 which is a local law in the district, the u. S. Attorneys office can take 16 and 17yearolds and prosecute them as an adult. Many other jurisdictions dont have that type of shackles and they allow violent criminals who do murder, rape, robbery and the rest of it, and weve been to adult court whichch is what shod happen in the city because we have a juvenile Violent Crime<\/a> problem. If i could just add, when i was talking about Gun Possessions<\/a> and taking it toin federal cour, i said felon in possession to as you know as a former federal prosecutor, felon in possession under 1922g is a mandatory minimum. What happens in the city is that they charge them with come they charge them with in superior court they charge them with kerry because without a license, felon in possession, unregistered firearm, unregistered ammunition. Y they deal away the felon in possession in superior court. They plead carrying a pistol without a license and they get a slap on the wrist. So when i was a criminal defense attorney of one of my client get the best deal. I wanted to be tried in superior court in addition of columbia, not Federal District<\/a> Court Records<\/a> of what the sins of because you knoww they will geta heart sins in federal court. Should those juveniles time has expired. Thank you, mr. Chairman. Thank you. The chair recognizes the gentlelady from pennsylvania ms. Thank you, mr. Chairman, and i thank the Ranking Member<\/a> lee also for putting forward this hearing today. Thank you all for your testimony. Testimony. For those whoos are the victimsf Violent Crime<\/a>, im thinking particularly of your little boy, my heart goes out to all of you and ian thank you for telling yr stories. Because your stories are in search of solutions. Thats whatee this committee out to be about. Searching for solutions, not figure point atin a single da or lets just say its the entire Biden Administration<\/a>s fall that there are Violent Crime<\/a>s in this country. We are more serious than that. We must be more serious than that. I knew that i cared about the issue of gun violence my entire adult life. And im herem in congress. It is one of my most important passions, to make a different and thats why im very proud the last few we did pass Safer Communities<\/a> act, and i look forward to learning how violent interruption grants and others are making a difference. This0 is the first time in 30 Years Congress<\/a> didnt think around gun violence. So join us in these solutions is what i suggest to every member of congress. Its distressing to her of violence or in d. C. Which has become my second home, but its not unique to hear. I am from the philadelphia suburbs. Philadelphia is the city i call home. It is not unique to hear and it is sadly a nationwide epidemic. One of the big issues is the number of guns in the street and to your point, mr. Stimson, the number of young people, children withth illegal guns. The deputy mayor, could you help me . La how did the laws in and around d. C. Affect guns in d. C. . What others guns come from . Do we have gun manufacturers in d. C. That are selling gun . No. Where are the guns coming from . As i set our neighbors to the north in maryland into the south in what is the i95 corridor, virginia, north jalandhar, South Carolina<\/a> and georgia are the primary locations for illegal guns come in. There t is no question the district has strict gun laws those around us to have more lax gun laws which have allowed the district to be flooded with unlawful guns from those locations. Exactly, flooded, were seeing that throughout this country. Where gun can to come in frr jurisdictions with more lax gun laws. Before i yield to my good friend, i wanted to just note something. Please be aware to those of you who are heree today that moves n the other side of this ill have argued inhering aftermarket after hearing of defending atf, defunding the fbi. That is not a solution. Thats actually contributing to the problem. We have got to stop demonizing. And with that, and where to look up that which is, those are working for us to make us safer. With that ideal to my good friend the gentleman from maryland, mr. Ivey. I think the gentlelady, and i thank you, mr. Chairman for letting me cause i weighed in today. Ii appreciate the chance to be here. I dont have enough time to cover all the things of want to chat about what to do what you know that yes, i was a former assistant u. S. Attorney. I was from 19901994 which was the height of the crack wars. D. C. Average 450500 murders 50500 murders per year during that timeframe, in fact, carjack you think was invented during that timeframe. I understand the Violent Crime<\/a>. I also understand it went down pretty dramatically, and thats for the reasons have been presented here today. I do want to emphasize that we want of a serious approach to addressing these, mr. Abt, is somewhat an actual working with right now to try to bring to Prince Georges County<\/a> to address some of these issues. But smart on crime is more effective than tough on crime. I do want to challenge the suggestion, ms. Lee i think was saying, we just need to be tough for tougher tougher. Movie. That that was 2. 