DC Justice Lab
05/22/2026
More on budgets. The federal government is spending $1.6 million a day on National Guard deployment in DC.
What could that investment look like instead?
Six days of that ($9 million) would fund a Trauma Recovery Center for crime survivors in every ward. Five days ($7 million) would launch a mental health crisis response program. Twenty-five days ($40 million) would provide a year of living-wage jobs for every DC resident returning home from federal prison.
Swipe to see what real investment in public safety could look like.
This week, DC Justice Lab joined the M.O.C.H.A. Lab, Bloomberg American Health Initiative, the Brittany Clardy Foundation, Maryland Network Against Domestic Violence, and Ujima, Inc. to unveil the Screaming in Silence toolkit and model state legislation, an important step toward addressing the crisis of missing and murdered Black women and girls nationwide.
It was an honor for our organization to lend our expertise in legislative drafting and policy advocacy to such an important national effort, while helping ensure the voices and lived experiences of those most impacted remained centered throughout the process.
But the work does not stop once legislation is passed. Centering Black women and girls must continue beyond the bill-signing moment through implementation, oversight, transparency, and accountability. We must continue holding elected officials’ feet to the fire in every state to ensure these policies are not only enacted, but fully funded, implemented with integrity, and responsive to the communities they are meant to serve.
05/19/2026
Today, we're diving into the Mayor's proposed FY27 budget.
The proposal includes a larger police budget, including $81 million for overtime, bonuses and rental assistance for officers, and more.
Meanwhile, she proposes steep cuts to the social safety net, which is made up of resources that prevent violence and harm from happening in the first place.
Mayor Bowser's proposed budget makes many cuts that will make DC less safe, destabilize communities, and worsen crises. Just a few highlights:
- Cuts to housing vouchers and Emergency Rental Assistance
- Cuts $27.3 million from Access to Justice grants, leaving many DC residents without legal help for housing, family, and domestic violence issues
- Severe cuts to TANF cash assistance that will push more DC families deeper into poverty
- Cuts to youth homelessness programs, school-based behavioral health services, and substance use treatment
Join us and in urging Council to rebalance this approach. In a tough budget year, MPD must share the sacrifice.
Mandatory minimum sentences are a discredited approach that doesn’t make us safer. So why is Congress trying to force new and longer mandatory minimums on DC?
Listen to DCJL Policy Counsel Ashlei Anderson discuss the threats from Congress on this issue and the harms that mandatory minimum sentences cause. Congress is currently considering legislation (HR 5172) to lengthen and add new mandatory minimums just for DC, when DC already has some of the most extreme mandatory minimums in the country. And 77% of DC residents oppose mandatory minimum sentences.
This is an excerpt from our recent session discussing the harms of mandatory minimums and Congressional interference.
Watch the full recording on our YouTube page: https://www.youtube.com/
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