The mayor of Washington, D.C. is turning to the public for a solution on how to solve the rising crime problem, which may include hiring more police officers, according to reports.
According to DC News Now, Mayor Muriel Bowser will be hosting a Public Safety Summit at 9 a.m. on Wednesday to give the public a chance to weigh in on how to fix crime in the district.
Violent crime in the nation’s capital is up 10% from the same time last year, which includes a 15% rise in homicides.
Also on the rise in Washington, D.C. are violent crimes committed by juveniles, which has sparked concern by some residents who want to see juveniles prosecuted as rigorously as adults.
As of May 8, the latest statistics from the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) also show sex abuse cases up 48% and robberies up 12%.
The mayor, according to DC News Now, said one solution could be to hire more police officers.
US ATTORNEY DECLINED TO PROSECUTE 67% OF ARRESTS IN DC AS NATION’S CAPITAL SUFFERS CRIME SPIKE
“MPD is at a historic low in terms of staffing,” Bowser said, according to the outlet. “We continue to do everything possible as it relates to recruiting the best of the best to serve at MPD.”
Currently, MPD has 3,350 police officers, outgoing chief Robert Contee told the news outlet. He also said another 200 plan to leave by the end of fiscal year ‘24.
Last month, Salvador Sauceda-Guzman, ANC Commissioner in Ward 5, spoke to his constituents about the crime increase and prosecuting children as rigorously as adults.
“It’s a major concern, and it hurts,” he said. “It hurts, if anything, because these kids shouldn’t’ be doing these things. We should be finding different routes for them to express themselves to handle the anger that a majority of the time this stems from.”
Sauceda-Guzman also said poverty is real in D.C., and he tries to do his best when it comes to finding better ways to help youth navigate out of it.
Andrew Mark Miller of Fox News contributed to this report.
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