House Passes Legislation Tightening Juvenile Crime Laws in Washington, D.C.
The Republican-led House of Representatives has passed two significant pieces of legislation aimed at confronting the surge in juvenile crime in Washington, D.C., with additional measures expected to advance in the coming days as lawmakers intensify oversight of the nation’s capital.
The first measure, known as the D.C. CRIMES Act, rolls back lenient policies by lowering the maximum age at which offenders may be tried as juveniles from 24 to 18. The bill also requires that sentences align with adult mandatory minimums and mandates the public release of detailed data on youth crime in the District.
A second proposal, the Juvenile Sentencing Reform Act, goes further by allowing minors as young as 14 to be tried as adults for serious violent offenses. While both bills received some bipartisan backing, the Juvenile Sentencing Reform Act passed by a narrower margin, reflecting sharper divisions over how far criminal justice reforms should go.
“Fully grown legal adults in the District of Columbia can receive sentences meant for children. That is simply insane,” said CRIME Act sponsor Rep. Byron Donalds, a Florida Republican.
The legislation is part of a broader House-led effort to restore public safety in the District, advancing alongside a larger package of roughly a dozen measures. These actions coincide with President Donald J. Trump’s ongoing efforts, during his current term in office, to deploy the National Guard and coordinate federal agencies such as the DEA and ICE in addressing violent crime and illegal immigration in Washington, D.C.
Any bill that clears the House will move to the Republican-controlled Senate, where its future remains uncertain. Congress has intervened before: in 2023, the Senate passed a House resolution blocking the District from reducing criminal penalties, a measure later signed into law by then-President Joe Biden.
“I support D.C. Statehood and home-rule, but I don’t support some of the changes D.C. Council put forward over the Mayor’s objections such as lowering penalties for carjackings,” Biden tweeted.
Although District residents elect their own local officials, Congress retains sweeping authority over D.C. governance under the 1973 Home Rule Act, a constitutional safeguard designed to ensure federal oversight of the capital.
According to reports, two additional bills scheduled for House consideration would authorize police to physically pursue suspects in certain circumstances and limit the District’s influence over local judicial appointments — proposals that have reignited debate over the balance between local autonomy and federal responsibility for public safety.
President Trump previously authorized the deployment of elements of the D.C. National Guard and increased the federal law enforcement presence in the capital as part of a crackdown on crime. In the first week after the White House assumed control of Washington, D.C.’s police force, preliminary data showed a modest overall decline in reported crime alongside a sharp rise in immigration-related arrests, according to a CNN analysis of government figures.
For the week beginning August 12 — the first full week under federal control — property crime dropped by roughly 19 percent compared to the prior week, while violent crime fell by 17 percent, based on Metropolitan Police Department statistics.
The data showed uneven results across categories. Robberies and car break-ins declined by more than 40 percent, while thefts held steady. Burglaries increased by 6 percent, and assaults involving a dangerous weapon rose 14 percent. Two homicides were reported during that period, consistent with recent trends, though none have been recorded since August 13.
CNN also reported that federal agencies embedded with local police, assisting in arrests, searches, and warrant executions while patrolling the city in unmarked vehicles.
At the same time, immigration enforcement escalated dramatically. Since August 7, federal authorities have arrested approximately 300 individuals in the District who were in the country illegally — more than ten times the city’s typical weekly average for ICE arrests, according to CNN’s analysis.
Responding to the report, White House spokeswoman Abigail Jackson pushed back against media skepticism, arguing that the results of President Trump’s strategy were already evident.
“The drops in crime are not ‘moderate,’ they are life-changing for the countless of DC residents and visitors who have not been murdered, robbed, carjacked, or victims of overall violent crime in the last week,” Jackson said. “The priority of this operation remains getting violent criminals off the streets — regardless of immigration status.”