D.C. Council Moves Bill to Overhaul Criminal Code Despite “Serious Concerns.”

What would a smart government do if violent crime spiked in Washington D.C., putting people at risk? We don’t know. Smart and the D.C. City Council don’t seem well acquainted.

Instead, they are leftist, partisan ideologues. Perhaps the massive percentage of Democrat voters in D.C. (in 2020, Biden got 93% of the vote) are mired in some sort of mass formation psychosis that keeps a destructive Democrat “leadership” in power.

To be fair, Mayor Muriel Bowser and Police Chief Robert J. Contee III have “expressed concerns.”

According to NBC News 4, “The D.C. Council unanimously passed a sweeping overhaul of the city’s criminal code on Tuesday that would redefine offenses and penalties, as well as expand defendants’ rights to a jury trial.”

Oddly, as a part of this “sweeping overhaul” of the city’s criminal code, the council addressed so-called “gun violence” by “decreasing penalties for gun crimes.” The people calling for increased gun control laws against law-abiding Americans now call for reduced gun control laws for criminals who actually commit violent crimes with guns.

It’s an easy issue to sort out with critical thinking. If you want more crime, you make crime easier for criminals by reducing penalties. If you want less crime, you make it harder for criminals by increasing penalties. An MIT rocket science degree is not necessary.

This doesn’t mean governments shouldn’t offer rehabilitation services, but do it in combination with incarceration, not instead of it.

While addressing deficiencies in a criminal code written in 1901 may be reasonable, the emphasis should still remain on protecting the law-abiding public, not on criminals who prey on them.

FOX News reported the U.S. Attorney for D.C., Matthew Graves, has “serious concerns about a number of recommendations” but voted to move the bill forward. In whose world is that a smart thing to do?

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Steve Pomper

Steve Pomper is an author, freelance writer, and retired Seattle police officer. During his career, he served as a field training officer, on the Community Police Team, and as a mountain bike patrol coordinator. He’s written five books, including The Obama Gang and De-Policing America, and he is a contributor to the National Police Association and a freelance writer for The Tatum Report.

Originally from New England, he’s a Boston sports fan. He now lives in the Pacific Northwest with his wife, Jody, a retired firefighter. He enjoys spending time with his adult kids and three grandchildren.