How do we get the USAO to do their jobs and put career criminals in prison?

[Anonymous]

Serious question. All the sh#t is trickling downhill from the USAO. When they don’t charge criminals and chronically “catch & release”, it demoralizes MPD from doing their jobs. Meanwhile, the Council sits with their thumbs up their butt waiting for USAO to put criminals away.

So yeah, how do we fix USAO?

[Anonymous]

I don't know how to fix it, but in my opinion the USAO in DC is a joke.

[Anonymous]

Not sure it's just USAO, it's also DC court justices nominated by presidents, not accountable to local DC voters.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Not sure it's just USAO, it's also DC court justices nominated by presidents, not accountable to local DC voters.

Nominated by the President, recommended by the DC Judicial Commission which is effectively the Mayor and Council.

[Anonymous]

It's also:

1). The Youth Rehabilitation Act (YRA) which releases "kids" under the age of 26 for first time offenses - even gun charges, they get a slap on the wrist, a short period of probation and they are out on the streets again - this is even for gun charges.

2). Our crime lab, housed within the Department of Forensic Science, lost its certification a couple of years ago so any crimes that were committed using their evidence requiring lab work - rape, murder, etc., is questionable. We are now using a private lab case but what happened to all of those cases that couldn't be prosecuted because of faulty lab work? And DFS' general counsel seems to be fighting hard interfere with any oversight: https://washingtoncitypaper.com/article/638272/d-c-s-troubled-crime-lab-is-hiding-information-from-its-oversight-board-prompting-a-messy-conflict-with-its-members/

3.). Leadership at OAG is also weak - they run a "hugs not thugs" program instead of actually penalizing delinquent juveniles.

4.). Simply put, the Mayor is weak and her time is up. She does not have an effective strategy for fighting crime and she is surrounded by sycophants who tell her what she wants to hear. Look at her Chief of Staff, the MOLC, Deputy Mayor of Public Safety. Look how poorly her staff handled the Falchiccio matter - they fumbled the ball big time and looked like amateurs - you would have never seen such sloppy work in places like NYC or L.A.

5.). We need a new Mayor.

[Anonymous]

A change in mayor will have nothing to do with AG, USAO or judges who let men who shot 5 women at Days Inn in Van Ness, killing one, out, pretrial. Her prior career as a public defender has merely been continued from the bench.

All of these same pieces were in place prior to 2017 but somewhat functioned.

I think the move from 3 strikes to prosecution is inequitable has had a big impact on law schools that has percolated throughout the system.

USAO briefly increased prosecution rates, still lowest among D cities, then had a press conference. After that, they have dropped again. So cynical. People are being pistol whipped, carjacked, shot, having beloved dogs snatched and there is no thumb on the scale for public safety.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Serious question. All the sh#t is trickling downhill from the USAO. When they don’t charge criminals and chronically “catch & release”, it demoralizes MPD from doing their jobs. Meanwhile, the Council sits with their thumbs up their butt waiting for USAO to put criminals away.

So yeah, how do we fix USAO?

This ^ I expect elected politicians to advocate for (ie represent) their constituents. How come you have to do the think work on this? Why aren't the people we elected picking up the phone, leading marches and sit ins, calling the press etc?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Not sure it's just USAO, it's also DC court justices nominated by presidents, not accountable to local DC voters.

You mean the PDS alumni club?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Not sure it's just USAO, it's also DC court justices nominated by presidents, not accountable to local DC voters.

You mean the PDS alumni club?

I don't think I fully realized how much this is true until recently. Or they were on the "Social Justice Review" like the magistrate judge who let the guy out after a daytime machete attack on H St. NE.

What would help is a simple public dashboard that tracks cases and outcomes much like NYC has. DC Crime Facts and other twitter accounts/blogs or reporters do it piecemeal for particularly egregious crimes but having that data aggregated, with the names of judges attached, would help.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Serious question. All the sh#t is trickling downhill from the USAO. When they don’t charge criminals and chronically “catch & release”, it demoralizes MPD from doing their jobs. Meanwhile, the Council sits with their thumbs up their butt waiting for USAO to put criminals away.

So yeah, how do we fix USAO?

This ^ I expect elected politicians to advocate for (ie represent) their constituents. How come you have to do the think work on this? Why aren't the people we elected picking up the phone, leading marches and sit ins, calling the press etc?

They campaigned on this. This Council is, remarkably, more left-leaning than the last. Cheh is replaced by pickleball. Allen ran unopposed. Ravine’s hand picked successor was elected to continue his juvenile “justice” practices.

This is what the electorate wants.

[Anonymous]

All of these reports and targets are like a huge piss take. Goals LOWER than the status quo, when it comes to violence against staff or juveniles absconding?

And btw, the stat that USAO had stopped prosecuting the majority of felonies and gun cases were documented annually in a Bowser admin required reports, presented to the counsel, beginning in 2018. Until DC Crime Facts drew attention in 2023, triggering a WP article, nothing was done.

