DC Bill To Persuade Police Officers Not To Keep Quitting Fails

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By Jonah Bennett

Washington, D.C., Council members rejected an emergency bill Tuesday that would have allocated tens of millions in bonuses to stem the tide of police officers leaving the local force.

At a time when D.C. residents are growing increasingly anxious over crime in Washington, council member Vincent Gray forwarded a bill in January to grant retirement-age officers a bonus double their salary to encourage them to stay, The Washington Post reports.

But members ultimately rejected the $63.8 million bill in 9-4 vote, in part because it did not look at ways to keep younger members of the force engaged, as well.

Conversations around the size of the police department have taken place for two years because of the increasing homicide rate in the city. In 2015, there were 162 homicides, representing a 54 percent increase from the year before. That total figure declined in 2016 to 135, but it’s still higher than usual.

Gray said he was disappointed at the vote result and said he’ll return with different legislation to increase the size of the police force, which is desperately needed.

Council member Charles Allen’s views on the emergency legislation ended up holding the day.

“I agree that we have a need to stabilize our police force. Attrition needs to be taken seriously,” Allen said. “I’m not sure passing it on emergency is the right way to go. We need a comprehensive solution. And we need to make sure we have both the size and type of force that works best for the District.”

The city maintains that 4,200 police officers are needed to keep the area safe and secure. But at the end of 2015, the department had only 3,800 officers.

Former Police Chief Cathy Lanier said the Metropolitan Police Department hasn’t been able to hire enough officers to make up for all the others retiring or dropping out of the force.

During the vote, 200 protesters gathered outside to advocate against the idea of adding more police officers.

“What we’re saying is that there are other ways to actually promote public safety, like violence interruption, that have big results but also don’t involve the divisive tactics of the police, the racial profiling,” Eugene Puryear, with Stop Police Terror Project, told NBC Washington.