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Dear Neighbor,
DC has seen a disturbing spike in juvenile crime, with recent headlines about children as young as nine committing robberies. Residents across the District regularly ask me why parents aren't held accountable for their children committing crimes. Last night I convened a conversation between local leaders, including Tony Lewis Jr., Pastor Missy Jackson, and high school students Arayah and Annisha to focus on this question, get at the heart of why we're seeing a rise in youth crime and violence, and identify what we can do to keep our youth safe and on the right path.
I'll include the full video for you to watch below, as well as my takeaways from the discussion. I learned a LOT from the conversation and hope you will too. I will be introducing legislation in the coming weeks to address several of the things we discussed last night, including career and technical education and mentorship. The work continues from here.
Sincerely,
Robert
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Livestream: Public Safety Conversation on Youth Violence | |
Click to watch the video of our discussion, above. Thank you to Angel Gregorio, owner of The Spice Suite, a Black and woman-owned business and incubator, for allowing us to have this conversation in your beautiful space. | |
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Can or should we hold parents accountable for their children's actions?
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Our youth panelists shared nuanced thoughts: They felt that many parents try to keep their children safe and out of trouble, but their children may have their minds set on dangerous or illegal behavior and even if their parents tried, they wouldn't be able to stop them. But, panelist Arayah explained, if a parent's behavior helps facilitate a crime, for instance if they don't lock up their guns and their child uses the weapon in a shooting, then our justice system should hold them accountable.
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Tony Lewis Jr. cautioned that putting parents in jail could destabilize families even more. He spoke about his experience as a son whose father was imprisoned for 34 years.
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Annisha and Arayah also grounded the conversation in DC's reality: For many families with low incomes in DC, parents, including single mothers, have to go out and work and may not be around to monitor their child's actions 24/7. It's a catch-22 because if they don't work then they're viewed negatively, but if they do work and aren't able to always be present for their children that has a negative perception as well.
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I also shared my observation that too many youth (like adults) are committing crimes because they don't think they'll be held accountable. That's why I have focused on fixing our public safety system so there are swift and consistent consequences for violence and crime. That means ensuring residents aren't sitting on hold when they call 911, collecting and processing evidence without delay, and successfully prosecuting the people committing the violence.
What are challenges that young people face today that adults or politicians may not know about?
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Annisha and Arayah talked about their daily commutes to school -- how it takes over an hour and multiple buses, and too often they feel unsafe and experience sexual harassment almost daily on their journeys. Annisha shared a feeling of dread and fear when she walks into her school because it's hard to know if students with beefs will erupt in violence in school or directly outside.
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Tony Lewis Jr. pointed out that many District residents feel frightened by youth violence, but youth also live with fear and in many ways are the most vulnerable to violence because of how they move across the city.
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Pastor Jackson spoke about the fact that even though DC does have a lot of resources for young people, most District youth don't know about these programs. The messenger also matters and has to be someone young people connect with.
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Arayah also shared that college isn't for everyone--some people can't afford it, and others just don't feel it's the right fit for them. Many students don't see the point in school but also don't know what their next step is after it.
What do young people need? How can we help?
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Annisha and Arayah emphasized that youth need money--they suggested having job opportunities be a part of school and were enthusiastic about the idea of career and technical education or job training to help students see a job on the horizon, or even during high school.
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Both girls also said that mentoring has helped them stay motivated to keep going. They also pointed to the importance of mental health support, especially counselors who can connect with students, and said not enough support exists currently and too few students even know where to turn.
As Pastor Jackson said last night, "it all comes down to the 'WHY.'" We know that truancy is up and young people are missing school. We could throw parents in jail, but that wouldn't address the issue of why their children aren't in school, so we have to ask why. The harrowing daily journey to school that Annisha and Arayah talked about last night includes many possible whys.
I will be introducing legislation in the coming weeks that directly speaks to what we heard from our panelists last night, especially the insights from Annisha and Arayah.
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Get to Know the Panelists | |
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Tony Lewis Jr.
An activist and author. His father was incarcerated for 36 years, from the time Tony was 9 years old. Tony is a community leader, work force development specialist, re-entry expert, and champion for children with incarcerated parents. He has fought relentlessly over the past 21 years to uplift and empower men, women, and children impacted by mass incarceration.
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Pastor Missy Jackson
Community activist committed to ending cycles of violence. In 2022 she lost her precious grandson, Malachai, who was killed at age 15 by a 16-year-old in his neighborhood. Pastor Jackson runs Woman's Talk Outreach Ministries and is currently pursuing her social work degree.
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Annisha
Student at Anacostia High School and a member of DC Girls Coalition.
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Arayah
Student at Dunbar High School and a member of the DC Girls Coalition.
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Need to reach me or a member of my team? | |
My office is available to you. Connect with me and my staff via phone or email. Please call my personal office at (202) 724-8174, or my committee office at (202) 727-8270, or email any of my team members. If you have a moment, please take my 3-question constituent survey here. | |
Robert C. White, Jr. Councilmember, At-Large | Council of the District of Columbia
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