Committee on
the Judiciary and public safety

about the committee

The Committee on the Judiciary and Public Safety (JPS) is responsible for matters affecting the judiciary and judicial procedure that are within the authority of the Council, including matters affecting criminal law and procedure, juvenile justice, police protection, correctional institutions, fire prevention, emergency medical services, homeland security, criminal justice, and public safety.

Learn more about testifying before the Committee on the Judiciary and Public Safety and access past hearings and testimony.

COUNCILMEMBER PINTO'S JPS LEGISLATION

Peace DC

In July 2025, the DC Council unanimously passed Councilmember Pinto’s Peace DC Omnibus to help continue to drive down crime in the District. Peace DC takes critical steps to (1) empower youth and strengthen neighborhood harmony by setting up young people for success, strengthening the Safe Passage program, and promoting residential tranquility (2) prevent violence by extending the rebuttable presumption for pretrial detention for the most dangerous and violent crimes (3) support our public safety workforce by streamlining college credit requirements to improve recruitment for MPD and bolstering the force with additional officers; and supporting the families of our Fire & EMS workers who have died in the line of duty, and (4) reduce recidivism by closing a gap in our record sealing laws to better create pathways for formerly incarcerated people to reenter communities with stable housing and gainful employment.

The Peace DC Omnibus Amendment Act of 2025:

• continues the rebuttable presumption for pretrial detention when defendants are charged with certain dangerous crimes and crimes of violence through December 2026 and requires a report from the Criminal Justice Coordinating Council

• streamlines educational credit requirements for the Metropolitan Police Department to bolster recruiting and increase the number of officers on the force

• ensures that families of Fire & Emergency Medical Services personnel who die due to a performance-of-duty injury or illnesses are eligible for full survivor benefits; and

• closes a gap in the Second Chance Amendment Act of 2022 to ensure that individuals can seal their criminal records as the underlying legislation intended and truly get a second chance at housing, gainful employment, and other opportunities in our community.

Without the extension of rebuttable pretrial detention, violent crimes like first degree sexual abuse (rape), child sexual abuse, strangulation, aggravated assault, first degree child cruelty, kidnapping, manslaughter, and carjacking would have no longer had a rebuttable presumption to be held before trial. Judges will have the discretion to hold defendants facing the most violent charges pretrial; defendants can overcome this presumption by demonstrating they are not a danger to the community or a flight risk.

The Safe Passage Training and School Engagement Amendment Act of 2025 will improve communication and coordination between schools and Safe Passage Ambassadors by requiring bi-annual meetings between the Safe Passage Ambassadors and relevant schools. Additionally, the bill would improve the effectiveness of the Safe Passage program by enhancing, standardizing, and universalizing training for Safe Passage Ambassadors. All of our students must be able to get to and from school safely throughout our city and this measure ensures our Safe Passage ambassadors receive the training they need to help keep our kids safe.

The Residential Tranquility Amendment Act of 2025 will prohibit using sound amplifying devices to target a residence for purposes of a demonstration in a residential zone between 7:00 p.m. and 9:00 a.m.; prohibit using unattended sound amplifying devices while targeting a residence for purposes of a demonstration; and prohibit launching or throwing an object onto the residential property of another with the intent to cause fear, intimidate, or harass against any person living or working at that residence. The introduced bill is largely the same as the emergency and temporary legislation that was passed by the Council in the fall of 2024, with the addition that the introduced version includes provisions prohibiting the use of unattended amplified sound amplifying devices used to target a residence for purposes of a demonstration. The persistent use of amplified devices in residential areas poses significant health risks to residents and major disruptions to entire neighborhoods. This legislation balances the rights of DC residents to lawfully protest, while also ensuring residences are not being targeted with amplified devices during overnight hours causing harm to those communities.

Secure DC

In March 2024, the DC Council passed Councilmember Pinto’s Secure DC Omnibus, a historic public safety legislative package that includes more than 100 interventions that collectively make District residents, visitors, and businesses safer and more secure by driving down the unacceptable level of crime and violence undermining safety in the District.  

The Secure DC Omnibus includes the following initiatives, among others:  

Prevention and Ending Cycles of Violence

• Safe Commercial Corridors: Establish a District-wide grant program to provide funds for commercial corridors to put toward safety-enhancing interventions;

• Safe Transit Corridors: Establish a pilot program to install “blue light” technology and cameras in transit stations to deter crime;

• Drug Free Zones: Reinstate MPD’s ability to declare drug-free zones where hotspots of crime and drug activity occur and allow communities to reclaim public space;

• Prearrest Diversion Taskforce: Establish a task force to develop recommendations to increase diversion, treatment, and accountability for individuals who commit low-level offenses when appropriate; ‍

• Hospitality Training: Establish a hospitality career training program at DC Jail to improve reentry outcomes;  ‍

• Nutrition at DC Jail: Set minimum nutrition standards for healthy food served at DC Jail.

Accountability for Crime

• Gun Penalties: Establish new felony offenses for endangerment with a firearm and unlawful discarding of firearms and ammunition;

• Victim Protection: Establish a new felony offense for strangulation; Enhance protections for senior citizens, persons with disabilities, and transportation workers and passengers;

• Pretrial Detention: Create a rebuttable presumption in favor of pretrial detention for violent crimes committed by juveniles and adults; require judges to explain decisions to allow for pretrial release in such cases;

• Carjacking: Expand the definition of carjacking to improve prosecution;  

• Retail Theft: Establish a new crime for “directing organized retail theft";

• Filling Gaps: Permit GPS records to be admissible in court; enable the collection and analysis of DNA to enhance case closure especially for rape, homicide, and other violent crimes.

Government Coordination and Oversight

• OUC Transparency: Require the Office of Unified Communications to publicly share data and metrics on 911 call center performance; require updates to the 311 system;

• Fare Evasion: Ensure civil violations for fare evasion can be enforced;

• Vehicular Chases: Allow officers to pursue vehicular chases if there is an imminent threat;

• Police Interactions: Clarify officer authority to protect the public, engage in arrests, and have transparency and accountability for these interactions; ‍

• Body-Worn Cameras: Permit officers to review body-worn-camera footage in cases not involving a serious use of force; ‍

• DC Sentencing Commission: Increase Council and Mayoral representation on the Commission with a fairer balance of DC representation: ‍

• Gun Tracking: Require annual firearm tracing reports to help reduce the flow of illegal weapons into the District; ‍

• Data on Programs, Diversion, and Sentencing: Require Criminal Justice Coordinating Council to share data on programs, diversion, and sentencing agreements.  

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