Fox 5: DC Council reviews Bowser’s plan to address crime in the District

Fox 5 covered the DC Council’s hearing on the Safer Stronger Amendment Act of 2023. The Act, proposed by Mayor Browser, aims to address crime across the District. However, Policy Analyst Danielle Robinette shared our concerns on how the legislation could impact DC youth.

Bowser’s proposal would also make it easier to detain juveniles before adjudication. However, criminal justice experts strongly oppose increasing juvenile detention, saying that it fails to address the root causes of the problem.

“It is difficult for us to imagine a set of circumstances in which incarceration is in a child’s best interest. We worry this creates a slippery slope where judges are required to order pretrial detention even when the child poses no risk to the community,” said Danielle Robinette from the Children’s Law Center.