Community Safety
The safest communities are ones where everyone’s needs are met. It is only by broadening our understanding of safety that we will make noticeable and sustainable progress toward a District in which fewer people experience and then perpetrate harm. This work should center on meeting the needs of people most at risk of violence.
OVERALL RANKING OF DC Councilmembers on Community Safety
Green = Champion Yellow = Mixed Record Red = Not Aligned with DC4D
SPECIFIC VOTES CONSIDERED
Did they Oppose the Prioritizing Public Safety Emergency Act of 2023?The DC Council responded to rising crime in DC – with rates still low relative to the 1990s – with emergency legislation focused on increased criminal penalties, including expanding the offenses for which there is a presumption of pretrial detention. DC for Democracy opposed this bill because it swung the pendulum back toward failed pretrial detention policies that contributed to DC’s previous very high incarceration rates, especially of Black residents, with no evidence of increased community safety. The DC Council Office on Racial Equity’s analysis of the similar provisions included in a permanent bill came to similar conclusions, that the provisions would increase incarceration of Black residents, using penalty-driven policies that have not been proven effective. This scoring reflects those who opposed the emergency legislation and those who supported it.
DC for Democracy opposed this bill.
Did They Not Sign on to the Metro Safety Act of 2023? In recent years, the DC Council took steps to decriminalize fare evasion in the Metro system, a recognition that fare evasion is a low-level issue driven largely by economic deprivation, and that enforcement has targeted Black and brown people. In 2023, in response to rising fare evasion, the DC Council introduced legislation to reverse course, increasing financial penalties for fare evasion and allowing Metro Police to arrest people who do not provide ID after a stop for fare evasion. The legislation ultimately was wrapped up in Secure DC, an omnibus bill passed in 2024 unanimously. This increases the chance that Black and brown people will have police interactions, which always have a risk of turning dangerous, and because it in effect criminalizes poverty. It is not an effective or fair way to address fare evasion.
DC for Democracy opposed this legislation and is in agreement with members who chose to not introduce it.
Did They Support Removing Police from Schools? Police presence in schools, intended to promote safety, actually creates a heightened atmosphere of fear for students, given the often-negative interactions of police with Black and brown people. DC for Democracy opposes having police in schools. In 2021, the DC Council voted to remove police from schools, but in 2022, Mayor Bowser included a provision in her budget proposal to maintain police in schools. The DC Council budget debate included an amendment to keep police out of schools, which passed, and the scoring below reflects those who supported the amendment and those who did not. Unfortunately, this action was overturned in 2023 when Mayor Bowser placed it in the budget again and the Council did not override it.
DC for Democracy supported the amendment to remove police from schools.
Did they introduce or sign on to the Eliminating Restrictive and Segregated Enclosures (ERASE) Solitary Confinement Act of 2023? The United Nations says that solitary confinement is a form of torture, the the DC Jail has a rate of solitary confinement that is 3 times the national average. In 2023, members of the DC Council introduced the ERASE Act to greatly limit the use of solitary confinement at the jail. The scoring below reflects those who helped introduce the legislation and those who did not.
DC for Democracy supported this legislation.
Did they Co-Introduce the Food Regulation Ensures Safety and Hospitality Speciality Training Aids Re-entry Transition and Success (FRESH STARTS) Act of 2023?There have long been complaints and concerns about the quality of food at the DC Jail, with a focus on processed foods and many reports of spoiled or rotten food being served. In 2023, the members of the DC Council introduced the FRESH STARTS Act to improve the quality of food served and create a process for promoting nutrition in DC correctional facilities. Note that parts of this bill were adopted through the Secure DC legislation.
The scoring below reflects those who signed on to the bill and those who did not.
DC for Democracy supported this.
Did they support the amendment to remove increases in pretrial detention included in the Peace DC Omnibus Act of 2025?The Peace DC Omnibus Act combined several legislative efforts that adjusted processes in the District’s criminal legal system related to pre-trial detention, education requirements for police officers, fare evasion, record sealing, and benefits for surviving spouses of EMS workers and firefighters.. Council Member Robert White submitted an amendment to strike an expansion of pre-trial detention for youth and adults. Research shows that only a very small share of people released pre-trail commit a crime during that period, meaning that expanding pre-trial detention is unlikely to contribute to overall community safety.
DC for Democracy supported this amendment.
Did they support the amendment to remove the expansion of the powers of Special Police on Public Transit included in the Peace DC Omnibus Act of 2025? The Peace DC Omnibus Act combined several legislative efforts that adjusted processes in the District’s criminal legal system related to pre-trial detention, education requirements for police officers, fare evasion, record sealing, and benefits for surviving spouses of EMS workers and firefighters. Council Members Allen and Lewis George introduced an amendment to remove provisions that expanded Special Police Officer enforcement authority on public transit.
DC for Democracy supported this amendment.
Did they Oppose the Residential Tranquility Act of 2025? The Residential Tranquility Act includes elements to prohibit persons from targeting a residence for purposes of a demonstration from using sound amplifying devices in a residential zone between 7:00 p.m. and 9:00 a.m. and other provisions. Given that DC already has broad limits on noise, this legislation runs the risk of limiting the First Amendment rights of DC residents.
DC for Democracy opposed this legislation.
Did they support the amendment to eliminate expansion of DNA collection in the Secure DC Act of 2024? The Secure DC Act, an omnibus public safety bill, included provisions that would allow police to collect DNA evidence, for the purpose of supporting future investigations, from people arrested for a crime, even though most people arrested for a felony do not end up being charged. The amendment, which passed, removed this expansion of DNA collection authority.
DC for Democracy supported this amendment.
Did they support amending the Secure DC Act of 2024 to speed up implementation of Second Chance Act? This amendment to The Secure DC Act moved up the applicability date of the Second Chance Amendment Act of 2022, to expand the types of criminal records eligible for sealing or expungement. Record sealing is a crucial component of public safety. One in seven adults in DC have a publicly available criminal record, and only half of those records include an actual conviction. These records prevent people from being approved for housing and employment, which in turn leads to a person being more likely to reengage in criminal activity
DC for Democracy supported this amendment.
Did they introduce the Safe Community Places and Policing Amendment Act to prohibit local law enforcement from engaging in civil immigration enforcement without a judicial warrant or court order? This legislation was introduced in December 2025 to prohibit DC’s Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) from providing transportation to or patrolling jointly with federal immigration enforcement officers, absent a judicial warrant or court order. It also would designate a number of “safe community places” where MPD will not engage in joint action with federal immigration enforcement officers, absent a judicial warrant or court order.
DC for Democracy supports this legislation.