COUNCIL OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA
OFFICE OF COUNCILMEMBER BROOKE PINTO
THE JOHN A. WILSON BUILDING
1350 PENNSYLVANIA AVENUE, N.W., SUITE 106
WASHINGTON, D.C. 20004
September 18, 2023
Nyasha Smith, Secretary
Council of the District of Columbia
1350 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW
Washington, DC 20004
Dear Secretary Smith,
Today, I am introducing the “Addressing Crime through Targeted Interventions and Violence
Enforcement (“ACTIVE”) Amendment Act of 2023.” Please find enclosed a signed copy of the
legislation.
The ACTIVE Amendment Act, which is the product of conversations with the United States
Attorney’s Office for the District, includes a number of provisions that are aimed at deterring
and/or holding accountable the small number of individuals engaging in serious violent crimes in
the District.
First: The District is experiencing a crisis of gun violence. A relatively small number of individuals
are responsible for the majority of that gun violence. Many of these individuals engage in repeated
firearms offenses, and firearms offenders have higher rates of recidivism than other offenders.1
Recognizing that swift and certain apprehension is an effective deterrent to criminal activity, this
bill proposes requiring individuals on probation, supervised release, or parole following a
conviction for a gun offense be required to submit to a search when they are in a public place. This
proposal draws on a similar policy that has been in place in California for a number of years.
The bill also includes other proposals aimed at deterring individuals from engaging in dangerous
gun crimes, namely:
• Adjusting the maximum penalties for endangerment with a firearm to bring them in line
with other firearms offenses; and increasing the maximum penalty for individuals firing a
large number of bullets at a time.
• Requiring that sentences for possession of extremely dangerous weapons like machine
guns be stacked on top of baseline penalties, rather than running concurrently.
• Creating a new offense of unlawful discarding of firearms and ammunition. Often,
individuals who are being pursued by law enforcement will throw a firearm or ammunition
1
A 2019 report from the United States Sentencing Commission found that firearms offenders recidivate at a higher
rate than, and more quickly than, non-firearms offenders. Iaconetti et al., Recidivism Among Federal Firearms
Offenders, U.S. Sentencing Commission (June 2019), available here.
 while running, in an effort to avoid being caught with an illegal weapon. This new provision
will ensure accountability for this dangerous behavior.
In addition to the gun violence that is directly and indirectly impacting so many residents in the
District, a significant spike in carjackings has caused many residents to feel unsafe going about
their daily lives. Yet victims of carjackings sometimes find that because of slight quirks in the facts
of their case, their attackers cannot actually be charged with carjacking. The bill would address
some of these situations by amending the definition of carjacking to include situations where the
victim is not in or immediately next to their vehicle.
Ensuring that individuals can be appropriately charged with violent crimes like gun offenses and
carjackings is not sufficient by itself. Often, these individuals are released back into the community
pending trial. And too often, individuals on pretrial release go on to commit more violent offenses.
The Prioritizing Public Safety Emergency Amendment Act, which I introduced and the Council
passed 12-1 in July,2 addressed this issue by expanding the categories of violent crimes that qualify
for a presumption in favor of pretrial detention. This legislation builds on those changes. The bill
proposes that in any case where a judge decides to release individuals charged with violent
crimes, the judge must issue written findings setting forth the evidence that supported the
decision.
The District has also experienced an uptick in sexual abuse and domestic violence in recent
months. These crimes often presage repeated and, in some cases, escalating violence. For instance,
strangulation has been recognized as a strong predictor of future fatalities in domestic violence
situations. Recognizing the unique danger of future violence that these crimes signify, the bill
classifies strangulation and certain sexual abuse crimes as “dangerous crimes” and “crimes
of violence.” Among other things, this will ensure that these crimes qualify for a presumption in
favor of pretrial detention.
Finally, as United States Attorney Matt Graves has recently noted, courts have been reluctant to
classify serious offenses like shooting someone with a firearm at the appropriate level of severity.
