The Politics Hour: U.S. Attorney for D.C. Matthew Graves talks dropping crime rates and prosecuting dangerous drivers

The Politics Hour with Kojo Nnamdi

Violent crime rates in the District have dropped by more than a third compared to this time last year. We asked the U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia Matthew Graves about the reasons driving this drop. Plus, he talked about the ongoing investigation into the bribery allegations against D.C. Councilmember Trayon White and the U.S. Attorney’s role in police-officer-involved shootings, like the one that took place earlier this month.

We also asked about his office’s responsibility when it comes to going after dangerous drivers. The STEER Act goes into effect next month and is aimed at stopping reckless drivers. But tougher new laws may not mean criminal prosecutions for traffic fatalities. U.S. Attorney Graves said there’s a high standard for charging someone criminally in a traffic fatality.

“What you need to prove in a criminal prosecution is that not only the person was reckless that they knew or should have known when they were engaging in the act that they were either likely to kill someone or seriously hurt them,” he said.

In most cases, this standard is not met, Graves said, and called the majority of traffic fatalities a “tragic mistake.”

Friday marks the first day of early voting in Virginia. WAMU’s Northern Virginia reporter Margaret Barthel joins us from the polls in Prince William County. Plus, the latest in the competitive congressional races in Northern Virginia.

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