Trump federalizes D.C. police as juvenile crime continues to spiral out of control citywide

A former FBI special agent said that Washington, D.C.’s far-left policies surrounding crime backfired, forcing President Donald Trump to federalize the Metropolitan Police Department.

In December 2016, the D.C. Council passed the Comprehensive Youth Justice Amendment Act, which banned life without parole for juveniles, eliminated mandatory minimums for juveniles tried as adults, allowed for “sentence review” for individuals who have served at least 20 years for crimes committed as a minor and more.

The act also encouraged counseling for youth offenders as opposed to a prison sentence and offered a victim-offender mediation program rather than prosecution for certain crimes.

In 2018, the D.C. Council updated the Youth Rehabilitation Act, which increased the age of a “youth offender” from 22 to 24, made certain crimes ineligible and allowed some individuals to request their convictions be thrown out. The act gives judges sentencing discretion in certain crimes where the defendant is under 24.

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Despite efforts to bring down juvenile crime, incidents involving minors in Washington, D.C., persisted.

NBC Washington reported that the number of juveniles arrested in Washington, D.C., has increased annually since 2020, with over 2,000 arrested in 2023 and 2024 alone.

Juveniles even made up a majority of robbery arrests, with 51.8% in 2024, according to police. Almost 60% of carjacking suspects in 2025 were also juveniles. 

Dating back to August 2023, according to the New York Post, 56% of carjacking suspects in Washington, D.C., were under 18.

Former FBI special agent Jonathan Gilliam told Fox News Digital that juvenile crime was a major factor in Trump’s decision to federalize the Metropolitan Police Department, and said the light punishments only lead to repeat offenders.

“The same criminals are doing things over and over again and not getting punished for it, and that’s what occurs when you have juveniles,” Gilliam said. “All of this has to do with politics, but the reality is, at 15 years old, if somebody is making decisions on murder, that individual is doing adult crime, and they should be charged as such.”

Gilliam said that Washington, D.C., became more dangerous when politicians began “chopping” away at law enforcement.

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The Metropolitan Police Department in Washington, D.C., is accused of changing crime stats.  (Getty Images)

“In the way that things began to get more dangerous and a lot of those things have to do with city councils and mayors slowly at first chopping away at law enforcement,” Gilliam said.

In some cases, after the Comprehensive Youth Justice Amendment Act became law in Washington, D.C., some criminal sentences have raised eyebrows.

19-year-old Javarry Peaks shot a stranger inside a Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority bus on March 8, according to the Department of Justice. Prosecutors said Peaks boarded the bus at 9:30 p.m. and began talking to someone. Prosecutors said the victim was shot in the chest after he attempted to push Peaks off.

Under the Youth Rehabilitation Act, D.C. Superior Court Judge Rainey Brandt suspended Peaks’ four-year prison sentence followed by three years of supervised release, and only gave Peaks probation, according to WUSA9.

U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia Jeanine Pirro wasn’t pleased with the judge’s decision.

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FBI and Border Patrol officers arrest a man after he allegedly assaulted law enforcement with a sandwich, along the U Street corridor during a federal law enforcement deployment to the nation’s capital on Aug. 10, 2025 in Washington, D.C. U.S. President Donald Trump ordered an increased presence of federal law enforcement in the city in an effort to curb crime. (Andrew Leyden/Getty Images)

“This violent teen boarded public transportation with an illegal firearm and shot the victim in the chest,” Pirro said. “His actions are reprehensible and dangerous, and it is only by the grace of God that the victim did not die and that others were not harmed that day.”

“D.C. will not be safe until judges hold violent offenders accountable by putting them in jail. To make D.C. safe again, there must be serious consequences for these heinous crimes,” she added.

Mayor Muriel Bowser declined to comment. Fox News Digital reached out to the D.C. Council.