To address this, the bill clarifies the definitions of what constitutes “serious” and “significant”
bodily injury for purposes of establishing felony liability for crimes like assault. This will ensure
that individuals engaging in serious violent crimes are subject to the appropriate level of liability.
Of course, while violent and repeat offenders need to be held accountable, prosecution is not
always the best avenue to address low-level criminal behavior. Many individuals engaging in non-
violent misdemeanor criminal activity are driven by underlying mental and behavioral health
issues and substance use disorders. In an effort to help identify more of these individuals, connect
them with services address the underlying issues, and avoid putting them into the traditional
criminal justice system, the bill proposes creating a Prearrest Diversion Task Force. The Task
Force would be charged with developing recommendations for increasing the use of prearrest
diversion and implementing those recommendations.
It is imperative that the District respond to the ongoing crisis of violent crime with urgency and
thoughtfulness. The proposals in this bill will help to ensure that individuals who are engaging in
dangerous and harmful behavior can be held accountable and removed from their communities
when necessary, or, hopefully, deterred from harming their neighbors in the first place. They will
2
Bill 25-395. See here for more information.
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also ensure that we avoid unnecessary overincarceration and address the underlying causes of low-
level non-violent crimes.
If you have any questions about this legislation, please contact Evan Marolf, Deputy Committee
Director for the Committee on the Judiciary and Public Safety, at emarolf@dccouncil.gov.
Thank you,
Brooke Pinto
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 1 ______________________________
2 Councilmember Brooke Pinto
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4
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6 A BILL
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8 ______________________________
9
10
11 IN THE COUNCIL OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA
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13 _______________________________
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16 To amend the Firearms Control Regulations Act of 1975 to require gun offenders who are on
17 probation, supervised release, or parole to agree to submit to a search when they are in a public
18 place; to amend An Act To establish a code of law for the District of Columbia to clarify the
19 definitions of serious and significant bodily injury, and to expand the definition of carjacking; to
20 amend An Act To control the possession, sale, transfer and use of pistols and other dangerous
21 weapons in the District of Columbia, to provide penalties, to prescribe rules of evidence, and for
22 other purposes to establish an offense of discarding firearms and ammunition, and to establish an
23 offense of endangerment with a firearm; to amend Title 23 of the District of Columbia Official
24 Code to enhance the rebuttable presumption in favor of pretrial detention in cases involving
25 violent crimes and sexual abuse, to require judges to issue written findings where they decide
26 against holding individuals pretrial, to eliminate the requirement that extensions to the 100-day
27 clock for pretrial detention for offenses other than those listed in § 23-1325(a) be granted only in
28 20-day increments, to amend the definitions of dangerous crimes and crimes of violence to
29 include certain additional sexual abuse offenses and to include strangulation as a crime of
30 violence, and to establish a Prearrest Diversion Task Force to develop and implement
31 recommendations for diverting individuals engaged in low-level non-violent crimes from the
32 criminal justice system prior to arrest.
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34 BE IT ENACTED BY THE COUNCIL OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA, That this
35 act may be cited as the “Addressing Crime through Targeted Interventions and Violence
36 Enforcement (“ACTIVE”) Amendment Act of 2023”.
37 Sec. 2. The Firearms Control Regulations Act of 1975, effective September 24, 1976
38 (D.C. Law 1-85; D.C. Official Code § 7-2508.01 et seq.) is amended by adding a new section
39 808 to read as follows:
40 “Sec. 808. Searches of gun offenders on probation, supervised release, or parole.
41 “(a) A person convicted of a gun offense, who is on probation, supervised release, or
42 parole, shall be subject to search or seizure by a law enforcement officer at any time of the day or
43 night, with or without a search warrant or with or without cause, when that person is in a place
44 other than the person’s dwelling place, place of business, or on other land possessed by the
45 person.
46 “(b) A person convicted of a gun offense, who is on probation, supervised release, or
47 parole, shall be given written notice by the court or supervising entity that the person is subject to
48 terms and conditions of release.
