WASHINGTON — WUSA9 has reported for months on the crime crisis in D.C. and the effect juvenile crime has on it.
According to the DC Policy Center, juvenile commit crimes in D.C. at nearly double the national rate.
Since January, the DC Council has worked on a crime omnibus bill, Secure DC. It’s a bill aimed at reinforcing law enforcement efforts in the District. At-Large Councilmember Robert White wants to turn the focus on a different angle – youth crime prevention.
“Response without prevention is an ineffective strategy,” White said.
Tuesday, on the steps of the Wilson Building, he unveiled what he calls ‘The Safer Today, Safer Tomorrow’ package of bills – three bills aimed at filling the cracks that D.C. youth fall through on a regular basis.
Each bill attacks the support system problem for juveniles in a different way. One bill supports a vocational program for workforce development. The goal is to work with programs that give D.C. youth a path to gainful employment that starts in their school years.
A second bill aims to get a handle on D.C.’s school truancy issue. The bill would create a program to monitor student absenteeism on a regular basis, instead of a yearly basis. It would give the District’s social services a better handle on which students are falling behind.
Both pair up with the third leg of the legislation, one that develops a mentorship program for kids. It would put a focus on connecting young people who have a history of Adverse Childhood Experiences with support services.
“The bills I’m introducing today respond directly to the gaps where we are losing young people,” White said.
In the crowd, Tykirah Ellis stood by as White unveiled his plan. Ellis works as mentor with the Black Swan Academy – a mentorship program aimed at helping D.C. youth.
“I think [the programs] create a outlook at things and creates a safe place for kids to go to,” she said.
But it does the beg the question to White: D.C. already dedicates millions of dollars to similar violence prevention programs, are they not working?
“There are a number of programs under the umbrella of crime prevention,” he explained. “[But] one, they are not organized. Two, we are not tracking metrics to measure how they are or are not working or how they need to improve.”
He says with the new legislation, programs that don’t work could be out.
As far as what it will cost, White estimates around a $5 million price tag.
This was just the first step in unveiling the legislation. It will have to be taken up by the council for consideration and faces a long road before they would become law.