[Anonymous]

^statS were

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Serious question. All the sh#t is trickling downhill from the USAO. When they don’t charge criminals and chronically “catch & release”, it demoralizes MPD from doing their jobs. Meanwhile, the Council sits with their thumbs up their butt waiting for USAO to put criminals away.

So yeah, how do we fix USAO?

This ^ I expect elected politicians to advocate for (ie represent) their constituents. How come you have to do the think work on this? Why aren't the people we elected picking up the phone, leading marches and sit ins, calling the press etc?

They campaigned on this. This Council is, remarkably, more left-leaning than the last. Cheh is replaced by pickleball. Allen ran unopposed. Ravine’s hand picked successor was elected to continue his juvenile “justice” practices.

This is what the electorate wants.

Not sure I agree there - there was no choice presented re: Allen as you note. Nadeau only won because opponents fragmented the vote. W3 is a disaster but Frumin got in due to last minute shenanigans by the establishment.

I kept thinking there would be some course correction but no sign. Armed robberies in daylight in Adams Morgan Thanksgiving weekend, multiple shootings in downtown, including Dupont, a snatched at gunpoint Frenchie in Brookland and the Council proposes "media vouchers."

As more leave, perhaps shrinking coffers will trigger a change.

Between the crime and the unenforced traffic laws and the nonfunctional 911 call center, it is genuinely dangerous here.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Serious question. All the sh#t is trickling downhill from the USAO. When they don’t charge criminals and chronically “catch & release”, it demoralizes MPD from doing their jobs. Meanwhile, the Council sits with their thumbs up their butt waiting for USAO to put criminals away.

So yeah, how do we fix USAO?

This ^ I expect elected politicians to advocate for (ie represent) their constituents. How come you have to do the think work on this? Why aren't the people we elected picking up the phone, leading marches and sit ins, calling the press etc?

They campaigned on this. This Council is, remarkably, more left-leaning than the last. Cheh is replaced by pickleball. Allen ran unopposed. Ravine’s hand picked successor was elected to continue his juvenile “justice” practices.

This is what the electorate wants.

Not sure I agree there - there was no choice presented re: Allen as you note. Nadeau only won because opponents fragmented the vote. W3 is a disaster but Frumin got in due to last minute shenanigans by the establishment.

I kept thinking there would be some course correction but no sign. Armed robberies in daylight in Adams Morgan Thanksgiving weekend, multiple shootings in downtown, including Dupont, a snatched at gunpoint Frenchie in Brookland and the Council proposes "media vouchers."

As more leave, perhaps shrinking coffers will trigger a change.

Between the crime and the unenforced traffic laws and the nonfunctional 911 call center, it is genuinely dangerous here.

A Republican ran against Frumin who I can only presume would have been better on crime. I voted R, but Frumin won Obviously my neighbors were unable to hold their noses and vote R. Maybe next time? Or recall Frumin?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Serious question. All the sh#t is trickling downhill from the USAO. When they don’t charge criminals and chronically “catch & release”, it demoralizes MPD from doing their jobs. Meanwhile, the Council sits with their thumbs up their butt waiting for USAO to put criminals away.

So yeah, how do we fix USAO?

This ^ I expect elected politicians to advocate for (ie represent) their constituents. How come you have to do the think work on this? Why aren't the people we elected picking up the phone, leading marches and sit ins, calling the press etc?

They campaigned on this. This Council is, remarkably, more left-leaning than the last. Cheh is replaced by pickleball. Allen ran unopposed. Ravine’s hand picked successor was elected to continue his juvenile “justice” practices.

This is what the electorate wants.

Not sure I agree there - there was no choice presented re: Allen as you note. Nadeau only won because opponents fragmented the vote. W3 is a disaster but Frumin got in due to last minute shenanigans by the establishment.

I kept thinking there would be some course correction but no sign. Armed robberies in daylight in Adams Morgan Thanksgiving weekend, multiple shootings in downtown, including Dupont, a snatched at gunpoint Frenchie in Brookland and the Council proposes "media vouchers."

As more leave, perhaps shrinking coffers will trigger a change.

Between the crime and the unenforced traffic laws and the nonfunctional 911 call center, it is genuinely dangerous here.

A Republican ran against Frumin who I can only presume would have been better on crime. I voted R, but Frumin won Obviously my neighbors were unable to hold their noses and vote R. Maybe next time? Or recall Frumin?

The republican ran a very weak campaign almost solely on opposition to bike lanes.

Quite honestly, a small %age are really for or against bike lanes and the rest of us really don’t care that much one way or the other.

I remember speaking with him and another big issue was charter schools. Well, considering Ward 3 has no charter schools (except a small pre-k) and sends a very low %age of kids to charters…well that is another issue that doesn’t resonate.

He never mentioned crime once when I spoke to him.