2 Million People<\/a> incarcerated from incarcerating people for everything and e that was marijuana on up. I do want to say yes, we want to be tough on serious violent offenders and i filled up the u. S. Attorneys office i became the state attorney in Prince Georges County<\/a> which is the board of d. C. We are still working to try and coordinate things with d. C. As we bring this down, but guns is a key piece. I note a lot of the crimes that have been discussed here involved guns. Most of the guns come thick and cases that are involved are the ones we see on the news at night. Ghost guns, for example, and you talkedth about coming from out f state. I can get any republican cosponsors for any of the legislation we proposed to try and address some of these problems, including ghost guns which it did everybody will agree is a problem. They dont have to go to virginia to get a ghost guns. They can email the request and have it mailed in to the district. Im sure well have a chance to discuss the policing issues and assessing issues because i think i appreciate the work you all do, but there are major differences i think between solutions your offering today and the best approaches to addressing the crime problem. So i apologize for many over. Hopefully i will have a chance to doin more later on in the hearing. The time of the gentleman has expired. The chair recognizes the t children from mr. Johnson mr. From georgia, mr. Johnson. Thank you, mr. Chairman. Mr. Sobolevsky, your experience is one that is a fear that many people walk aroundwa with daily and hope that they will not have to be the actual victim. So i appreciate you coming and sharing your harrowing experience, and im sorry that that happened to you and that the person who did that was insufficiently punished. And mr. Jablonski, same sentiment for you. I have thought about what i would do if i had been in the restaurant just me and you and that guy and what i wouldve done here what i have come to your assistance . What ive been as brave as her little son to stand there, you know, he could do anything. I wondered what i would do in that situation. But im glad that you made it out there okay and im sorry that you had to go through that. And ms. Richards, Public Safety<\/a> employee, im very sorry that you dont feel safe doing your job, which is to help people. Im very sorry about that. Detective pemberton, thank you for your service. I understand that Law Enforcement<\/a> is a difficult occupation, and a lot of people decide to leave a lower paying Police Department<\/a> such as washington d. C. And go to one after they get the training and some experience, go to another department where the stress levels are less and the pay is greater. So i am not sure that i agree the inference that what the civilian authority has enacted would cause a significant number of Law Enforcement<\/a> officers to just resign and turn in their badge and do away with Law Enforcement<\/a>. I just dont know if that is a way we should be thinking about things. But mr. Abt, you are the founding director of the center for the study and practice of violent reduction, Violence Reduction<\/a>, and an associate Research Professor<\/a> and senior fellow at the council on criminal justice. So youve studied these issues. From your research what are the specific drivers of violence at the macro and the micro levels, and what is your research shown about how evidencebased prevention and intervention strategies can work alongside Law Enforcement<\/a> strategies to reduce Violent Crime<\/a> . Sure. I think at the broadest macro level, i think that its a combination of these factors are pushing people towards crime and the factors that are pushing people against. So broadly speaking, factors like concentrated poverty push people towards crime. And then the societies response to this crimes is important as well. So thinking broadly about those is important. On a micro level i think the evidence shows that whats most likely come whats the strongest predictor of violence is previous violent behavior, and previous exposure to violence. And so that something that i think we can all agree that we need to focus on and take very seriously. Thank you. Deputyty mayor appiah, do you he anything to add to that . Sure. One of the things we believe in the district is we need to address both what is actually happening through enforcement or otherwise, it also root causes which is why the districts invested, the mayor has invested 100 100 million this year in Affordable Housing<\/a> an additional 18 million in access to Mental Health<\/a>. Untoldcr amounts in recreation programs for young people because we do, i was in the juvenile Justice System<\/a> in this district working for now 11 years. And so we know interventions with our young people through recreation, through education, the Mental Health<\/a> services and supports, those are all also prevented. Yes, certainly things for young people to do after school and during the summer are very important. But i will close i just noting that 21 members of the, 21 republicans when it came time to award the congressional gold medal to Police Officers<\/a>, capitol hill Police Officers<\/a>, washington, d. C. Police officers who came to the aid of capitol hill Police Officers<\/a> on january 6, 21 republicans including my friend the chair of this very committee voted to oppose that. Has to be something that causes detective pemberton a losse of morale and maybe somee decisios to resign. And with that i get back. The time of the gentleman has expired. You may comment on if you wish, mr. Pemberton. Thank you, sir. Ito mean, were talking about please response taken on that day. I think our members were happy to respond to the call. Thank you so much. Did you speeded he cut you off. I extended the time for you to answer. Were you able to respond . I will just continue, mr. Chairman. I think we understand that our duty, regardless of whether its a call for a stolen bicycle of whether theres a giant riot that occurs anywhere in the city our members are going to show up and were going to make sure we bring the situation back under control and were happy to be did that day and we are happy to be able to render the situation safe. And you deserve a goldmedal. Thank you, detective