Additional Measures To Address the Crime Emergency in the District of Columbia
This Executive Order directs additional federal actions to respond to what it calls a "crime emergency" in the District of Columbia. It instructs multiple federal agencies to increase law‑enforcement capacity (by hiring more U.S. Park Police and prosecutors), create specialized, rapidly deployable law‑enforcement units (including within the D.C. National Guard), and to use administrative tools (HUD reviews, transportation inspections, and review of local police policies) to address violence, disorder, and risks to public safety in the Nation’s capital. The stated purpose is to restore public order and protect federal operations and residents in Washington, D.C. Potential impacts include a larger federal law‑enforcement and National Guard presence in D.C., more federal prosecutions of violent and property crime, stronger federal scrutiny of housing and transit conditions tied to safety, and coordination (and possible tension) between federal authorities and D.C. local officials over law‑enforcement policy and deployments. Implementation depends on available funding and must comply with applicable law.
Key Points
- 1Federal hiring for policing and prosecution: The National Park Service is ordered, subject to funding and law, to hire more U.S. Park Police in D.C., and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for D.C. is ordered to hire additional prosecutors focused on violent and property crimes.
- 2Recruitment portal and specialized federal units: The D.C. Safe and Beautiful Task Force must create an online portal to recruit people with law‑enforcement experience to join federal agencies, and member agencies (and other DOJ components as directed) must create, staff, train, and equip specialized units dedicated to D.C. public safety that could also be deployed to other cities if allowed by law.
- 3National Guard units and rapid reaction force: The Secretary of Defense is directed to create and train a specialized unit within the D.C. National Guard (to be activatable under Title 32) whose members may be deputized to enforce federal law, and to make state National Guard forces available and maintain a standing quick reaction force for rapid nationwide deployment when appropriate and lawful.
- 4HUD and transit reviews: HUD is ordered to investigate non‑compliance with crime‑prevention and safety provisions in HUD agreements (including by the D.C. Housing Authority and landlords) and refer findings to law enforcement; the Department of Transportation is directed to inspect federally funded transit services in D.C. for conditions that endanger transit workers and take remedial action within its authority.
- 5Review of local police rules: The Attorney General is directed to review the Metropolitan Police Department’s General Orders (its internal policies) and request that the D.C. Mayor update those orders as the Attorney General deems necessary to address the crime emergency and public order.