Data on USAO Criminal Prosecutions in DC

[Anonymous]

Great articles on our current situation:

https://washingtoncitypaper.com/article/595163/more-than-two-thirds-of-the-people-arrested-in-d-c-are-never-charged/

https://www.fox5dc.com/news/suv-involved-in-deadly-rock-creek-parkway-crash-has-long-history-of-outstanding-tickets-fines

$13,000 in speeding tickets! And yet the financial hardship it would place on the economically disadvantaged trumps safety. This is the kind of crap our council voted for. Allowing motorists to keep their licenses with this many tickets. I’m glad Congress is about to yell at them.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Great articles on our current situation:

https://washingtoncitypaper.com/article/595163/more-than-two-thirds-of-the-people-arrested-in-d-c-are-never-charged/

https://www.fox5dc.com/news/suv-involved-in-deadly-rock-creek-parkway-crash-has-long-history-of-outstanding-tickets-fines

$13,000 in speeding tickets! And yet the financial hardship it would place on the economically disadvantaged trumps safety. This is the kind of crap our council voted for. Allowing motorists to keep their licenses with this many tickets. I’m glad Congress is about to yell at them.

I mean that apparently financial hardship for the poor is greater than saving lives by not renewing drivers licenses to folks with $13k in tickets.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Great articles on our current situation:

https://washingtoncitypaper.com/article/595163/more-than-two-thirds-of-the-people-arrested-in-d-c-are-never-charged/

https://www.fox5dc.com/news/suv-involved-in-deadly-rock-creek-parkway-crash-has-long-history-of-outstanding-tickets-fines

$13,000 in speeding tickets! And yet the financial hardship it would place on the economically disadvantaged trumps safety. This is the kind of crap our council voted for. Allowing motorists to keep their licenses with this many tickets. I’m glad Congress is about to yell at them.

I mean that apparently financial hardship for the poor is greater than saving lives by not renewing drivers licenses to folks with $13k in tickets.

Congress should grill the council about this suv crash. $13k unpaid fines???? I get the equity piece of why they won’t revoke licenses, but it’s not very equitable to the people who died in this crash either. This driver should never have been behind the wheel.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Great articles on our current situation:

https://washingtoncitypaper.com/article/595163/more-than-two-thirds-of-the-people-arrested-in-d-c-are-never-charged/

https://www.fox5dc.com/news/suv-involved-in-deadly-rock-creek-parkway-crash-has-long-history-of-outstanding-tickets-fines

$13,000 in speeding tickets! And yet the financial hardship it would place on the economically disadvantaged trumps safety. This is the kind of crap our council voted for. Allowing motorists to keep their licenses with this many tickets. I’m glad Congress is about to yell at them.

I mean that apparently financial hardship for the poor is greater than saving lives by not renewing drivers licenses to folks with $13k in tickets.

Congress should grill the council about this suv crash. $13k unpaid fines???? I get the equity piece of why they won’t revoke licenses, but it’s not very equitable to the people who died in this crash either. This driver should never have been behind the wheel.

the fact that the car can just … drive away after a traffic stop with $13k in tickets is … wow. It was 1:40am. Letting them go was a bigger risk than the chase.

[Anonymous]

It is insane that we've decided to legalize not having license plates anymore. Another example of why/how the city has become more chaotic just as companies have realized WFH works and our downtown empties out.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Great articles on our current situation:

https://washingtoncitypaper.com/article/595163/more-than-two-thirds-of-the-people-arrested-in-d-c-are-never-charged/

https://www.fox5dc.com/news/suv-involved-in-deadly-rock-creek-parkway-crash-has-long-history-of-outstanding-tickets-fines

$13,000 in speeding tickets! And yet the financial hardship it would place on the economically disadvantaged trumps safety. This is the kind of crap our council voted for. Allowing motorists to keep their licenses with this many tickets. I’m glad Congress is about to yell at them.

I mean that apparently financial hardship for the poor is greater than saving lives by not renewing drivers licenses to folks with $13k in tickets.

Congress should grill the council about this suv crash. $13k unpaid fines???? I get the equity piece of why they won’t revoke licenses, but it’s not very equitable to the people who died in this crash either. This driver should never have been behind the wheel.

the fact that the car can just … drive away after a traffic stop with $13k in tickets is … wow. It was 1:40am. Letting them go was a bigger risk than the chase.

