President Donald Trump signed an executive order to establish a task force to combat crime in Washington, D.C. The order, called “Making the District of Columbia Safe and Beautiful,” aims to make the District of Columbia “safe, beautiful, and prosperous.”
“America’s capital must be a place in which residents, commuters, and tourists feel safe at all hours, including on public transit,” the order reads. “Its highways, boulevards, and parks should be clean, well-kept, and pleasant. Its monuments, museums, and buildings should reflect and inspire awe and appreciation for our Nation’s strength, greatness, and heritage. Our citizens deserve nothing less.”
The D.C. Safe and Beautiful Task Force will consist of those from the Department of the Interior, the Department of Homeland Security, the FBI, the Department of Transportation, and other offices.
One of the task force’s responsibilities will be to deploy a “more robust Federal law enforcement presence and coordinating with local law enforcement to facilitate the deployment of a more robust local law enforcement presence as appropriate in areas in or about the District of Columbia” to ensure that “all applicable quality of life, nuisance, and public-safety laws are strictly enforced, such as those prohibiting assault, battery, larceny, graffiti and other vandalism, unpermitted disturbances and demonstrations, noise, trespassing, public intoxication, drug possession, sale, and use, and traffic violation,” the order says.
The order further directs the Secretary of the Interior and other agency heads to “develop and implement a program to beautify and make safe and prosperous the District of Columbia.”
