CLARK RAY PRESS RELEASE: DYRS Must Release Names of Escapees
"We Need an Amber Alert for Offenders" to Protect Residents
Washington, DC - Clark Ray, candidate for DC Council, At-Large, today called on Council to ensure the Department of Youth Rehabilitation Services (DYRS) releases the names of juvenile offenders who have escaped custody.
"DYRS must release the names of escapees so that communities affected by violence can work with police to ensure they are recaptured," said, Ray, a former Reserve Police Officer. "We need an Amber Alert for offenders, to keep our neighborhoods safe."
Ray's proposal would not require the release of arrest records or other sensitive information. It would, however, require that communities be given the identities of offenders who have escaped custody and are still on the run.
Last week, Washington Examiner columnist Harry Jaffe asked: "What will it take? Will an escapee have to shoot up Wisconsin Avenue before Judiciary Committee Chairman Phil Mendelson wakes up?"
"Let's not wait for the answer to that question," said Ray. "First, Mr. Mendelson threw up his hands and walked away from the hard work of crafting a workable anti-gang provision, then he wrote to residents that crime is 'not a legislative issue,' and now we hear silence when it comes to substantive legislative responses to the latest tragedies.
"Council must also address critical issues such as: whether to give judges more control over sentencing of violent juveniles; whether current facilities for juvenile offenders are sufficient; what new services, education and training might break the cycle of crime for some inmates; what could be done regarding parents to prevent these youths from becoming offenders in the first place, and more.
"Council cannot continue to ignore these dangerous failures that put us all at risk. Our communities cannot be denied the information they need to work with police to keep our neighborhoods safe."
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