Julia Eisen – WMAL News | October 12, 2023
A week after Congressman Henry Cuellar was the victim of an armed carjacking at Navy Yard, a House subcommittee is holding a hearing today on the District’s massive crime spike.
Violent crime is up 40 percent in Washington D.C. since 2022. As of October 12, there have been 218 homicides, up 36 percent. Homicides are happening at the fastest pace since the late 1990s.
“The crime we are witnessing just a few blocks from this building is unprecedented,” Rep. Andy Biggs (R-Ariz.) said in the hearing. “No part of this city can be considered safe anymore.”
Congresswoman Sheila Jackson Lee says of the 10 cities with the most police per capita in 2022, D.C. had 542 out of 100,000.
“It doesn’t mean that not more are needed. It means we need to work together,” Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee (D-Tex) said.
This hearing is the third effort by the House Judiciary subcommittee to criticize Democratic-run cities on their handling of crime, according to the Washington Post.
D.C. councilmembers and the Deputy Mayor of Safety and Justice, Lindsey Appiah are attending the hearing. D.C. Council has continuously passed emergency crime legislation to combat rising crime rates.
WMAL News Correspondent Heather Curtis contributed to this report.
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