49 “(c) The notice shall include an advisement that the person is subject to search or seizure
50 by a law enforcement officer at any time of the day or night, with or without a search warrant or
51 with or without cause, when that person is in a place other than the person’s dwelling place,
52 place of business, or on other land possessed by the person.
53 “(d) It is not the intent of the Council to authorize law enforcement officers to conduct
54 searches for the sole purpose of harassment.”.
55 Sec. 3. An Act To establish a code of law for the District of Columbia, approved March
56 3, 1901 (31 Stat. 1189; D.C. Official Code passim), is amended as follows:
57 (a) Section 806 (D.C. Official Code § 22-404) is amended as follows:
58 (1) Subsection (a)(2) is amended by striking the phrase “For the purposes of this
59 paragraph, the term “significant bodily injury” means an injury that requires hospitalization or
60 immediate medical attention.”.
61 (2) A new subsection (a)(3) is added to read as follows:
62 “(3) For the purposes of this section, “significant bodily injury” means:
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63 “(A) An injury that requires hospitalization or medical treatment beyond
64 what a layperson can personally administer;
65 “(B) A fracture of a bone;
66 “(C) A laceration for which the victim required or received stitches,
67 sutures, staples, or closed-skin adhesives; or a laceration that is at least one inch in length and at
68 least one quarter of an inch in depth;
69 “(D) A burn of at least second degree severity;
70 “(E) Any loss of consciousness; or
71 “(F) An injury where medical testing, beyond what a layperson can
72 personally administer, was performed to ascertain whether there was an injury described in
73 subparagraphs (A)-(E) of this subsection.”.
74 (b) Section 806a (D.C. Official Code § 22-404.01) is amended by adding a new
75 subsection (d) to read as follows:
76 “(d) For the purposes of this section, “serious bodily injury” means an injury or
77 significant bodily injury (as that term is defined in § 22-404(a)(3)) that involves:
78 “(1) A substantial risk of death;
79 “(2) Protracted and obvious disfigurement;
80 “(3) Protracted loss or impairment of the function of a bodily member, organ, or
81 mental faculty;
82 “(4) Protracted loss of consciousness;
83 “(5) A traumatic brain injury;
84 “(6) A burn of at least third degree severity;
85 “(7) A gunshot wound; or
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 86 “(8) An injury where hospitalization or medical treatment beyond what a
87 layperson can personally administer prevented an injury set forth in subparagraphs (1)-(6) of this
88 subsection.”.
89 (c) Section 806d(c)(1) (D.C. Official Code § 22-404.04(c)(1)) is amended by striking the
90 phrase “§ 22-3001(7),” and inserting the phrase “§ 22-404.01(d),” in its place.
91 (d) Section 811a(a)(1) (D.C. Official Code § 22-2803(a)(1)) is amended to read as
92 follows:
93 “(a)(1) A person commits the offense of carjacking if, by any means, that person
94 knowingly or recklessly by force or violence, whether against resistance or by sudden or stealthy
95 seizure or snatching, or by putting in fear, or attempts to do so, shall take a motor vehicle from
96 the person or presence of another, or that person knowingly or recklessly by force or violence, or
97 by putting in fear, shall take a key to a motor vehicle from the immediate actual possession of
98 another, with the purpose and effect of taking the motor vehicle of another.”.
99 Sec. 4. Section 432(c) of the Revised Statutes of the District of Columbia (D.C. Official
100 Code § 22-405(c)) is amended by inserting the phrase ““Significant bodily injury” shall have the
101 same meaning as provided in § 22-404(a)(3).” at the end.
102 Sec. 5. Section 101(7) of the Anti-Sexual Abuse Act of 1994, effective May 23, 1995
103 (D.C. Law 10-257; D.C. Official Code § 22-3001(7)) is amended to read as follows:
104 “(7) “Serious bodily injury” shall have the same meaning as provided in § 22-
105 404.01(d).”.
