DC CRIMES Act
The DC CRIMES Act is a Senate bill that makes three broad changes affecting the District of Columbia’s juvenile justice and criminal sentencing framework, plus a transparency requirement. First, it tightens the definition of who counts as a “youth offender” by limiting that status to individuals 18 years of age or younger (removing 19–24-year-olds from youth-offender status and adjusting related provisions). Second, it requires that any sentence for youth offenders meet the mandatory minimum term, eliminating the possibility of sentences shorter than the minimum in this context. Third, it creates a new, publicly accessible website run by the DC Attorney General that provides monthly, detailed statistics on juvenile crime in DC (with specific data points and protections for privacy). Finally, it forbids the DC Council from changing existing mandatory minimum sentences or sentencing guidelines after enactment, effectively preempting local sentencing reform in that area. In short, the bill shifts how old a “youth offender” can be, mandates minimum sentencing for youth offenders, increases public reporting on juvenile crime data, and restricts local changes to sentencing rules.
Key Points
- 1Redefines youth offender status to individuals 18 years of age or younger (removing 19–24-year-olds from this category).
- 2Repeals or amends related provisions to align with the new youth-offender age limit, including changes to facilities/treatment planning and probation conditions for older youths.
- 3Prohibits sentences that are shorter than the applicable mandatory minimum term for youth offenders; restructures the relevant sentencing provisions accordingly.
- 4Establishes a new, publicly accessible DC Attorney General–run website (Sec. 16-2340.01) with comprehensive juvenile crime statistics, updated monthly and available in machine-readable formats, while preserving privacy (no personally identifiable information).
- 5The website’s data must cover categories such as total juveniles arrested, demographics (age, race, sex), types of offenses (petty crimes, violent crimes), prior arrests, prosecutions, sentences (including adults being tried as adults and sentence lengths), and outcomes (e.g., not sentenced, misdemeanor, felony).
- 6Enables the Attorney General to inspect certain juvenile records (case records, social records, and law enforcement records) for purposes of populating the website, with privacy protections.
- 7Requires the website data to be archived for indefinite public access and updated monthly, with the data available in bulk-downloadable, machine-readable formats.
- 8Effective date for the website requirement: within 180 days after enactment.
- 9Prohibits the DC Council from enacting changes to existing criminal sentences after enactment, specifically barring changes to mandatory minimums or current sentencing guidelines (a local preemption on sentencing reform).