S. 2686 — DC CRIMES Act

This section limits eligibility for youth offender status under the District of Columbia Youth Rehabilitation Amendment Act of 1985 (YRAA)—which provides judges with flexible, rehabilitation-focused sentencing options for certain young offenders—to individuals 18 years of age or younger (from 24 years of age or younger). It makes conforming changes by (1) repealing requirements in the D.C. strategic plan for youth facilities, treatment, and services to address individuals 18 through 24 years of age and (2) limiting court-ordered community service under probation orders to individuals 15 to 18 years of age (from 15 to 24 years of age). The section further prohibits YRAA sentences below applicable mandatory-minimum terms by striking such exception.

This section requires the Attorney General for the District of Columbia to establish and operate, by not later than 180 days after enactment, a publicly accessible website with monthly-updated statistics on juvenile crime (i.e., arrests and prosecutions of youth offenders), including (1) total annual arrests and breakdowns by age, race, and sex; (2) arrests for petty crimes (e.g., vandalism, theft, shoplifting) and violent crimes; (3) first-time versus repeat offenders, with details on prior arrests; (4) prosecution declination rates; (5) cases tried as adults; (6) sentencing outcomes (not sentenced, misdemeanor, or felony); and (7) sentence lengths (0-3 months, 4-6 months, 6-12 months, 12-24 months, or 24+ months). It mandates indefinite archiving of historical data in machine-readable format for bulk download, prohibits disclosure of personally identifiable information, and authorizes the Attorney General to access otherwise confidential juvenile case, social, and law enforcement records solely for website purposes.

This section prohibits the District of Columbia Council from enacting any act, resolution, or rule to change any mandatory minimum sentence or criminal sentencing guideline in effect on the date of enactment of the DC CRIMES Act.