Data on USAO Criminal Prosecutions in DC

[jsteele]

While there are a handful of posters in this forum who are convinced that Charles Allen is solely responsible for every crime that occurs in DC and that he is personally preventing anyone from being arrested, here is some interesting data that suggests things might be a wee bit more complicated than that:

The USAO, the federally-appointed prosecutor responsible for prosecuting adult crimes in DC, is prosecuting fewer and fewer cases:

[Anonymous]

It’s pretty clear that it’s political. Trump appointees go from a 30% decline rate to 50% by the time they leave office. That’s insane.

And anyone who has dealt with MPD know that they ain’t arresting unless it’s egregious.

[Anonymous]

So there is a federal government conspiracy to release criminals in DC or...what is the reasoning here?

[Anonymous]

Well Jeff, maybe Charles Allen as my elected representative ought to be pressing the AUSA about this. Has he? Seriously doubt it. As Ward 6 watchers know, there is one person in Ward 6 who has been focused on this very issue for a long time (Denise Krepp) who was *conveniently* redistricted so she can not run against Charles Allen at all.

You seem to have a really puzzling view of how government works. The whole point is for Allen to engage with the causes of crime, including failures to prosecute. All your post does is reinforce that there is much more he could be doing. Is he doing that?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:It’s pretty clear that it’s political. Trump appointees go from a 30% decline rate to 50% by the time they leave office. That’s insane.

And anyone who has dealt with MPD know that they ain’t arresting unless it’s egregious.

the rate of decline continues under Biden.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:It’s pretty clear that it’s political. Trump appointees go from a 30% decline rate to 50% by the time they leave office. That’s insane.

And anyone who has dealt with MPD know that they ain’t arresting unless it’s egregious.

The shift, a 10% increase in no papered cases, started under Obama if you read the article behind the chart. Was quite stable up until then, across various D & R presidents. The article postulates potential reasons and ones that are less likely to be valid. So end of O, T and Biden appointees in place for what is now more than 50% of felonies not prosecuted, including gun crimes.

USAO has NEVER been responsive to FOIAs, this may be part of the reason, resources another. Mendo staffer pointed out this was a lower prosecution rate than Philly. Wonder how it stacks up against big West Coast cities, like LA?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:So there is a federal government conspiracy to release criminals in DC or...what is the reasoning here?

More likely is that DC USAO is (1) overwhelmed with cases given the jurisdiction and (2) deprioritizes local crimes in favor of big stuff involving international conspiracy, money, national security, etc.

In short, the local crime prosecution unit is probably the backwater of DOJ that no one wants to do. It’s probably staffed with a bunch of people straight out of law school biding their time to jump to more prestigious gigs in DOJ.

It really should not be on DOJ to prosecute.

[Anonymous]

More info behind the chart here

https://twitter.com/dccrimefacts/status/1635625715394662400

[Anonymous]

Same chart graphed over a longer period, posted by a Mendo staffer.

https://twitter.com/Blaine_Stum/status/1635661615776378881

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:So there is a federal government conspiracy to release criminals in DC or...what is the reasoning here?

More likely is that DC USAO is (1) overwhelmed with cases given the jurisdiction and (2) deprioritizes local crimes in favor of big stuff involving international conspiracy, money, national security, etc.

In short, the local crime prosecution unit is probably the backwater of DOJ that no one wants to do. It’s probably staffed with a bunch of people straight out of law school biding their time to jump to more prestigious gigs in DOJ.

. . .

Not exactly.

My office once sent a few of our attorneys each year (less than 2%), on detail, to the USAO. Our attorneys are specialists in a very different area of the law. We only deal tangentially with criminal law matters.

Our attorneys are highly skilled at what they do. However, the six-month details to D.C.’s USAO involved essentially a crash-course in practical prosecution/ settlement of petty crimes such as prostitution and drug possession. Training was “learn as you go.” Plea agreements were by far the most common outcome. To to one’s surprise recidivists were the overwhelming bulk of arrestees.

The detail was used as a resume enhancer. And it has long been clear, through administration after administration, the office is woefully underfunded. Democrat and R administrations alike do not care about DC crime.

I will add: even Biden refused to intervene to save the radical, equity-driven, proposal to weaken DC’s criminal code. Similar initiatives across the country have done nothing beyond drive crime waves in urban areas.

Such reforms are clearly the wrong answer.

[Anonymous]

“To no one’s surprise . . . “

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It’s pretty clear that it’s political. Trump appointees go from a 30% decline rate to 50% by the time they leave office. That’s insane.

And anyone who has dealt with MPD know that they ain’t arresting unless it’s egregious.

the rate of decline continues under Biden.

That's different!

[Anonymous]

jsteele wrote:While there are a handful of posters in this forum who are convinced that Charles Allen is solely responsible for every crime that occurs in DC and that he is personally preventing anyone from being arrested, here is some interesting data that suggests things might be a wee bit more complicated than that:

The USAO, the federally-appointed prosecutor responsible for prosecuting adult crimes in DC, is prosecuting fewer and fewer cases:

Why do you think they’re prosecuting fewer cases?

Could be they are acting under the auspices of progressive criminal justice reform? You know, the tenets of which basically call for less incarceration, and more holistic compassionate approach to justice.

Charles Allen is an acolyte, but yeah overalls this proves that USAO and liberal progressives in general are doing what they said they would in the wake of all these policy brutality headlines, and in the wake of the racial reckoning of the last few years. Less police. Less impetus to send folks to jail. So instead criminals get released earlier, not sentenced or basically just get off. And the people here paying attention are shocked. But then they’re called “Fox News” bots for pointing out the increase in crime. 200% increase in teen crime. 75% in car jacking. It’s so obvious.

A liberal city council on crime and a liberal usao on crime just doing what they said they would. They’ve hired tons of “violence interruptors” in cities tho so we are all safe.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:So there is a federal government conspiracy to release criminals in DC or...what is the reasoning here?

More likely is that DC USAO is (1) overwhelmed with cases given the jurisdiction and (2) deprioritizes local crimes in favor of big stuff involving international conspiracy, money, national security, etc.

In short, the local crime prosecution unit is probably the backwater of DOJ that no one wants to do. It’s probably staffed with a bunch of people straight out of law school biding their time to jump to more prestigious gigs in DOJ.

It really should not be on DOJ to prosecute.

You have absolutely no idea what you are talking about. First of all, local prosecution assignments offer AUSAs lots more trial experience, earlier and at a level that they might not get in other offices. Second, the unit has some very experienced attorneys. Decisions on what and whom to charge depend a lot on the strength of the evidence, and the work of MPD can be uneven. There are already resource constraints on prosecuting misdemeanor cases. Were the DC Council bill to take effect, it would have effectively decriminalized misdemeanors in the District of Columbia.

[jsteele]

Wow, some of you are either simple trolls who have no interest in a serious discussion or are woefully uninformed about politics. The idea that the Trump administration was pursing progressive ideas about justice is so laughable that only an anonymous poster would bother typing such a thing. Similarly, those who think Charles Allen is either pulling the Federal government's strings or failing to convince it to change its behavior may want to research how successful any DC politician has been at wielding influence over the Feds. FYI, we have no voting representation on Capital Hill that might except a bit of influence and Federal employees have no fear or respect for a DC Council Member.

I have no idea why the percentage of prosecutions declined. I suspect those suggesting underfunding and unprepared staff are likely correct. But, the main point that I think should be understood is that crime and justice are DC is complex and not as simple as the "It's Charles Allen's fault" posters would have us believe. What should be a funnel from arrests to jail has become a sieve that is leaking at every stage.