Washington D.C. Council Chairman Phil Mendelson has introduced legislation that would direct the Mayor and police department to move forward with crime-fighting and gun violence reduction strategies that national criminal justice experts recommended to the District more than a year ago, Meagan Flynn reports for the Washington Post. The bill would create a gun violence intervention initiative, take a new approach to blighted properties that attract crime, and seek to free up law enforcement officers by allowing D.C. police to hire civilians to investigate property crimes and cold cases. The bill would also gather and make public data on repeat violent offenders that could help illuminate breakdowns in the justice system and allow the District to seek Medicaid reimbursement for community services often offered to those involved in or victimized by gun violence, leveraging federal funds.
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