Since Biden’s appointment of Matthew Graves as the District of Columbia’s US Attorney, crime has increased in Washington, DC. This is because Graves declined to bring charges against 67% of those who were detained and would have faced prosecution in the D.C. Superior Court, based on 2022 District data.
About 52 percent of all felony arrests and 72 percent of misdemeanor arrests were among those Graves chose not to pursue. Annual Statistical Reports of the Attorney’s Office were released.
According to Graves, who was nominated by President Biden on July 26, 2021, and approved on Oct. 28, 2021, arrests for burglaries, drug possession, and gun possession have seen the least number of prosecutions.
He claimed that the majority of the cases he prosecutes involve first-degree sexual attacks, armed carjacking, murder, and attacks with the intention to kill.
“The bottom line is that it gives the perception that the number of cases we are bringing has decreased generally. That is absolutely untrue,” said Graves.
In spite of his assertions, D.C.’s total crime rate has increased by 22% since 2022, shown by Wednesday’s crime figures. Sexual assault has increased by 110%. Homicides have increased by 19%. Vehicle larceny has increased by 108% and property crime has increased by 27%.
Graves attempted to explain the rising crime rates by stating that “Since 2019, we have been taking additional time at arrest to decide if we are going to file charges. We have more information to assess the quality of the evidence we would eventually present to courts and juries thanks to body-worn cameras and the widespread use of surveillance cameras.”
D.C. Robert Contee III, the chief of police, retaliated against the Biden-appointed district attorney. Contee defended the District’s police force, saying “I can assure you, it’s not MPD holding the bag on this. BS, I say.”
Recently, the rising crime in the nation’s capital has made national headlines. Senator Rand Paul’s (R-KY) staff member was randomly attacked on Saturday on the 1300 block of H St. Northeast, a few blocks from the Capitol. According to NBC4 Washington, the suspect, 42-year-old black district resident Glynn Neal, claimed that “voices” in his mind had instructed him to carry out the attack.
Rep. Angie Craig (D-MN) was harassed in her apartment building on February 9 on the same street as the attack. A Washington Football Team member was shot in an attempted carjacking on H Street last year.
D.C. council does not seem to be concerned about the bloodshed, which recently approved legislation to lessen criminal penalties. The mayor vetoed that measure, but the council overrode it with a lopsided majority of votes. After a Republican-drafted congressional resolution was signed by Biden under political duress, the bill was eventually defeated.
