Doing Less with Less: Crime and Punishment in Washington, DC

 By Charles Fain Lehman

Washington, DC, is making headlines for its crime problems. While other cities saw crime retreat in 2023, the District saw a historic spike in murders, as well as a surge in shocking carjackings, many carried out by teenage offenders. These disturbing crimes are compounded by a general decay in public order in the District, with residents complaining of rampant fare-beating, panhandling, and shoplifting. But why has crime risen in the nation’s capital? The debate around the topic focuses on either the leniency of DC’s laws or the degree to which DC has provided for its most disadvantaged citizens. Nobody can even agree, it seems, on the extent to which crime has risen, or which crimes have gone up or down, with commentators cherry-picking statistics that serve their preferred view of things. This report makes several contributions to the debate over crime in the District of Columbia. The first section presents data on crime in the District, identifying three distinct but related crime problems: a long-standing homicide and group-violence problem; adolescent crime, principally involving auto theft and carjacking; and public disorder, including fare evasion and uncontrolled unsheltered homelessness. The second section connects these trends to a systematic decline of activity in many components of DC’s crime-and-disorder control system, including reductions in police staffing and activity, in prosecution, in pretrial detention, in school attendance, in judicial staffing, and in camp clearance. These two sections, the report then argues, are related. The report calls for viewing DC’s problem through the criminal justice system “capacity” lens—the volume of manpower, attention, space, time, and other resources that the system can dedicate to its crime-fighting function. DC has experienced a comprehensive collapse in its capacity over the past four years; remediating it is the best way to get crime under control. In conclusion, this report lays out several proposals for restoring or expanding capacity, including • Federally funding Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) hiring • Expanding professional development opportunities for MPD officers • “Civilianize” certain MPD roles • Concentrate limited policing resources • Building a dedicated federal–District gang-suppression partnership • Encourage the public to fight crime through public nuisance abatement and the ability of the Advisory Neighborhood Commission (ANC) to deny liquor licenses • Permit the DC attorney general to prosecute cases that the U.S. attorney declines • Give the Senate a time-limited veto over, rather than a confirmation responsibility for, appointments to DC’s courts • Prosecute truants engaged in criminal behavior • Clear camps without apology These steps, this report concludes, should be part of an all-of-government effort to make DC’s criminal-justice system function again—and function better. The report’s Appendix includes model federal legislation for accomplishing these goals through increased funding, expanded prosecutorial authority, and facilitating the nomination and confirmation of DC judges 

New York: The Manhattan Institute, 2024. 39p.