This post was written by Hatchet reporter Kendrick Chang.
Updated: Jan. 14 at 8:48 p.m.
D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser tasked a group of city officials and law enforcement officials to focus on cutting down crime in the city, the most recent effort to combat the uptick of crime in D.C. over the last year.
Bowser announced the creation of the Robbery Intervention Task Force on Wednesday which will coordinate strategies to combat theft crimes and target repeat offenders, The Washington Post reported. The task force will be comprised of several law enforcement agencies including the Metropolitan Police Department, Metro Transit Police, U.S. Attorney’s office, At-large Council member Anita Bonds and Ward 6 Council member Charles Allen.
“We must do better so every D.C. neighborhood is safer,” Bowser told The Post.
The task force’s creation comes after a 10 percent increase in robberies between 2014 and 2015. Several neighborhoods, including Foggy Bottom, were targeted the most. The District closed 2015 with a 54 percent increase in homicides, according to the Post.
Bowser said the task force will help law enforcement and officials to coordinate efforts and pick out patterns that could prevent
offenders from repeating crimes.
“The task force will target offenders by quickly identifying and responding to patterns of a robbery spree,” Bowser told the Post.
Bowser said the D.C. Council has moved too slowly in responding to the uptick in crime, according to the Post. She also criticized Ward 5 Council member Kenyan McDuffie, who is the chair of the Council’s judiciary committee, for stalling her most recent anti-crime legislation, the Post reported.
Some of Bowser’s proposals that require action from the D.C. Council include hiring more crime scene specialists, raising the penalties of crimes committed on Metro trains and expanding a job-training program for prisoners.
This post was updated to reflect the following correction:
The Hatchet incorrectly reported that Council member Anita Bonds is a Ward 5 Council member. She is an At-large Council member. We regret this error.
