This contains posts related to all parts of the District government including the DC Council, the Mayor’s office and related entities.
In a press release issued by her office, Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton announced that her District of Columbia Home Rule Expansion Act (H.R. 8861), “the biggest expansion of D.C. home rule since passage of the D.C. Home Rule Act in 1973,” passed the House Committee on Oversight and Reform. The bill, if passed into law, …
Continue reading “Rep. Norton’s Bill Expanding D.C. Home Rule Approved by House Judiciary Commitee”
Violence interruption is a community-based approach to reducing communal and interpersonal violence that treats violence as a public health problem. This type of model was reportedly created by the organization Cure Violence Global. Individuals providing violence interruption services are known as violence interrupters. Techniques used include mediation and measures to address underlying causes of violence. Violence interrupters …
Continue reading “Training Academy For Violence Interrupters Launches In D.C.”
This is a piece from University Legal Services’ Jail and Prison Advocacy Project recent newsletter. It was authored by Cami Bianchi, one of their summer interns and is published here with permission. Parole Reform Setback For years now, DC residents and reentry organizations have worked to gain local control over parole, which is currently in …
Continue reading “Parole Reform Setback, University Legal Services report”
The US District Court for the District of Columbia entered an Order holding the District is in contempt of the Court’s preliminary injunction issued on June 16, 2021 because DC is continuing to fail to provide special education to the students with disabilities who are incarcerated at the DC Jail. The District must comply with …
Shelley Broderick, chair of the District Task Force on Jails & Justice (more), published an opinion piece in the Washington Post, titled Opinion: We have a plan to close the D.C. jail. It’s time to act, in response to the recent developments regarding conditions at the DC Jail. Citing the Task Force’s recommendations regarding the …
As reported in the DCIST: The DC Council has begun a process to evaluate a sweeping rewrite of the city’s criminal code, a deep-in-the-weeds and yet potentially consequential effort to better define crimes, clarify terms and penalties, and repeal outdated offenses — some dating back more than a century. The proposal could also have a …
Continue reading “D.C. Council Tackles Sweeping Rewrite of Criminal Code”
The April 2021 ReThink Justice monthly meeting featured a presentation on the recently publish final report of the DC Police Reform Commission. The report included a comprehensive set of police reform recommendations. The briefing was given by Blaine Stum, Legislative Policy Analyst for DC Council Chairman Phil Mendelson . Mr. Stum, on behalf of Chairman …
Continue reading “ReThink Justice Meeting Features Briefing on new Police Reform Commission Report”
I a letter send to Councilmember Vincent Gray, a diverse group of over 20 community leaders, faith leaders and citizens calling on him to abandon his attacks on The Horizon, a short-term family housing facility in Ward 7 that supports 35 families. They also noted in the letter that the attack on The Horizon was …
As reported in the DCIST.com: Mayor Muriel Bowser has nominated longtime police official Robert J. Contee III to lead the Metropolitan Police Department in the wake of Chief Peter Newsham’s planned departure for the Prince William County Police Department.
As reported in the Washington City Paper Loose Lips this week, Councilman Vince Gray is using a political maneuver–supported by Council Chair Mendelson–as leverage to stop the opening of the federal men’s halfway house in his Ward. It should be noted that this tactic, if successful, may close down a homeless shelter! The District has …
