A Newsmax article states that politicians and their staff in Washington, DC have been cautioned to take precautions as the city’s crime rate continues to rise. Representative Bryan Steil, chair of the House Administration Committee, made this point clear in a security briefing, saying that everyone thinks “differently” after being a victim of crime.
He stressed the importance of equipping people with the resources they need to avoid becoming victims. During the briefing his committee organized, Steil said that this is not enough and that the city needs many more policies to address the crime problem.
Steil said that the problem is widespread across the United States and that he and many of his loved ones have been victimized by criminals. When asked about terrifying experiences in his life, he mentioned being robbed at gunpoint from his home porch in 2004 while working as a staffer on Capitol Hill. The Republican lawmaker from Wisconsin said that this incident occurred at the party.
Thefts of motor vehicles and homicides, among other crimes, have reportedly increased dramatically in the nation’s capital. In March, an aide to Republican Senator Rand Paul of Kentucky was viciously attacked while in the H Street Corridor in Washington, DC. Angie Craig, a democratic representative from Minnesota, had been brutally attacked a month prior in the elevator of her building.
DC Police Union Chair Greggory Pemberton advised employees during the training to always be aware of their surroundings. He and the other law enforcement authorities there urged the crowd to put down their phones and pay attention at all times, to not engage in small talk with strangers, and to walk alone. In addition, Pemberton advised members of Congress and their staffs that current claims that crime in the city is lower than it was in the 1990s are false.
