DC Mayor, Attorney General exchange blame for recent rise in youth violence

WASHINGTON - D.C. Attorney General Karl Racine is responding to a newsletter written by Mayor Muriel Bowser, blaming officials for failing to stop violent juvenile crimes.

In the letter, sent out Friday, the mayor writes that the Attorney General and the D.C. Council have contributed to the rise in youth violence last year by not holding juvenile criminals accountable.

"When a violent crime happens in our city, we need people paying close attention to what happens along the whole process – from arrest to detention decision for those awaiting trial. Pay attention to the prosecution decision by the Office of the Attorney General and the U.S. Attorney's Office. Pay attention to the sentences imposed by judges. Pay attention to the legislation that the Council is proposing or sweeping changes to the D.C. criminal code that are moving through without sufficient and meaningful resident input," Mayor Bowser writes in part of the newsletter.

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She goes on to later add, "of course we don't want to see hundreds of young people incarcerated, but we do believe it is important that youth who commit violent offenses, using guns that are just as deadly as the guns used by adults, face consequences."

In response to the newsletter, D.C. Attorney General Karl Racine fired back on Twitter in a series of tweets, saying his office does hold juvenile criminals accountable, and it takes leadership to keep these people from committing further crimes.

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"My office prosecutes all violent crimes committed by juveniles where we have strong evidence, as the standard of proof is beyond a reasonable doubt, and where the arrest is constitutional. Anyone, including a young person, who commits a violent crime should be held accountable," Racine writes.

He then adds, "accountability is not inconsistent with our efforts to help them get the services and support they need so they are less likely to reoffend, making our communities safer. To address the increases in violence, DC needs leadership & a clear, consistent, all-hands-on-deck response."

The exchange comes as D.C. is seeing a rise in juvenile crime, and just days after a shootout happened in Northeast D.C. involving two 15-year-olds and a 13-year-old.

In the last year, D.C. police say they arrested a total of 149 people. Of those arrests, about 100 were juveniles.

Officials also add that so far this year, 14 of the 18 carjacking arrests have been juveniles.