The safest communities are the ones with the most resources, not the most police. We know what keeps communities safe — investing in solutions that address the root causes of public safety issues and stop crime before it happens.
In November alone, D.C. lawmakers increased both support and punishment for D.C. youth. On November 4, the D.C. Council voted to fund the DC Child Tax Credit, the first such local credit in the nation. This tax credit is a visionary step that will help children and families, while also boosting public safety. When families can’t meet their basic needs at home, children experience instability that can have ripple effects on their whole lives and the safety of our communities.
At the same time, the D.C. Council also passed an emergency youth curfew, once again turning to police and jails as a solution to social and economic issues, where punishment can backfire. Punishment-first policies, like a youth curfew, fall short of advancing real public safety because they do not provide young people with safe places or programming. These policies also put kids at risk of unnecessary encounters with police.
Here are three reasons D.C. youth need more support, not more punishment.
1. Child poverty rates in D.C. are high, and poverty and crime are linked.
The district’s staggering child poverty rates demand to be addressed. At 17.1 percent, child poverty is higher in the District of Columbia than it is in the nation. Many of D.C.’s kids are living in extremely difficult economic situations. A low income may put a family in the stressful situation of struggling to access nutritious meals, enriching learning environments, and high-quality childcare. Research shows that places with higher rates of poverty experience more crime, demonstrating the need to tackle poverty when addressing public safety.
When families can’t meet their basic needs at home, it causes instability for children. On the other hand, when families have better financial stability, children are able to thrive. Research shows that economic assistance programs like a child tax credit not only help the families receiving them but also benefit entire communities. That’s why D.C. lawmakers should continue to invest in children and families through initiatives like the D.C. child tax credit.
2. Teens are hard-wired to take risks, and they need programs that allow them to take safe and healthy risks.
Young people are hard-wired to take risks. It is a developmentally appropriate way for young people’s brains and sense of morality to develop, but not all young people have options for taking safe and healthy risks.
Research shows that the best way to prevent young people from engaging in dangerous behavior is to provide support and services that address the root causes of challenges young people face. These kinds of programs can help build healthy relationships with trusted adults; provide mental and behavioral health services and skills; create belonging; and provide training and opportunities for employment.
Summer youth employment programs have been shown to reduce crime and incarceration effectively. Compared to young people without jobs, those who are employed have better school attendance rates, are less likely to drop out of school, and are more likely to graduate high school on time.
D.C. leaders should significantly increase funding for youth programs that teach skills, promote belonging, care for mental health issues, and provide healthy options for taking risks.
3. Punishing instead of supporting youth can backfire and make things worse.
Many young people also face significant challenges that can show up as behavioral issues. For example, traumatic experiences like abuse, neglect, and poverty can all manifest as behavioral challenges or make existing behaviors worse. Being stopped by police, arrested, or thrown in jail can all themselves be forms of trauma or make the effects of trauma worse.
Research shows that locking kids up undermines public safety and hurts kids’ mental and physical health as well as their education and even future careers. Given these facts, jurisdictions around the country, like Ohio, have developed incentives that encourage alternatives to jail for young people.
D.C. leaders should invest in existing programs like the D.C. Office of the Attorney General’s Restorative Justice Program. This approach facilitates honest conversations between a person accused of harm and the person harmed and provides mental health sessions that teach important regulation skills. Youth who participated in this program were 15 percent less likely to reoffend when compared to youth who went through the traditional juvenile justice process.
To learn more about how lawmakers can build a safer District, check out our newest policy report, called Building Safety Through Resources: A Better Path to Public Safety in D.C. The report pulls together research and evidence from effective programs happening in D.C. and around the country and recommends specific ways that D.C. leaders can invest in a deep and real sense of safety and security.