From federal overreach to local betrayal: The double threat to Black freedom in Washington, D.C.

Kevin Beckford and Yasmin Salina

President Donald Trump recently issued an executive order ending cash bail in Washington, D.C, after declaring a federal takeover of the District’s policing. He’s also vowing to eliminate “no cash bail” policies in Illinois and New York, labeling them “disaster” sites.

These recent policy decisions are amongst a longstanding tradition of pushing narratives and policies that criminalize Black communities under the guise of public safety. Unfortunately, policies that expand the footprint of jails and compromise the liberties of individuals are quite standard among policymakers, including those in liberal bastions like Washington, D.C., which enacted a “no cash bail” policy in 1992. Local leaders in the District and elsewhere have recently pushed for regressive pro-policing and pro-pretrial detention policies.

Under the guise of public safety, D.C. has supported measures that disproportionately impact Black residents. Last year, the Bowser administration and the D.C. City Council endorsed policies like the crime bill (ironically titled Secure DC), which expands police powers and expands the likelihood of pretrial detention, despite copious amounts of evidence that such measures do not enhance public safety.  The crime bill wasn’t an isolated local choice—it’s connected to the broader movement for jails like the executive order to end no cash bail, which recasts “public safety” as a pretext to expanding policing, expanding pretrial detention, and punishing poverty.

Policies that reinstate cash bail or expand pretrial detention effectively criminalize poverty, thereby locking individuals and families into cycles of incarceration simply because they cannot afford bail. Pretrial freedom is a fundamental right, yet for many Black and Brown people in places that use cash bail and long, unnecessary detention, it has become conditional on wealth rather than innocence. People—very, very few of whom have been charged with violent crimes and/or will likely be proven innocent—lose their jobs, their freedoms and housing in many situations, due to cash bail policies. And yes, recent policies around jailing and detention in recent years have compromised the liberties of many Washingtonians.

“No cash bail” jurisdictions have a track record of keeping jail populations down and communities safer, and should be the standard.  A recent study from Harris County, Texas, which eliminated pretrial detention for misdemeanors, found that safety outcomes improved and people were less likely to be arrested or rearrested. Additionally, convictions in Harris County stemming from plea bargains have gone down and acquittals have gone up, which can be attributed to the reality that people can rightfully fight their cases when they are not in jail. 

These results show what is possible when freedom, not jailing, is the default. They also highlight the hypocrisy of rejecting models that are working simply because they disrupt fear-mongering politics that policymakers, regardless of political persuasion, rely on. We can’t scream that crime is the lowest it’s ever been in the past 30 years in response to federal policing in the District, and passively allow for the federal pursuit of local policies that will lock more people up. 

It is also important to note that youth in particular are uniquely vulnerable under cash bail and pretrial detention policies. Black youth in Washington are disproportionately arrested and detained, often for minor offenses, and are funneled into the criminal legal system before they even finish high school. Instead of punitive approaches, we must invest in transformative alternatives: restorative justice programs, trauma-informed community supports, education enrichment, and culturally-responsive mentoring. These interventions do far more to prevent harm and build safe communities than increased policing or jailing ever could.

This White House’s call for a federal takeover and the recent executive order ending cash bail are not about safety, but are all about control. It’s about using D.C. as a political prop while disregarding the lived experiences of residents who have proven that safety can be achieved. Unfortunately, some of the narratives and policies pushed forth by local leaders might have fed into this moment we find ourselves in.  

As advocates, residents and policymakers, we must reject both the attacks and the complacency that perpetuate pretrial incarceration and over-policing. The moment calls for courage, imagination and an unwavering commitment to justice. As the nation’s capital, Washington, D.C, should always model what true safety and security look like. True justice in D.C. will never be measured in dollars or bonds; it will be measured in the freedom of our people to exist, dream and thrive without a price tag on their liberty.

The opinions expressed in this commentary are those of the writer and not necessarily those of the AFRO.