She Said, He Said regarding regarding the Committee on the Judiciary and Public Safety’s Budget

photo by Diane Krauthamer

From the Mayor’s Office:

“Statement on the Judiciary Committee’s Vote to Cut Mayor Bowser’s MPD Package by $6 Million

Today, after the Judiciary Committee of the Council of the District of Columbia voted to cut Mayor Bowser’s proposed Metropolitan Police Department package by $6 million, which is about 20% of the entire package, the Mayor released the following statement:

“I sent to the Council a package that includes the funding necessary to hire 347 officers while also retaining high-quality, experienced officers who already know our community. I want to be very clear: if we can’t do both, we will lose ground and the number of police officers will continue to dwindle. DC residents have been very clear: they don’t want another decrease in the number of officers at MPD. Residents want MPD staffed at the level it needs to keep neighborhoods safe – and we need the whole package to do that. We need the money and the incentives to hire 347 officers and we need the right incentives to keep good officers. You can’t say you’re for hiring police and then cut $6 million from the MPD package.

“Similarly, when we surveyed our school leaders, they overwhelmingly opposed removing School Resource Officers. We know, and people who spend time in schools know, that there are times when support is needed to keep all students safe. We want that support to come from trained SROs who know and have built trusting relationships with our students and who know the school administration and teachers. Again, this is not the moment to be removing these resources from our community.

“On top of all these cuts, the same committee wants to cut 31 correctional officers at a time when our current DOC staff is already stretched incredibly thin to the point that some officers have not had two consecutive days off in almost two years.

“I want Washingtonians to be safe in our neighborhoods, in our schools – no matter where they are, they should be safe. My focus, and the focus of the budget I sent to the Council, is on building a safer, stronger DC.”

From DC Councilmember Charles Allen (Ward 6), Chair of the Committee on the Judiciary and Public Safety, in response to a statement from the Mayor released earlier this evening regarding the Committee on the Judiciary and Public Safety’s budget recommendations:

“We’re two months out today from an important date in our city, so it’s an obvious choice to try to gin up conflict where there is none. I prefer seeking common ground and keeping politics out of policy.

The budget the committee unanimously moved forward today fully funds every new officer the Chief requested and also creates the region’s most generous signing bonus available for police officers – $20,000. We tripled the funding for officer retention and more than doubled the officer housing assistance program. These aren’t new incentives.

This year, the Mayor hasn’t spent even a fraction of the funds that we approved for these same officer retention programs last year, but the committee still believes these significant increases can be good for MPD. But the supposed conflict is around the Mayor’s proposals for a personal, take home squad car only around 15% of the force is eligible for and an incentive the committee tripled, despite the fact MPD has spent just $7,200 of $400,000. The committee put that money into direct services for crime victims, supports for survivors of domestic and sexual violence, and relief for victims of gun violence.

The Council is not the Mayor’s rubber stamp, and to describe the committee’s support and dramatic expansion of these initiatives as a cut isn’t a serious response. The city needs leaders to stop pointing fingers and instead get to work.”