Robert White, the D.C. mayoral contender and at-large councilman who is frequently named one of Mayor Muriel Bowser’s top competitors in the Democratic primary, sounded off on Wednesday on one of the campaign’s most pressing issues: violent crime. In a 25-page proposal, White outlined a plan to refocus D.C.’s criminal justice infrastructure dramatically, placing himself squarely to Bowser’s left on it.
Violence remains a major problem in the district. There were 226 homicides in the city in 2021, a multidecade high that was a 14% increase from 2020 and 36% from 2019. White should be applauded for recognizing the problem. But his solutions, unfortunately, are more heat than light, embracing trendy but poorly supported ideas in liberal criminal justice policy while “decentering” old-fashioned policing, still one of the most effective crime-fighting tools policymakers have.
