Reply to Data on USAO Criminal Prosecutions in DC

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=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.

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Sieve is a good metaphor. There was another chart in the same Twitter thread showing arrests are down too. That is likely due to funding/resource constraints and in response to very few misdemeanors being prosecuted. Not a good use of scarcer resources to pursue a misdemeanor arrest that is likely to go nowhere and info that tracks with anecdotal reports of MPD being reluctant to take reports in some instances.

No one in DC govt has any control over USAO at all. The USAO is appointed by the president and staff and funding are DOJ. Congress has oversight.

Prosecution, or not, of juveniles by DC AG is a different matter under the Home Rule law. The DC AG is elected and that office DOES respond to FOIAs. It would be interesting to see a similar graph of their prosecution rates over time, but handing juvenile crime is very differnet. More go to diversion programs, for example. [/quote]

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