DC records more than 100 homicides in earliest time frame since 2003

Washington, D.C., has recorded 100 homicides in the first six months of 2023, the earliest that the district has hit the mark in two decades.

The 100th homicide was reported on Wednesday in southeast D.C. on South Capitol Street just after 6:30 p.m. Police officers who arrived at the scene found a man suffering from gunshot wounds in the street, per Fox 5 DC. The victim died at the scene, and investigators are searching for a vehicle connected to the killing. Later on Wednesday night, a man and woman were shot on 49th Street, marking the 101st homicide in the district with no suspects or motives identified.

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The D.C. Police Union issued a statement on the 100th homicide report, claiming it was the earliest date the district has reached 100 homicides since 2003.

“In 2022, the 100th homicide was recorded on June 24. In 2021, the date was July 10. Over the past 10 years, the average date that we have reached this grim marker is October 25,” the union wrote in a press release.

Crime rates compared to 2022 have been steadily increasing. Homicides are up 19% from this time last year, total violent crime is up 16%, and total overall crime is up 27% as of Wednesday.

“This increase in crime is due to D.C. Council’s implementation of misguided ‘police reform’ legislation,” Union Chairman Gregg Pemberton said. “The Council’s actions have had a chilling effect on professional and responsible policing and caused over 1,200 police officers to leave the agency.”

The union claimed that recent legislation and police reform strategies that began in 2020 are to blame for the mass exodus of officers from the Metropolitan Police Department. Two bills have been subjected to scrutiny in recent months: one focusing on the criminal code and one focusing on police reform.

The D.C. Council overwhelmingly approved a bill last year that would have implemented a massive overhaul of the city’s criminal code, completing a project district lawmakers had been working on for 16 years. The law would have weakened penalties for several crimes, including carjackings and homicide, and would not have gone into effect until 2026.

The bill became a source of in-fighting between Mayor Muriel Bowser and council members. The council passed the bill in November 2022 but it was vetoed by Bowser. However, the council overrode her veto in January, allowing it to become law.

Washington, D.C.’s criminal code, like all legislation coming out of the district, is subject to congressional oversight. In February and March, the House and Senate voted to overturn the overhaul of the criminal code, marking the first time in 30 years that Congress has repealed a local law passed by the D.C. Council. President Joe Biden went against the calls from the more left-leaning members of his party and signed the bill, overturning the D.C. Council’s law.

The D.C. Council pushed back against Congress during the process, at one point withdrawing the bill in an attempt to prevent Congress from overturning the code. The vote still went through, effectively scrapping the district’s attempts to soften punishments.

The second bill to appear before Congress focused on police reform. Several of the police reforms focus on prohibiting the use of neck restraints, increasing access to body camera footage, and revising officer discipline procedures. Both the House and Senate voted to overturn these reforms in May. However, Biden vetoed the congressional effort, which allowed the police reforms to remain in effect.

“Resignations are now outpacing retirements, and recruiting numbers are abysmal. Without serious efforts to repeal this legislation, this situation will only continue to get worse,” Pemberton said.

In March, a report released by DC Crime Facts showed that the U.S. attorney for Washington, D.C., declined to prosecute 67% of people arrested by police officers in 2022. U.S. Attorney Matthew Graves said there were several reasons for not prosecuting less serious crimes, such as an unaccredited crime lab and police body-camera footage leading to severe scrutiny.

“Since 2019, we have been taking more time at arrest to determine if we are going to file charges. With body-worn camera and the proliferation of surveillance cameras, we have more information at the charging stage to assess the strength of the evidence we would be presenting later to courts and juries,” Graves said.

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Former D.C. Police Chief Robert Contee, who retired on June 3, said in March that his officers were not to blame for the lack of prosecutions and that prosecutors may also be not as willing to push a case if they have concerns about witnesses.

The Washington Examiner reached out to D.C. police for comment on the homicide figure.