XPost: soc.culture.african.american, talk.politics.guns, alt.fan.rush-limbaugh   
   XPost: sac.politics   
   From: drooler@gmail.com   
      
   Crime has been rising in Washington, D.C., since the spring of 2020, as   
   local officials continue to disagree over the root causes of the violence.   
      
   "You'll get a group of kids that steals a car at gunpoint. And there could   
   be violence there, where they assault somebody or pistol-whip somebody,"   
   Gregg Pemberton, chair of the D.C. Police Union, told Fox News Digital.   
   "We see people shot during armed carjackings. Then, they'll take the car   
   and use the stolen car to commit other crimes. They'll drive to other   
   neighborhoods, rival neighborhoods, and they'll shoot people. Then they'll   
   leave. They'll commit robberies of gas stations or convenience stores."   
      
   Pemberton says politics has gotten in the way of public safety. Other   
   local officials, including Mayor Muriel Bowser, have blamed the rising   
   crime trend on "the easy access of weapons." Officials have also pointed   
   to the lingering impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic.   
      
   Statistics   
   In 2021, the D.C. Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) reported 226   
   homicides — the highest annual murder count seen in the nation’s capital   
   in nearly 20 years. Only 42% of those homicide investigations were closed.   
      
   In 2022, homicides are down 6% year-to-date, with 59 reported so far this   
   year compared to 63 at this time last year. The number of assault   
   incidents with deadly weapons remains unchanged, with 457 reported this   
   year compared to 455 reported last year, and robberies are up 54%, with   
   803 incidents reported this year compared to 521 at the same time last   
   year.   
      
   DC HOMICIDES COST TAXPAYERS $1.53M PER MURDER, NEARLY $1B PRICE TAG FOR   
   ALL SHOOTINGS LAST YEAR: STUDY   
      
   Total violent crime is up 25%, and property crime is up 7%.   
      
   Examples   
   On April 22, four people were injured in a shooting in D.C.'s Van Ness   
   neighborhood after suspect Raymond Spencer fired an estimated 200 rounds   
   from an apartment window before killing himself, according to authorities.   
   The shooting occurred less than two weeks after four people were injured   
   in a shooting near Nationals Park.   
      
   "Unfortunately, I had to look in parents' eyes tonight who are terrified,   
   and they were terrified thinking of what might happen to their children,"   
   Bowser said during an April 22 press conference after the shooting. "And   
   we have experienced this too much in our country — the epidemic of gun   
   violence. The easy access of weapons has got to stop. People should not be   
   scared taking their children to school."   
      
      
   Motor vehicle theft, theft from auto and "other" auto incidents are also   
   up compared to last year, and experts say auto-related incidents often   
   lead to violence. Juveniles have made up the majority of carjacking   
   suspects over the last two years.   
      
   MPD has arrested multiple juveniles between the ages of 13 and 15 in   
   recent weeks ranging from unarmed and armed carjackings to armed   
   robberies. On April 21, authorities announced the arrest of a 13-year-old   
   boy charged in connection to two stolen auto incidents, two assaults, two   
   unarmed carjackings and three armed carjackings, one of which included an   
   assault with a hammer.   
      
   D.C. City Council candidate Nate Fleming became the victim of an armed   
   carjacking that occurred in broad daylight at a gas station in January.   
      
   DC ALLEGED ‘SNIPER' FIRED MORE THAN 200 ROUNDS FROM 5TH FLOOR, SET UP   
   CAMERAS TO WATCH COPS: POLICE   
      
   "I’m shocked, angry and a bit embarrassed," Fleming said in a statement   
   posted to Twitter. "To be threatened at gunpoint is shocking, but I am not   
   surprised to have been attacked given the crisis we are facing with   
   carjackings and violence in general in our city. Increasing public safety   
   is at the heart of why I’m running for a citywide Council seat."   
      
   In February, an armed suspect carjacked a vehicle near Capitol Hill with   
   the victim and her 11-month-old child still inside. The victim told police   
   the suspect said, "Keep screaming and I'm gonna stab you," according to a   
   police report.   
      
   Armed carjacking in D.C. caught on Ring doorbell cameraVideo   
   Guns   
   Mayor Bowser and President Biden have blamed gun violence and ghost guns   
   for rising crime in not only the nation's capital but in other major U.S.   
   cities, as well.   
      
   Last year alone, there were approximately 20,000 suspected ghost guns   
   reported to the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms (ATF) after being   
   recovered by law enforcement in criminal investigations— which the White   
   House said is a "ten-fold increase" from 2016. In D.C., specifically, the   
   number of ghost guns recovered from the streets jumped to a record high in   
   2021. District authorities recovered 25 ghost guns in 2018, 116 in 2019,   
   282 in 2020 and 313 in 2021, according to NBC 4 Washington.   
      
   BIDEN ANNOUNCED RULE MAKING ‘GHOST GUNS’ ILLEGAL AS PART OF COMPREHENSIVE   
   GUN CRIME STRATEGY   
      
   Biden on April 11 announced that the Justice Department had issued its   
   long-awaited final rule to rein in the proliferation of "ghost guns,"   
   making it illegal for a business to manufacture firearms without serial   
   numbers. The president has also recently called for "universal background   
   checks," an "assault weapons" ban and a ban on "high-capacity magazines."   
      
   Bowser on April 25 announced a new Violent Crime Impact Team comprised of   
   local and federal partners to help recover illegal firearms and apprehend   
   criminals.   
      
   "We cannot allow people to terrorize our communities with guns," Bowser   
   said in a statement at the time. "This is about using a whole-of-   
   government approach, but it’s also about focusing our attention and   
   resources on exactly where we know the problem is. Our message is clear –   
   we will continue to offer people in our city a better path forward, but if   
   people choose to engage in violence, then they will be held accountable."   
      
   Bowser had also introduced a plan for the MPD to reach 4,000 sworn-in MPD   
   officers through her 2023 Fair Shot Budget, which invests $30 million for   
   hiring, recruitment, and retention incentives for the department.   
      
   Politics   
   While Pemberton, chair of the D.C. Police Union, agrees that part of the   
   issue of rising crime in D.C. is the lingering impact of the pandemic, he   
   also blames the trend on politics.   
      
   When police question juveniles "about their involvement" in a crime, the   
   juveniles "are telling the detectives that they know there's no penalty,   
   so they don't care," Pemberton explained, naming D.C. District Attorney   
   Karl Racine's Restorative Justice Model as a reason why.   
      
   The model allows juveniles charged with violent crimes to take part in a   
   restorative program that includes connecting with victims and therapy   
   instead of being prosecuted with the goal of decreasing the likelihood   
   that the same juvenile offender will commit future crimes. The office of   
   the attorney general is the sole prosecutor for juvenile offenses.   
      
   "There's just this lackadaisical sort of laissez-faire attitude about   
      
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