On Monday, President Trump signed an executive order that eliminates cashless bail for crime suspects arrested in the nation's capital. A second, related E.O. addresses cashless bail nationwide, vowing to revoke federal funds in jurisdictions that allow it.
Those executive orders come after President Trump invoked executive authority in The Home Rule Act. Doing so allowed him to flood Washington’s streets with National Guard troops as well as federal agents, reducing crime literally overnight.
According to the D.C. Police Union, after one week of law and order, robberies dropped 48%, carjackings dropped 83%, and violent crime is down 22%, in the nation’s capital.
Jeanine Pirro, the interim United States attorney for the District of Columbia, told Fox News that D.C. residents are “feeling safer” after the president took action to protect them.
“D.C. was one of the most violent cities in the world,” she said, referring to crime statistics that are a grim reflection on a nation’s capital.
Pirro, perhaps better known as “Judge Jeanine” on Fox News, was sworn in as interim U.S. attorney in May. She was confirmed in a Senate vote August 2.
According to an Axios story, law enforcement has converged on two high-crime areas, Ward 7 and Ward 9, in the city. Those wards are majority-black areas known for violent crime.
Crediting federal agencies such as the FBI and DEA that have provided manpower, Pirro described a “unified force” that is going into “crime-ridden areas and making a difference.”
Regarding current criminal law in Washington, Pirro said the age of criminal responsibility should be lowered in the nation’s capital. She has said that age should be as young as 14 for violent crimes.
“If someone shoots someone with a gun and they're 17 years old, and that person does not die, I can't prosecute them. I can't get involved with them,” she said. “It goes to family court, and you've got yoga and you've got ice cream socials, and you've got rehabilitation.”
Under a current D.C. law, the Youth Rehabilitation Act, criminals under the age of 25 can escape a mandatory prison sentence after being convicted of a crime.
