Trump’s USA Crime Policy

National Guard in place – 800 soldiers expected

The National Guard has now arrived in the capital, Washington DC, reports the Washington Post.

Around 800 soldiers from the Guard are expected to participate in the mission. As the sun set, five Humvee jeeps rolled into central Washington. Around the Capitol were agents from the Drug Enforcement Administration, DEA, and cars from the president's Secret Service.

The military has been given a broad mandate by President Donald Trump to do "whatever they want" to reduce crime. But at the same time, there is uncertainty about who controls the police in the capital and district officials in the state have not received any new orders from the Trump administration, according to sources to WP.

Mayor attacks Trump: "Authoritarian"

Washington DC Mayor Muriel Bowser is intensifying the rhetoric surrounding Donald Trump's decision to call in the National Guard and take control of the capital's police. On Monday, she called the measures “worrying” but stressed that “it could be positive” to have more police presence in the city.

In connection with a local event on Tuesday, she went a step further and called the president’s decision “authoritarian,” writes CNN.

– Everyone has to do what they can [...] to protect our city and our autonomy, she says.

Trump justified the measures by saying that crime in the capital has gone off the rails, despite statistics indicating that the number of violent crimes is at its lowest in 30 years.

Trump promises to extend control over the police

Donald Trump will ask Congress to extend federal control over the police in the capital, Washington, DC, reports The Hill. The president’s statement comes just two days after taking control of the local police authority at the same time that the National Guard was called in.

According to the law that Trump invoked to take the measures, the police can only be placed under federal control for 30 days, after which Congress must approve an extension.

The president is also opening the door to declaring a national emergency to circumvent the law. That idea is shot down by law professor Claire Finkelstein at the University of Pennsylvania. According to the law, Trump himself cannot extend the measures.

“Once the 30 days are up, it’s over,” she tells Reuters.