Based and founded in Washington, DC Justice Lab is composed of law and policy experts who research, organize, and advocate for large-scale changes to the District of Columbia’s criminal legal system. Their vision includes eradicating root causes of crime and violence and ending the overreliance on criminalization of poor and Black bodies (through police, prosecutors, and prisons) by increasing factors of safety and freedom. The organization highlights how “sustainable change cannot happen without the expertise of the community that is most impacted” and is committed to centering the interests and agency of Black native Washingtonians.
In most recent news, DC Justice Lab was mentioned for its major role in opposition to the crime proposal unveiled in January of this year. The proposal was formed in part in response to the rise in crime in DC in 2023 - homicides rising by about 35% and car thefts and carjackings nearly doubling. One proposal would loosen restrictions on police officers’ physical handling of suspects and when they are allowed to pursue suspects in a car. Another proposal would allow 1,000 square foot areas of the city to be deemed “drug free zones” for five days, encouraging heavy restriction in these zones to monitor and enforce the regulations. While Mayor Bowser has expressed her support for a bill incorporating several elements of these proposals, the executive director of DC. Justice Lab, Patrice Sulton, stood in firm opposition, expressing that “It’s just doubling down on the solutions that are failing.” Sulton also had a large role in the criminal code rewrite that was rejected. She believes that a potential cause for the higher homicide rate in D.C. in comparison to most other major cities is how easily residents can travel to nearby states with loose gun laws and return, and that D.C. lawmakers need to focus less on gun-possession penalties and more on the gun-access issues at the root of the cause.
In addition to its policy work, DC Justice Lab has collaborated with “Safe and Free DC,” a campaign that works to change the understanding of “public safety” in DC. The campaign stresses how safety “means more than the absence of harm; it means having one’s basic needs of food, shelter, and healthcare met, opportunities to earn a sustainable living, access to affordable high-quality childcare and education, and support from trusted sources prior to crises or emergencies arising." Together, DC Justice Lab and Safe and Free DC provide training to police officers in the D.C. area and will be presenting their proposals and findings at a Safety Summit this Saturday February 10th at the MLK Library.
The DC Justice Lab Website provides full breakdowns on policing, prosecution, and punishment in D.C. through statistics, specific targeted policy changes, and know your rights tools. It also provides a library of current news articles regarding criminal policy changes in D.C.. The DC Justice Lab also accepts applications for DC Justice Fellows (recent law school grads), to whom they give a year of training and support on criminal policy reform.
References
About. (n.d.). DC Justice Lab. Retrieved February 5, 2024, from
Khalil, A. (2024, January 10). DC to consider major new public safety bill to stem
rising violent crime. AP News. https://apnews.com/article/dc-crime-bill-public-safety-guns-thefts-capitol-d03ecc467426a472207efc91cae0454f
Learn. (n.d.). Safe and Free DC. Retrieved February 5, 2024, from
Porter, M. (2024, January 22). Foggy Bottom crime rose in 2023 as total crime in
Ward 2 remains low. The GW Hatchet. https://gwhatchet.com/2024/01/21/foggy-bottom-crime-rose-in-2023-as-total-crime-in-ward-2-remains-low/
Safety Summit & Community Safety fair. (2024, January 8). DC Justice Lab.
Retrieved February 5, 2024, from https://dcjusticelab.org/event/safety-summit-community-safety-fair/
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