Thread by @PranavNandaDC

I am so tired of people making at best baseless claims or at worst straight-up lying. So in this thread, I am going to try to debunk a bunch of myths being spread about policing, prosecution, and incarceration in DC and then talk about some realities.

Myth 1: Budget Decisions or Legislation introduced since June 2020 is the reason for the increase in Homicides.

Reality: The homicide rate has risen every year since 2017. So to say it's only increased since June 20 is false and misleading.
mpdc.dc.gov/page/district-…

Myth 2: DC has systemically defunded MPD.

Reality: Funding increased FY12-FY20. From FY20-22 there was a 13% decrease (adj for inflation). This is due to transferring the school security contract from MPD to DCPS & the rate of attrition, not "defunding"
dcfpi.org/all/visualizin…

Myth 3: The Council and Charles Allen defunded MPD.

Reality: The Council Approved Budget in FY22 was actually 2.6M more than what the Mayor proposed in her budget in FY22. So If you want to "blame" someone it was not all just the council. dcfpi.org/all/visualizin…

Myth 4: MPD does not have enough police officers

Reality: Per 2018, DC had more police officers per capita than any other large U.S. city. Today there are still 471 Sworn Officers/100,000 people. Or ~1 sworn officer for every 200 people in DC. dccouncil.us/police-reform-… (Page 28)

Also this. There is no magic number. I bet if the number of officers increases, they will still say they will need more (since the violence won't stop). Where would it end?

https://twitter.com/DMVBlackLives/status/1449805049857822721?s=20

Whether you want more cops or not - the plain and honest truth is more officers will not prevent anything. They were created to respond... so after something occurs. Not prevent it from happening in the first place. We need to focus on prevention.

Myth 6: Police stops lead to dangerous weapons off the street.

Reality: MPD Data (That only was released after @ACLU_DC sued them under the NEAR Act) shows that only 0.8% of all police stops led to the seizure of any weapon and only 0.6% to a firearm. aclu.org/press-releases…

Myth 7: DC needs more cameras installed to help decrease crime.

Reality: Since 2015 DC has spent $3M in rebates for the 20,000 private security cameras. As of 3/20, they had only been used in 13 homicide cases in 4 years. thedcline.org/2020/09/22/pre…

Myth 8: Reducing pretrial detention is making DC less safe

Reality: Reducing pretrial detention doesn’t make DC less safe. In FY19, 87% of people were not rearrested when released pretrial & 99% weren’t rearrested for a violent crime. prisonpolicy.org/blog/2020/11/1…

Myth 9: DC is not charging & prosecuting people.

Reality: In the first half of 2021 94.3% of probable cause arrests for homicide cases & 89% for Carjackings and armed carjackings were papered. So people are being charged. washingtonpost.com/opinions/2021/…

According to the Chief Judge of DC Superior Court, they have closed close to 7,500 cases. Many of those were felony matters. Conducted close to 10,000 arraignments. Processed over 6,000 arrests and search warrants. So people are being prosecuted. washingtonpost.com/local/public-s…

Myth 10: The Youth Rehabilitation Act is leading to shorter sentences/ more crime.

Reality: YRA is about sealing records. And individuals whose convictions were sealed were less likely to be re-arrested and/or reconvicted than individuals who were not. cjcc.dc.gov/sites/default/…

Myth 11: IRAA is making DC less safe.

Reality: None of the 55 individuals who have been granted reduced sentences under IRAA have reoffended. Studies have long shown the involvement in crime and rates of recidivism drop dramatically after folks mid-twenties.

Myth 12: Prosecuting and Incarcerating more youth will keep DC safer.

Reality: National studies have shown the recidivism rate for incarcerated youth is 70%. Meanwhile, 75% of participants who complete the ACE Diversion program are not arrested again. dhs.dc.gov/page/alternati…

That is because incarceration's sole goal is to punish kids. Whereas the ACE diversion program and similar programs try to rehabilitate and support students so that they can be successful and thrive. ACE is also more cost-effective - 4k vs 100k per yr/per kid incarcerated

Now let me tell you some things which are true about arrests, surveillance, prosecution, and incarceration. The short version is - they are not effective mechanisms for public safety. And they are extremely harmful to Black and Brown DC residents.

72% of stop-and-frisk targets & 88.6 % of youth were Black. Black civilians have made up 89%-91% of all use of force incidents in D.C since OPC started tracking it. D.C. police have shot 14 people this year, killing 5 of them. In 2020, D.C. police shot 6 people, killing 2.

The areas with the 1st, 3rd, & 4th highest participation in the camera program (All in W6) have gone from majority Black in 2000 to majority white in 2017. 74% of the camera rebates have gone to homes in areas that have seen 10% decreases in the Black pop. dcist.com/story/20/03/09…

82% of the incarcerated individuals in DC are Black. Basically, every youth who is incarcerated in DC is Black. The carceral system is racist. Plain and simple. doc.dc.gov/node/344892 dyrs.dc.gov/page/youth-sna…

If policing and incarceration were solutions to improving public safety - we would be one of the safest cities in the safest country in the world. Because DC and America police and incarcerate folk (and spend more money on it) than basically anywhere else in the world.

The reality is most "crime" and "violence" are due to systemic neglect and racism. It can be tied to root causes such as poverty, lack of access to quality education, housing insecurity, lack of mental/physical health supports, lack of opportunity. We need to end cycles of trauma

So what is policing/prosecution/incarceration doing to address those things? Absolutely nothing. They actually make it way worse. How? 1) They continue to perpetuate systems of harm - especially in Black and Brown communities.

2) Because the $500M+ budget is more than the Office of Neighborhood Safety and Engagement, DBH School-Based Mental Health, DBH Housing Support Services, Office of Victim Services, and Justice Grants... (cont on next tweet)

The Credible Messenger Program, The Department of Workforce Development, DC Safe Passage Program, Out-of-School Grants Program, Department of Parks and Rec Program Division, and the Housing Authority Subsidy Combined.

Imagine what DC could be like if instead of continuing to throw money at things that do not work (and like I said are actively harmful) we actually invested in communities. Please check out @Defund_MPD Roadmap to refunding communities. defundmpd.org/roadmap

And finally, I will leave you with what @DMVBlackLives said yesterday because it is far more eloquent than how I would say it.

https://twitter.com/DMVBlackLives/status/1449812641476644874

For folks genuinely interested in learning more about these topics I recommend learning from these incredible organizations @Defund_MPD @HarrietsDreams @DMVBlackLives @DCJusticeLab @StopCopTerrorDC @ServeYourCityDC @GeorgetownJJI @BlackSwanAcad @ACLU_DC

And for folks genuinely interested in making DC a safer place support these organizations doing the real work with the community. @ServeYourCityDC @TheTRIGGERProj @TheTraRonCenter @mommassafehaven @NoSlideZone @GunsDownFriday @PeaceWalksDC @NextLevelVisio1 @DesholaDawk

Basically, the bottom line of this thread is to stop just believing the false narrative that systems that were created to harm Black and Brown people are suddenly going to do anything but that. That is what they were created to do, that is what they are doing. #StopMPD

Let's instead follow the lead of groups such as those listed above who are actually working to create communities that are safe and where everyone has the opportunity to thrive. #WeKeepUsSafe