That road is one of the few places where no chase is somewhat arguable for me.

[Anonymous]

New post re: crime>arrest>charge pipeline

https://twitter.com/dccrimefacts/status/1636444709030641674

[jsteele]

Anonymous wrote:New post re: crime>arrest>charge pipeline

https://twitter.com/dccrimefacts/status/1636444709030641674

Everyone should read this entire thread, but I'll embed this tweet which highlights the most significant recent change:

[Anonymous]

No it’s not. It’s the express DC Council set of bills which removed any chases and most police tactics, pressurizing MPD into non action through prohibitive orders even while the bills are pending.

It runs the gamut from no arrests for noise to no chase for cars and ATVs.

It’s all the DC Council. They told us to soundproof our homes and pay for the violence interrupters (a program started by a wife beater).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

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jsteele wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

jsteele wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

jsteele wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

jsteele wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

jsteele wrote: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.

Come on Jeff. Yes, I expect my elected officials to try to use their power to change policy in DC, including federal policy. You are creating a giant straw man. Nobody said Charles Allen has direct and independent control over this stuff. But obviously he has influence. If your argument is “Charles Allen can’t do anything about public safety!!!” that does not seem to be a ringing endorsement.

And also - we KNOW he approves of the decrease in prosecutions.

Charles Allen has no more power over Federal policy than any other DC resident, which is none. So, yes, Charles Allen can't do anything about Federal public safety policy. Are you just now learning this?

This is truly absurd. So your belief is that Charles Allen has no accountability for crime in DC because there is a federal role? When you know *full well* that he likely thinks the declines in prosecution is a good thing.

No serious person could interpret my post in this manner. When you are prepared to have a serious discussion, let me know. Until then, I won't waste my time.

What are you trying to say? As far as I can tell, you’re trying to use the fact that the feds have power over prosecuting felonies as some sort of gotcha to prove that Charles Allen has no responsibility for addressing crime in DC. Or you’re using it because you’re making up a strawman that Charles Allen’s opponents are completely wrong because they claim he is solely responsible for criminal justice policies in DC. Both of those are absurd.

And you’re wrong on this particular example anyway. US atty prosecution policy *is* susceptible to political pressure, including by the DC Council. To believe otherwise is just a frankly ignorant take on politics. And there is one person in W6 who has engaged in pushing those pressure points - Denise Krepp - and she is a pariah to progressives including CA.

I said what I am trying to say pretty clearly in an earlier post:

the main point that I think should be understood is that crime and justice in DC are 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.

If or when you are prepared to address the substance of what I actually post rather than straw men that you create, I'll respond further.

Do you actually believe that those of us criticizing Charles Allen don’t realize the issues are complex, or that we don’t know the AUSA prosecuted felonies here? Maybe you’re not really ready for this discussion.

Based on your posts, there is no evidence that you blame anyone other than Charles Allen. My original post pointed out the dropping percentage of prosecutions by the USAO. Your initial post was to blame this entirely on Charles Allen. My follow-up post contained the quote that I posted above saying that this was a complex problem. Your follow-up to that was to again blame only Charles Allen. If you agree that the issues are complex and go beyond Charles Allen, I would expect that at some point you would actually agree with my posts saying exactly that. Instead, you have only blamed Charles Allen.

To be clear, I am more than ready for a serious discussion. I am not prepared to waste time talking to someone who is a broken record blaming Charles Allen and who either misrepresents or ignores my posts.

Jeff, clearly you can tell no one is squarely laying all the blame at CA’s feet, but that he is an emblematic figure who helps foster a climate of violence going unchecked through progressive criminal justice leniency.

Obviously, other council members are to blame as well. Trayon White and Naudeau are others who don’t seem to grasp that certain types of violence is rising, car jackings for example, and that people want actual measures taken to address crimes. Violence interruptors aren’t cutting it. Lowering sentences also seems to be letting out more violent criminals earlier. Yes, AUSA is lenient too.

What’s weird on the whole is that people have asked for criminal justice reform because of the shock of the last few years and police brutality. But when they get what they want, progressive criminal justice reform, crime only gets worse. It’s very nuanced. I get it. Places like Sweden approach crime, violence and recidivism in drastically different way. We are sort of piecemealing our approach in America now.

