Remarks on Whole of Government Response to Crime
"In the end, if we have agencies and organizations and elected leaders working in silos and not working together, we will be limited in what we can accomplish."
Councilmember Nadeau delivered the following remarks at the December 6, 2023 hearing of the Committee on the Judiciary and Public Safety on Councilmember Robert White's Bill 25-0537 - Whole Government Response to Crime Act of 2023. Councilmember Nadeau co-introduced the legislation.
We all deserve to live in a community where we feel safe, no matter which ward or neighborhood we live in. I am raising a family in Ward 1, and like everyone, my family’s safety means everything to me. That’s why I have been so concerned about the ongoing violence in my District and in our ward.
More than 90 people testified at the Council’s Judiciary and Public Safety Committee’s hearing two weeks ago on the Mayor’s ACT Now crime bill. More than 100 people attended my recent Town Hall with Police Chief Smith and another 350 online. It’s no surprise. People are scared and angry and they want to know what the Mayor, police, the Council, our federal partners – all of us – are doing about ongoing violence.
No one piece of legislation is going to magically reverse the increase in crime or get us out of this situation. Even passing all of the measures we’re considering won’t work if we don’t also fix the tools that are already in place and not working, like the failing 911 dispatch center, the unaccredited crime lab, and the U.S. Attorney’s Office’s low prosecution rate.
This is what I like about Councilmember Robert White’s Whole Government Response to Public Safety. It takes a comprehensive approach that would unify the city’s multi-agency response. It looks at those tools we already have, such as the 911 dispatch center and the crime lab, firearms tracking data, and more to make sure the agencies and tools we have work better, and work in tandem.
Because, in the end, if we have agencies and organizations and elected leaders working in silos and not working together, we will be limited in what we can accomplish.
It may not always look like it, but my colleagues and I, working with the Mayor, executive branch agencies, the police chief, the U.S. Attorney, the D.C. Attorney General and countless partners in the community, are collaborating to make sure those tools are operating at their maximum potential.
I am also interested in the other two pieces of legislation in today’s hearing.
I’m especially glad to see the Safe Commercial Corridors legislation before us. It is the permanent version of legislation I helped fund to give financial support to BIDS and Main Streets to implement public safety solutions, something the Adams Morgan BID in Ward 1 has already developed plans for and intends to request.
And I’d like to say publicly that I appreciate the tireless work of Councilmember Pinto and her staff over the past 11 months pushing for action on public safety, for bringing ideas to the table.
All of this cannot take the place of the work we’ve been doing for years now and must continue to do investing in prevention. Clearly it is better to prevent crime from happening than to respond to it afterward. Crimes, including violent crimes, happen for a wide variety of reasons and we need to work on all fronts. This is why I’ve made big investments in mental health and substance use disorder services in Ward 1 and have supported them throughout the District – these have a direct impact on crime and in supporting law enforcement, who will tell you they want other professionals dealing with these situations.
The year 2023 has been sobering when it comes to public safety. Like my colleagues, I am committed to collaborating with the Mayor, U.S. Attorney, the D.C. Attorney General, agencies, to explore all possible solutions. Residents expect that of us, and rightfully so.