Local residents are demanding answers to the rising homicide rate in Washington, D.C., and the apparent “revolving door” for criminal offenders.
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Local officials and neighborhood leaders discussed the disturbing trend in the District and surrounding suburbs Wednesday, which all experienced large increases in annual homicides in 2015. The rate spiked 54 percent in D.C. and rose in neighboring counties in Virginia and Maryland. Montgomery County, Virginia suffered 12 more homicides in 2015 over the previous year while Prince George’s County, Maryland experienced 28 over 2014 numbers. Officials in the District partly blame what many see as a revolving door for offenders, which puts violent criminals back on the streets, reports WTOP.
District officials with the Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments blamed the rise in regional murders on gang violence and illegal firearms at the meeting Wednesday.
“We’ve had illegal firearms for decades, so what’s different about last year,” Phil Medelson, chairman of the D.C. Council, asked at the meeting, according to WTOP.
