Brianne’s Record on Public Safety
Effectively addressing crime requires three things: prevention, policing, and prosecution. Each one needs to work well in order for crime to go down. Here’s how Brianne has worked to make that happen.
Voted for the Prioritizing Public Safety Emergency Amendment Act, which gives judges more tools to keep the most violent offenders off the streets, ensures more community-oriented policing, and provides more option for confiscating dangerous weapons
Voted for the Secure DC omnibus bill to strengthen our laws against carjacking, gun violence and shoplifting, invest in victim services and the safe commercial corridors program, and educate the community about my Red Flag law, one of our tools to prevent gun violence, while preserving civil rights and protecting people with substance use disorder from harm
Voted to confirm Police Chief Pamela Smith, who has made substantial progress in getting police officers into the community more and making more arrests
Advanced a package of bills, including her own fake tags legislation, to hold dangerous drivers accountable
Introduced the CADET Act to bolster police recruitment and retention for our local officer training program
Introduced the Case Closure and Witness Support Amendment Act to help police solve more homicides through increased rewards and a robust witness protection program
Introduced the Reliable and Effective 911 Act to ensure faster and more accurate dispatch and supported a bill to immediately enhance staffing at the 911 call center.
Secured more than $4.5 million for Ward 1 for safety ambassadors, community navigators, traffic control officers and substance use disorder outreach
Invested nearly a million dollars in support services for those suffering from substance use disorders, which helps people and helps prevent crime
Joined MPD and Ward 1 residents for regular public safety walks
Hosted Police Chief Pamela Smith in a Ward 1 Town Hall with more than 400 participants
Hosted the U Street Nightlife Taskforce to provide updates on safety measures in the U Street Corridor, and introduced legislation now in effect that will establish a community improvement district to manage nightlife and daytime issues, address gaps in services, manage nighttime parking demand, and direct resources
Held a community discussion around youth violence with the Office of the Attorney General
Met with resident associations to discuss safety concerns
Invested millions of dollars in violence prevention in targeted areas of Ward 1
Expanded Ward 1 clean teams in Columbia Heights, Mount Pleasant, Lower Georgia Avenue, U Street and Shaw
Established Community Navigator program in Ward 1 to serve those with substance use disorder
Spearheaded DC’s “red flag” law, to remove guns from those who pose a threat to themselves or others
Voted to ban “ghost guns”
What Else is Brianne Working On?
Frequently Asked Questions
Q: What is Brianne’s record on funding police?
A: Brianne has voted to approve more than $500 million in funding for the Metropolitan Police Department every year. Brianne believes a first-class, professional police department is essential for public safety. She has never voted to defund the police and will continue working with MPD to make Ward 1 safe.
Q: Does Brianne support hiring more police officers?
A: Yes. Brianne supported an increase in signing bonuses to $25,000, and is the author of the CADET Act, which would help with recruitment of DC residents into the police force. Police ranks have been dropping in DC in recent years, part of a national trend.
Q: How can we keep up the size of the police force?
A: Brianne and other councilmembers supported the Mayor’s request to increase signing bonuses to $25,000 to recruit more officers; still MPD is struggling to bring in qualified new officers. Brianne has introduced a bill that would bolster MPD’s Cadet program and build a pipeline of young District residents for the Department. She has also supported increases in the number of civilian employees in the police department. This makes it possible for sworn officers to focus on the things they are trained for and pass off some of the other work to others who are not sworn officers.
You might be surprised to learn that more officers were leaving the force eight years ago than now. What’s changed is that there’s a national shortage of people who want to go into policing to fill those vacancies. Nearly all large cities are facing the same problem and are competing for the same talent. When nearby jurisdictions raised their signing bonuses to match DC’s $20,000, we raised it to $25,000. Every year for the past several years, the Council has allocated more funds for MPD hiring than the Department has been able to spend. Funding is not standing in the way of MPD hiring more officers.
Q: What is Brianne’s position on penalties for violent crimes, illegal gun crimes, and carjackings?
A: The Revised Criminal Code Act, unanimously passed by the Council and then blocked by Congress, would have closed gaps in our laws that make it harder to prosecute crimes, increased some penalties while reducing a handful of others, and made it possible to “stack” jail time and other penalties. The added clarity about what must be proven for each charge would have made it easier for prosecutors to prove their cases. Because it did not become law, any attempt to blame it for the increase in crime doesn’t make sense.
The Councilmember supports the expanded definition of carjacking in the Secure DC omnibus, which will allow prosecution when a victim is in the immediate area of their car, not only when they are in it. She has worked to bolster D.C.’s gun laws. Elements of the Red Flag Law, which she introduced and was passed in 2016 as part of the Neighborhood Engagement Achieves Results (NEAR) Act, will finally be implemented in the Secure DC omnibus. It allows judges to temporarily remove a person’s firearms if they present a danger to themselves or others. Brianne often says that a comprehensive approach to public safety includes prevention, policing, and prosecution. She has always supported holding criminals accountable.
Q: How is Brianne supporting officers in apprehending criminals and closing cases?
A: Brianne proposed the Case Closure and Witness Support Amendment Act to help police solve more homicides through increased rewards and a robust witness protection program. She’s also supported legislation to fix our broken crime lab so that police can get evidence tested to solve cases. The U.S. Attorney’s Office has a low prosecution rate, in part because evidence has to be sent out to private labs for testing.
Brianne introduced legislation to improve staffing at the 911 dispatch center so victims and witnesses can quickly report crimes to police and fire and medical emergencies to the Fire and Emergency Medical Services Department. In addition to her support for signing bonuses and the legislation she introduced to raise cadet pay to bolster recruitment of D.C. residents, she has worked intensively on all of the major pieces of crime legislation in 2023 and 2024.
Q: Does Brianne support police reform?
A: Police transparency and accountability measures are essential tools to build our community’s trust in our police force. Without that trust, they cannot do their jobs. Reforms passed by the Council in 2020 were intended to ensure that our police officers operate with the highest level of integrity and ethics to keep our communities safe and ensure that MPD’s leadership can hold bad actors accountable. Some reforms, like the ban on chokeholds, simply codified MPD’s existing protocols into law.
Where adjustments to the law are necessary to clarify allowable police activity, Brianne has been open to legislative fixes, including provisions in the Secure DC omnibus legislation, which she supported. Brianne continues to support efforts to ensure the police have the tools they need to do their jobs well.
Q: What is Brianne doing to improve the street vending scene in Columbia Heights?
A: The Council passed Brianne’s Street Vendor Advancement Act in April 2023. The law improves the management and organization of street vending while preserving the vibrant culture and contributions of street vendors in Columbia Heights, Mount Pleasant, and diverse neighborhoods throughout the District. It creates vending zones and rules for vendors. It also waives past fines for vendors who apply for permits and follow the new rules. And it moves enforcement of street vending business licenses to the Department of Licensing and Consumer Protection, the agency responsible for enforcing most other business licenses.
Brianne is working with Mayor Bowser and Chief Smith to clarify that the law does not prohibit officers from interacting with street vendors entirely. If police suspect a person is violating criminal laws, whether they are a street vendor or otherwise, they should take the appropriate action.
Q: What are Brianne and the Council doing about shoplifting?
A: The Secure DC Omnibus bill, authored by Councilmember Pinto and scheduled for a final vote on March 5, includes provisions from the Mayor’s proposed “ACT Now” Act, which establishes a new offense of “Directing Organized Retail Theft.” Brianne supports this approach for its focus on organizers.
