Bowser unveils anti-crime bill targeting retail theft, drug dealing in DC

D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser (D) unveiled anti-crime legislation Monday that targets retail theft and drugs as crime rises in the district.

The Addressing Crime Trends Now Act (ACT Now) targets three issues: drug dealing, retail theft and the wearing of masks to commit a crime. Bowser said at a press conference Monday that the bill will give law enforcement more ability “to hold criminals accountable and keep our neighborhoods safe.”

“This legislation reflects what our community is telling us: They want appropriate accountability for those who choose to commit crimes and inflict fear in our neighborhoods,” Bowser said in a statement.

The proposed legislation that was sent to the D.C. Council allows the Metro Police Department (MPD) chief to declare drug-free zones for 120 hours at a time, aiming to prevent people from gathering in public for the purchase, selling or use of illegal drugs. The mayor’s office states that instituting drug-free zones may “interrupt” such activity and “allow neighborhoods to clean up and reclaim public space.”

It also will establish a new crime for “directing organized retail theft.”

And the legislation would reinstate a law that would make it unlawful for people to wear a mask “for the purpose of committing criminal acts, intimidating and threatening other people or causing fear.”

Some congressional lawmakers have targeted growing crime in Washington. House Republicans called victims of violent crimes in D.C. as witnesses before the Judiciary Committee earlier this month as part of a months-long effort to criticize the city’s public safety and to put blame on its Democratic leadership.

Two members of Congress have been attacked near their D.C. apartment buildings this year. Rep. Henry Cuellar (D-Texas) was the victim of an armed carjacking earlier this month, while Rep. Angie Craig (D-Minn.) was assaulted in an elevator of her apartment building in February.

Current D.C. crime data shows that both violent and property crime is up this year compared with 2022. Violent crime is up 41 percent so far in 2023, with homicides and robberies jumping up from last year. Property crime is up 25 percent, including a 102 percent increase in motor vehicle theft.