Scott Erickson ,
January 25, 2023
Op-Ed: Congress Must Act to Stop D.C.’s Reckless Crime “Reforms”
Key Takeaways
The Revised Criminal Code Act, which was recently passed by the D.C. city council, includes several progressive reforms that will make the city less safe.
Amid a several-years long wave of rising crime in the Nation’s capital, and elsewhere, implementing progressive criminal justice policies is not only irresponsible, but also reckless.
Congress has the authority to prevent implementation of these so-called reforms, and it should exercise that authority in the interests of public safety.
This article originally appeared in The Hill on January 25, 2023
Few issues pique the bipartisan interests of legislators on Capitol Hill, but the forced passage of a reckless criminal justice “reform” act in Washington, D.C., should be one of them. The Revised Criminal Code Act takes such a profound step backward in the interests of public safety that even D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser — herself a proud progressive — vetoed the legislation before it was nearly unanimously overridden by the D.C. city council on Jan. 17. Fortunately for citizens and visitors to the nation’s capital, Congress has the authority to right this impending wrong and reject the implementation of the act.
This act seeks to effectuate a veritable wish list of progressive criminal justice reforms. These reforms include reducing penalties and accountability for criminal perpetrators, including those who commit violent felonies like carjacking and robbery, eliminating “three-strikes” provisions, and ending nearly all mandatory-minimum sentencing. However, these “reforms,” which will take effect in 2025, will not reduce crime or make D.C. safer, as evidenced by the failed implementation of similar progressive criminal justice policies in other American cities.
Read the full op-ed in The Hill