pemberton. And so i recognize myself for flyel my five minutes. I want to ask ms. Richards, mr. Sobolevsky, mr. Jablonski. Thank you for being here pick your testimony is invaluable. I think mr. Sobolevsky and mr. Jablonski you kind of address interaction with what i would call the victims rights unit of the d. C. Government. I think that might have worked out idn didnt get a chance, ms. Richards can we able to encounter victims rights and units . , sir. No one from the Prosecutors Office<\/a> or social services came through for victims rights to talk with you . No. But mr. Sobolevsky, mr. Jablonski pgh yes that is correct. They reached out to me. They were nice and its nice to have them but its no compensation for what, you know, what police should be doing, what prosecutors shouldt judgese doing. They shouldnt needd to be victims rights unitr or whatevr it is. It should be elected officials or whoever is in the position of power enforcing laws that are already on the book. Right. Mr. Sobolevsky pgh yes. I mean believe that reached out was very nice and she offered her services for Mental Health<\/a> for me and my son, but when i explained that i was upset with the plea andnd everything else, she was like i can listen what a cant do anything. I guess that gets to the pointth here, is except for in your case, ms. Richards, you didnt have any interaction, but the real nub of this is the prosecutorial arm. Ut sounds likeli it failed our thre witnesses here today. Mr. Sobolevsky. I think in part its on the prosecutor, but is also on the judges, and while its happening here in d. C. Its nationwide. Its aem problem that scares me for someone who just got married. I want to bring kids into the society, and it scares me that, you know, we have kind of a prosecutorial rot and the judicial rot in our system, and that needs to, then its the accountability in that. Thank you. So im going to direct the next question to you, detective pemberton. You gave, you listed nine laws passed by the d. C. Council that have an impact on enforcement by the police, and one of those seem to have included an elimination of qualified immunity. Is thatt accurate . Im happy to say that no actually it was not passed. It was introduced and debated but thankfully that bill never made it to fruition. But it wasas included in the lit because it goes to the sort of rhetoric that the council was engaged in and have a message that m was sent to police offics about how they felt about them doing their jobs. And that rhetoric, and with the threat of removing qualified immunity, that has a a suppresse effect on actual policing, in my experienceom in talking to officers for many jurisdictions. Officers become more cautious. Because even if you, as you said, even if you follow the procedures, policies, constitution, statute, you are at personal risk for liability. Is that accurate . Yeah, thats t right. I think they get a big misnomers about qualified in is added a place to criminal charges but it doesnt. Qualified immunity allows citizens to sue Police Officers<\/a> as individuals it were to be removed pics of the suggestion there if ait Police Officer<\/a> woud go up and make a mistake, a citizen could sue them for the wrong person or an excerpt that, their homes, their College Savings<\/a> of that creates the Chilling Effect<\/a> on doing productive and Proactive Police<\/a> work. Thank you. O your comments about the o. A. G. And should be eliminated and juvenile cases should be referred to u. S. District District Attorney<\/a> for d. C. The reason i ask that question is, because im incredibly dissatisfied with the performance of mr. Graves, the u. S. Attorney for d. C. U. S. Attorney. You trust him not jurisdiction over general cases . Im not going to eliminate the City Attorney<\/a> they do a good job with the criminal function is the u. S. Attorney in the division adding juvenile traffic section like most offices have and are good prosecutors and i am disgusted with what happened. I am ashamed with what happened. But some like a good disinfectant, the Ranking Member<\/a> has had a goodrs conversation, e rate is coming down and i hope thats correct that the oag holland to as many juvenile cases as we can. To offer solution with most offices do, put it in the das office and exercise oversight and an appropriate way we can change the law so violent juvenile offenders can be in adult court. When time is expired, there is so much more to talk about. We have a submission for the record. I have an article dated march 13, 2023 that indicates cases that would drop into the u. S. Attorney and it was agreed to by then police chief indicating we must have complete information to come in. I want to put into the record. You cannot put into record the actual u. S. Code. I will. Theres no mandatory minimum. There is one in possession in the committing of a crime. My statement unanimous consent. Thank you and i yield back. I will express my concern for the victims whatever we say today we will Work Together<\/a>. Thank you for coming to testify today. I know it was difficult. My district deepest regret you encountered what you encountered as well as the time it will take to fully cure from that and god bless you guys but without objection, members will have five days to submit requests for additional materials for the record. Without objection, the hearing is adjourned. Before accident, too late, already said it but i will get to the record to our staff and Ranking Member<\/a> extend herself as well for preparing for the hearing today, we are adjourned. [background noises] [background noises] cspan is your unfiltered view of government. You think this is just the Community Center<\/a> . 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