Norton at Candlelight Vigil for 3 Slain Children Calls for New Strategies- October 3, 2006
October 3, 2006
Norton at Candlelight Vigil for 3 Slain Children Calls for New Strategies and Says $4.5 Million Coming for D.C. Crime Lab
October 3, 2006
Washington, DC--Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-DC) at a recent crime vigil for three children – Dominick Dixon, Andre Pee and CeQuawn Brown, all found killed within a 24-hour period – called for new approaches, including “personal responsibility for the safety of all our children, which must always be the central ‘strategy’.” She said that she is focusing on a crime lab for the District because criminals have gotten the message that the city does not have the tools to quickly resolve cases, creating a culture of impunity. Norton, who has previously gotten federal funds to help the city build a crime lab, said at the vigil that she had secured an additional $4.5 million in this year’s appropriation.
The text drawn from the Congresswoman’s statement at the vigil follows.
I want to thank the community for coming to bear witness in the name of three of our children – Dominick Dixon, Andre Pee, and CeQuawn Brown. I wanted to be with relatives, neighbors and friends this evening when two children in Ward 7 and one in Ward 8 have been brutally murdered, two by gunfire and the other perhaps sexually assaulted, as well. Yet, I know that there can be no real comfort for the families or the community when we lose three young souls within a 24-hour period. Our city has seen the rise of increasingly violent crimes committed by juveniles on the one hand, and on the other, an intolerable spike in teenage victims of brutal violence, all younger than the age of 18. We must ask ourselves this evening what it is that we must do to end the cycle of indescribable violence and candlelight vigils. What must we do other than the endless calls for the same action as before, and before that? Above all, when will we all take personal responsibility for the safety of all our children, which always must be the central “strategy?”
Trying to look beyond the obvious, I believe that the cycle of violence here is profoundly related to an unintended message and the culture that feeds it – that crimes, like the ones that bring us here tonight, can be committed without much risk because you can run, you can hide, and you can escape detection. I say this because this city lacks timely access to the necessary tools to quickly investigate and solve cases that could help change the culture of crimes without punishment.
Last week, a hearing I had earlier requested was held in the House on the effect of having no crime lab in the District of Columbia and our reliance on the FBI lab to fit us in. The FBI has done its best, but unavoidable delays create problems for both. Because of the amount of work, there are even limits on the number of pieces of evidence that can be submitted for analysis. Shamefully, the city is backlogged some 1,500 sexual assault cases in particular because these cases very often require the use of DNA evidence. Criminals have gotten the message. Unless we show we can quickly investigate and resolve cases using the necessary tools, criminals will continue to kill and assault our children and the rest of the community, too often with impunity.
I have gotten several special appropriations in the past to help the District fund its crime lab and an additional $4.5 million this year. However, the bulk of the funds for a D.C. facility must come from the city. At our hearing, D.C. officials promised a target date of 2009 to have our own crime lab in this city. I will keep pressing for even more federal funds, but you and I must also hold the city’s feet to the fire for the three children we mourn tonight. Above all, we must hold ourselves responsible until such crimes disappear from our city.
October 3, 2006
Washington, DC--Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-DC) at a recent crime vigil for three children – Dominick Dixon, Andre Pee and CeQuawn Brown, all found killed within a 24-hour period – called for new approaches, including “personal responsibility for the safety of all our children, which must always be the central ‘strategy’.” She said that she is focusing on a crime lab for the District because criminals have gotten the message that the city does not have the tools to quickly resolve cases, creating a culture of impunity. Norton, who has previously gotten federal funds to help the city build a crime lab, said at the vigil that she had secured an additional $4.5 million in this year’s appropriation.
The text drawn from the Congresswoman’s statement at the vigil follows.
I want to thank the community for coming to bear witness in the name of three of our children – Dominick Dixon, Andre Pee, and CeQuawn Brown. I wanted to be with relatives, neighbors and friends this evening when two children in Ward 7 and one in Ward 8 have been brutally murdered, two by gunfire and the other perhaps sexually assaulted, as well. Yet, I know that there can be no real comfort for the families or the community when we lose three young souls within a 24-hour period. Our city has seen the rise of increasingly violent crimes committed by juveniles on the one hand, and on the other, an intolerable spike in teenage victims of brutal violence, all younger than the age of 18. We must ask ourselves this evening what it is that we must do to end the cycle of indescribable violence and candlelight vigils. What must we do other than the endless calls for the same action as before, and before that? Above all, when will we all take personal responsibility for the safety of all our children, which always must be the central “strategy?”
Trying to look beyond the obvious, I believe that the cycle of violence here is profoundly related to an unintended message and the culture that feeds it – that crimes, like the ones that bring us here tonight, can be committed without much risk because you can run, you can hide, and you can escape detection. I say this because this city lacks timely access to the necessary tools to quickly investigate and solve cases that could help change the culture of crimes without punishment.
Last week, a hearing I had earlier requested was held in the House on the effect of having no crime lab in the District of Columbia and our reliance on the FBI lab to fit us in. The FBI has done its best, but unavoidable delays create problems for both. Because of the amount of work, there are even limits on the number of pieces of evidence that can be submitted for analysis. Shamefully, the city is backlogged some 1,500 sexual assault cases in particular because these cases very often require the use of DNA evidence. Criminals have gotten the message. Unless we show we can quickly investigate and resolve cases using the necessary tools, criminals will continue to kill and assault our children and the rest of the community, too often with impunity.
I have gotten several special appropriations in the past to help the District fund its crime lab and an additional $4.5 million this year. However, the bulk of the funds for a D.C. facility must come from the city. At our hearing, D.C. officials promised a target date of 2009 to have our own crime lab in this city. I will keep pressing for even more federal funds, but you and I must also hold the city’s feet to the fire for the three children we mourn tonight. Above all, we must hold ourselves responsible until such crimes disappear from our city.