You seem to be mistaking correlation with causation. The causes of crime are extremely complex. Asserting that "progressive criminal justice reform" - to the extent that it has even happened - is driving the increase in crime (or, conversely, has reduced crime relative to what it would have been otherwise) is more than a bit silly. If you have a serious interest in reducing crime, you would be better to listen and learn from those who put serious effort into understanding the proximate and ultimate causes of crime rather than politicians that seize on simple correlations and fear to advance their own ends.

So, in your opinion, progressive criminal justice reform is reducing crime? Is it reducing teen violence and car jackings? Is it really that complex that letting people off with a slap on the wrist, multiple time, and progressive prosecutors failing to prosecute is leading to rising crime? Please explain yourself and how it’s working. I’m listening.

I’m glad that you’re listening. If you are reading too, you will note that I wrote that it would be equally preposterous to claim that “progressive criminal justice reform” is reducing crime. If you are truly interested in what is driving the increase in crime, please stop listening to politicians and pundits and start reading serious research of variation in crime across time and space. This generally shows that various factors have contributed to the recent surge in crime. These factors include synthetic drugs, social media, school closures during the pandemic, gun proliferation, and so on. Even much of this research, serious that it is, is speculative. No one is out running controlled experiments or even collecting data on relevant covariates, for obvious reasons.

[Anonymous]

jsteele wrote:

Anonymous wrote:New post re: crime>arrest>charge pipeline

https://twitter.com/dccrimefacts/status/1636444709030641674

Everyone should read this entire thread, but I'll embed this tweet which highlights the most significant recent change:

Damn good reporting that reveals an unacceptable situation. The police aren’t policing and the prosecutors aren’t prosecuting. The notion that the DC Council is commanding all of this seems more than a little fanciful.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

jsteele wrote:

Anonymous wrote:New post re: crime>arrest>charge pipeline

https://twitter.com/dccrimefacts/status/1636444709030641674

Everyone should read this entire thread, but I'll embed this tweet which highlights the most significant recent change:

Damn good reporting that reveals an unacceptable situation. The police aren’t policing and the prosecutors aren’t prosecuting. The notion that the DC Council is commanding all of this seems more than a little fanciful.

Mostly peaceful protests and the cops retreat to the donut shop.

[Anonymous]

The Forensics Lab has been a problem for years, there are backups in place for evidence to be processed. I give USAO some credibility on this but not complete. They use a lot of rhetoric similar to Racine, while his office was openly emphasizing things like Restorative Justice for violent juvenile crime.

Why hasn't USAO been screaming @ the lab? Why aren't they working with MPD to get better evidence and cases? Or are they part of the deemphasis on prosecutions mindset (staff not Graves per se) and this is the narrative?

The correlation with the beginning of body cams does ring true.

One place to make a change is for MPD to go back to traffic stops, we need to get dangerous drivers off the street, not just have cameras ticket cars.

MPD needs competent officers who are not on a do not testify list. How many of those do we currently have? Has ongong training fallen by the wayside? Has this been a soft work slowdown as happened in LA under Garcon? Lots more data needs to be analyzed.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The bifurcated system created by the Home Rule law creates a situation where everyone can point fingers at other players w/o accountability. USAO can say it's forensics lab, Council, MPD. MPD can say it's Council and USAO. Bowser can say it's Council, etc.

Players for those unfamiliar:

Bowser has control over forensics lab and MPD

Council writes laws and controls MPD funding

MPD makes arrests of juv and adults

Forensics lab is basis for crimes prosecuted by USAO and AG

AG elected in DC, prosecutes juv crime

Superior Court judges are appointed by President, apply laws written by DC Council

President appoints USAO and Sup Ct judges, proposed DOJ budget (USAO staff and courts)

Congress approves DOJ budget (USAO staff and courts) and
has oversight over DOJ including USAO

This should be stickied at the top of this forum. 90% of the posts about crime on here illustrate an ignorance of these basic facts.

[Anonymous]

Everyone should read this thread, too, in which an MPD officer says USAO almost never discloses (to anyone) why a case was dropped or a warrant was rejected. There's zero transparency.

https://twitter.com/dccrimefacts/status/1636692232349573122

So those of you (Jeff) who assert that they're dropping so many cases solely because of shoddy police work probably should find another canard to push (besides, nowhere does the evidence suggest this).