D.C.’s new attorney general has specific ideas on how he wants to handle juvenile justice in the city at a time when the mayor and others are deeply concerned with crimes being committed by juveniles and the level of accountability.
Attorney General Brian Schwalb is a third generation Washingtonian who calls the District a great place to live and raise a family. He said he has everything within his authority now under review – lawsuits being litigated, consumer protection and juvenile justice.
Schwalb said when it comes to juvenile justice, there are two objectives.
“We have to protect the public and advance public safety, and we have to be committed to a rehabilitative model,” he said. “That’s what distinguishes juvenile criminal justice from adult criminal justice.”
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Schwalb said while running for office he heard quite a bit from residents about the direction they thought he should be taking.
“I’m very much aware that people want to feel safe, but I’m also feeling and hearing from people that they want to see their kids to get a fair shot and that the narrative around kids is often really not consistent with what the facts on the ground are,” he said.
Schwalb said he is listening far more than he is talking right now, and he said the narrative that kids in the city are out of control is inconsistent with what he is hearing and seeing and certainly what the data is showing.
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On the issue of lawsuits – including two filed against the Washington Commanders – Schwalb said they are all under review.
“The public wants to have a confidence level that the law is fairly applied no matter who the attorney general is, that we don’t overly politicize the way cases are brought,” he said.
On the issue of marijuana, which D.C. residents have voted to legalize, Schwalb blames Congress for standing in the way of any legalized sales.
“It’s just one example of many where we are disadvantaged, and it affects the lives and the safety of people who live here in the District of Columbia,” he said.
Schwalb said his office is there to help and ready to step in when residents don’t feel the laws are working to protect them.