106 Sec. 6. An Act To control the possession, sale, transfer and use of pistols and other
107 dangerous weapons in the District of Columbia, to provide penalties, to prescribe rules of
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108 evidence, and for other purposes, approved July 8, 1932 (47 Stat. 650; D.C. Official Code § 22-
109 4501 et seq.), is amended as follows:
110 (a) Section 1 (D.C. Official Code § 22-4501) is amended as follows:
111 (1) Paragraph (1) is redesignated as paragraph (1B).
112 (2) A new paragraph (1A) is added to read as follows:
113 “(1A) “Ammunition” shall have the same meaning as provided in § 7-
114 2501.01(2).”.
115 (b) A new section 3c is added to read as follows:
116 “Sec. 3c. Endangerment with a firearm.
117 “(a) A person commits endangerment with a firearm when the person:
118 “(1) Knowingly discharges a projectile from a firearm outside a licensed firing
119 range; and
120 “(2) Either:
121 “(A) The person knows that the discharged projectile creates a substantial
122 risk of death or bodily injury to another person; or
123 “(B) In fact:
124 “(i) The person is in, or the discharged projectile travels through or
125 stops in, a location that is:
126 “(I) Open to the general public at the time of the offense;
127 “(II) A communal area of multi-unit housing; or
128 “(III) Inside a public conveyance or a rail station; and
129 “(ii) The person does not have permission to discharge a projectile
130 from a firearm under:
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131 “(I) A written permit issued by the Metropolitan Police
132 Department; or
133 “(II) Other District or federal law.
134 “(b) Whoever violates this section shall upon conviction be fined no more than the
135 amount set forth in section 101 of the Criminal Fine Proportionality Amendment Act of 2012,
136 effective June 11, 2013 (D.C. Law 19-317; D.C. Official Code § 22-357.01), or incarcerated for
137 no more than 5 years, or both.
138 “(b-1) Whoever violates this section shall upon conviction be fined not more than the
139 amount set forth in § 22-3571.01, or incarcerated for not more than 10 years, or both, if:
140 “(1) The violation of this section occurs after a person has been convicted of a
141 felony, either in the District of Columbia or another jurisdiction; or
142 “(2) 5 or more projectiles are discharged from a firearm within a single course of
143 conduct.
144 “(c) When arising from the same act or course of conduct, a conviction for an offense
145 under this section shall merge with a conviction:
146 “(1) Under section 3a; or
147 “(2) For another offense outside of this act that has, as an element in the offense
148 definition or in the applicable penalty enhancement, possessing or having readily available a
149 firearm, imitation firearm, or dangerous weapon.
150 “(d) No mental state shall be required as to any element under subsection (a)(2)(B) of this
151 section.
152 “(e) It shall be a defense to liability under this section that the person discharged a
153 firearm under circumstances constituting lawful self-defense or defense of others.”.
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154 (c) Section 14 (D.C. Official Code § 22-4514) is amended as follows:
155 (1) Subsection (c) is amended to read as follows:
156 “(c) Whoever violates this section shall be punished as provided in § 22-4515 unless:
157 “(1) The violation involves possession of a sawed-off shotgun, or ghost gun, in
158 which case such person shall be imprisoned for not more than 5 years, fined not more than the
159 amount set forth in § 22-3571.01, or both;
160 “(2) The violation involves possession of a machine gun, in which case such
161 person shall be imprisoned for not more than 5 years, which shall be imposed consecutive to any
162 other sentence of imprisonment, fined not more than the amount set forth in § 22-3571.01, or
163 both; or
164 “(3) The violation occurs after such person has been convicted in the District of
165 Columbia of a violation of this section, or of a felony, either in the District of Columbia or in
166 another jurisdiction, in which case such person shall be imprisoned for not more than 10 years,
167 fined not more than the amount set forth in § 22-3571.01, or both.”.
168 (2) Subsection (d) is repealed.
169 (d) A new section 3d is added to read as follows:
170 “Sec. 3d. Unlawful discarding of firearms and ammunition.
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