Is DC a city under siege? Mayor Muriel Bowser responds

Bowser discusses DC's crime woes

What’s the plan? That’s what everyone keeps asking with D.C. seeing at least four more carjackings since a congressman was attacked Monday night. How’s the mayor responding? FOX 5’s Stephanie Ramirez has more from the H Street Corridor.

WASHINGTON - Facing a 38% increase in homicides, a 110% increase in carjackings, and D.C. crime in national headlines again with the carjacking of a congressman this week, FOX 5 asked D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser whether she believes there is a crime crisis and whether this is a city under siege?

"This is a city that’s experiencing in too many places, but not all places, to Delia [Goncalves’s] earlier point too much gun crime, and robbery. And we’re focused on how to drive that down and hold the people accountable who are doing it," said Mayor Bowser.

Delia is another reporter who was asking questions about crime – and more so how big events like the World Culture Fest and Art All Night are still able to go on safely, but other parts of the city still saw high crime. One thing the mayor noted was that these big events also included DPW and DDOT helping. We know there are more federal law enforcement partners involved when events are held on national grounds, all adding to the security footprint. Outside of that, Mayor Bowser highlighted an issue the acting D.C. police chief has been speaking about more recently, and that’s seeing more disputes and more crew disputes in the District escalating to gun violence.

The mayor took several questions on crime at a Northeast D.C. event on Wednesday, celebrating special funding to small H Street business owners.

Just last week, FOX 5 spoke with business owners along the same corridor who were completely frustrated with crime after a fatal shooting at Cru Lounge. Those business owners told FOX 5 that the area crime and nearby open drug market were taking their businesses.

A day before that, FOX 5 asked the former D.C. Council Judiciary and Public Safety Committee chair about the council’s previous actions and how that’s impacting public safety today.

"I don’t see the city having a whole government approach and a strategic plan to reduce gun violence. That’s something we’ve talked about a lot. And we also know what we talk about –whether it’s the U.S. Attorney and lack of prosecutions," said D.C. Councilmember Charles Allen.

FOX 5 also asked the mayor about his responses.

"I mean I’ve responded to you a thousand different ways," she said. "I don’t know another way to respond to the same question other than to say we’re focused on how to prevent people from getting into crime, how to remove guns from our street and how to make sure people who are using guns are punished. And I further said that I think our ecosystem, including the one that is policy-related, has been disrupted over actions that we have had to reverse over the last several years. We’re starting that process, but we’re not finished. And we’re just going to keep working that we have laws to deter crime. That we have a policy environment – laws that will help us make sure we have the number of police officers that we need. And we’re being responsive to emerging crime trends."

The mayor did share she felt the council went too far in police funding and policies making it harder to attract new officers, when asked whether the crime D.C. is seeing now is due to COVID or progressive policies. She also made a pitch for statehood, saying it would be easier if D.C. controlled its criminal justice system.

She put it on the council, calling on the body to make emergency public safety legislation passed this summer, permanent.

When the mayor talks about her plan to address crime, it’s not exactly one single focus - and this is what she is talking about when she says, "filling in the gaps."

Mayor Bowser proposes bill to enhance public safety

Mayor Muriel Bowser proposed a slew of legislative changes Monday in an effort to close the "gaps" in the system to better address D.C. crime. FOX 5's Stephanie Ramirez has all the details.

As an example, in May, the mayor introduced the "Safer, Stronger D.C." bill. One critic called it a "hodgepodge." The legislation was actually a package of bills addressing different areas of public safety, like giving judges more discretion to hold adults and juveniles pretrial for a violent offense.

Some of those measures were included in Councilmember Brook Pinto’s emergency legislation that passed this summer, called "The Prioritizing Public Safety Emergency Amendment Act." D.C. leaders are working on a temporary version of that bill now. However, those measures are what the mayor is calling on the council to make permanent.

Councilmember Pinto also introduced her "Secure DC Plan," which includes some of the approved emergency legislation and goes further. Opponents of that legislation argue it expands criminalization.

FOX 5 spoke with a long-time H Street-area community member who goes by, "Jack." He says none of these measures will mean a thing if the mayor does not focus on one specific area.

"She does a lot. But you’ve got to bring the kids along with communication. Let’s start with communication. They have to see their heroes. The guys – the people that they look up to. You know when they see they’re doing things, that makes them want to do things. You’ve got to give them a reason to want to do something," Jack told FOX 5.