Is D.C. More Secure? A Criminal Legal System Overview

By  Aayushma Bastola, Research & Data Fellow; Morgan Grizzle,, et al.

While in 2023 many other urban jurisdictions around the country began to see drops in homicides and other serious violent crime that had spiked postpandemic, the District of Columbia saw rates of violent crimes, like homicide and carjackings, continue to climb.1 That summer, D.C. lawmakers passed emergency legislation with provisions related to law enforcement and the prosecution and sentencing of crimes. In March 2024 the District passed permanent legislation, the Secure DC Omnibus Amendment Act of 2024 (“SECURE DC”), which included changes to D.C. law that had been part of prior expired emergency legislation as well as several new provisions.2 Given the importance of the public’s community safety concerns and the significance of SECURE DC policy changes, this year’s D.C. Criminal Legal System Overview is different from prior editions. This report highlights several aspects of SECURE DC and provides data analyses that can be used as a baseline with which to benchmark changes in crime and incarceration that may be related to the law’s provisions. This Overview also offers data to provide an overview of the District’s criminal legal landscape and to identify who is most impacted by D.C.’s legal systems. For example, this report highlights the growing costs of incarceration and policing in D.C. — reaching over $1 billion for the first time — and the disproportionate number of Black people who are justice-involved, including as victims of crime, in the District. Finally, this report will show that there have been some encouraging changes in terms of public safety from preliminary data for the first half of 2024, including both before and after the passage of SECURE DC. This is the fourth report in which the Council for Court Excellence (CCE) has offered a snapshot of the District’s criminal legal systems. As with past reports, CCE hopes readers find this information useful as we all work to create a safer, healthier, thriving D.C.  

Washington, DC: Council for Court Excellence , 2024. 40,p.