Thread by @theHillisHome

"This will not be resolved at the police station... at the courthouse... it will require our entire community to be involved... this cycle must be broken in our communities." @CEXAlsobrooks on today's announcement of a joint safety initiative.

https://twitter.com/MayorBowser/status/1488907023060197378

"Playtime is over. This is not a video game... We gotta come together [and] everybody has a responsibility....
I do not allow my children to cut up, as a father."

"We can arrest people, but are children receiving the healing that they need?"

@DCPoliceDept Chief Robert Contee

"What has changed [since last year's carjacking-related death]? Arrests have gone up, but what else has changed?"
Carjacking Taskforce is expanding, has been working
Increased cross-border initiatives with PG County
Chief Congee, visibly upset: "IT'S THE SAME KIDS."

Contee* thanks autocorrect

Need to hold young people accountable and make information available-- community needs to raise questions re: accountability.

Chief appealing "as a daddy, first: What do you want for your child?"

Avg # of arrests for people who are arrested for homicide is 11 times.

@PGPDNews Chief Malik Aziz addresses rising trends of juvenile crime, esp carjackings

Carjacking unit has closed over 90 arrests since establishment-- made possible by collaborating w/in agencies.

Chief Aziz "We realize that we will not arrest our way out of any issue," outlines effectiveness of declining arrests.

Young people arrested "have no fear of accountability"
Progression goes carjacking -->homicide

"If we don't act as a collective fist, we will fail." @PGPDNews Chief Aziz

Q: Are older people putting up younger people up to carjackings?
A, Chief Contee: Not usually. Kids do this for fun. Have a system that allows kids to do this with minimal consequences.

Q: Where is the failure?
A: @CEXAlsobrooks: Kids mock the system, hurt people hurt other people, responsibility is global. Have to make sure parents have the tools they need to support their young people. Everyone in the ecosystem has a role to play. "All of it is broken."

Chief Aziz: "It is a true failure that we sit... in circles like this." Leaders are held responsible, but "who else needs to be held accountable?"

Chief Contee: "How is it that a young person carjacks a person today and... before their trial, that young person is out in community?" This is an issue we have to examine.

Q: Is this crime wave a gun issue?
A: @MayorBowser "we've discussed availability/easy access to guns." Have worked w/ATF, across VA border to limit access to guns.

What we're doing right now is more serious than [politics]. The top concern is public safety, esp carjackings and robbery attempts. MPD needs "all the resources that they need"... and also provide services.. for young people.

We want that responsibility (to supervise youth involved in crime).

If family cannot help young person rehabilitate at home, then District wants to be responsible for providing that help.

Q: Is data for kids placed in a diversion program not reoffending?

A: Diversion can work, but is not appropriate for every situation. Some progs can work. Limited in what can be said re: youthful offenders

@CEXAlsobrooks : "We're not here to celebrate successes.. know that some programming work, but the blunt truth is... we have to do better... we know they are not rehabilitated. The point is, this is not working well enough.
These children are in people's driveways, hurting them.

If no children reoffended, still having 200 youth committing carjackings is a v. large, shocking number.

But we know kids reoffend.

Cannot talk about record on diff jurisdictions.

Can charge with stolen auto but not w/carjacking bc victim often cannot identify.

Numbers are alarming, whether repeat offenders or no. But "that a 14yo thought one time that it was okay to put a gun to someone's face" is alarming.

Chief Aziz-- yes, reoffending juvenile data exists. At what point are we going to say "enough is enough"?

@MandlaTDeskins calling attention to Marvin Gaye playground, which is falling apart, as well as a murder that happened. Failure to protect youth from criminal activity evidenced at the playground and surf. community.

MMB: Very engaged in surr community. Re: murder, engage MPD.

Surrounding, not surf.

Q: re investment in communities

MMB: I don't know what you call a $51M investment + resources, outreach and agency creation?
"What I call it is a real investment in techniques that will work over time"

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