The Secure DC Omnibus bill, or the “crimnibus”, will expand police and prosecutors’ abilities to surveil DC residents by 1) reviving old, ineffective, and racist surveillance practices, like drug-free zones and anti-mask laws, and 2) broadening current surveillance practices by expanding GPS monitoring, DNA collection, and camera subsidies.

District residents’ right to privacy and freedom from unconstitutional surveillance is paramount. Today, we are asking you to call and email the DC Council asking them to reject every change in the crimnibus that would expand surveillance. Scroll to learn more about the provisions, why they are bad, and what the Council should do instead.

Sample script:

Ideally call all 13 members. But if you can’t, prioritize calling your Ward’s Councilmember, the Chairman, and the at-large members! Remember to mention that you are a DC resident and/or a resident of that councilmember’s ward. Use the whole script or use just a section of it to leave a message on a issue you want to highlight!

Hi, My name is _____, and I am calling to ask you to REJECT the provisions in the Secure DC Omnibus that expand surveillance, including those that revive old, ineffective, and racist practices, or broaden current surveillance practices. Secure DC will revive drug-free zones, which were unanimously repealed by the DC Council in 2014 because they were seen as unconstitutional and due to racially-biased enforcement. Evidence also shows that these zones do not reduce drug use or sales. Councilmember, please do not reinstate this failed and unconstitutional “war on drugs” law.

Secure DC will also revive DC’s overly broad anti-mask law that the Council unanimously repealed as part of the Revised Criminal Code Act. This provision will lead to increased harassment of Black and brown residents since it’s effectively impossible to figure out someone’s intent just from appearance, meaning the police will decide who they think is and isn’t “legitimately” wearing a mask. Councilmember, please listen to the Police Reform Commission who recommended that the repeal of this law be made permanent.

Secure DC will also broaden current surveillance practices by expanding GPS monitoring, DNA collection, and camera subsidies. Sharing someone’s GPS location with the police 24 hours a day and collecting DNA samples at arrest are both broad, unwarranted invasions of privacy. Also, at a time when budget cuts are happening for essential poverty-fighting services, the District should not allocate more money toward funding private companies selling cameras.

Phone numbers:

If you can, please call all 13 councilmembers. But if you can’t, prioritize calling your Ward’s Councilmember, the Chairman, and the At-large members! Remember to mention that you are a DC resident and/or a resident of that councilmember’s ward. Don’t know what Ward you’re in? Find out here.

Learn more:

Drug-Free Zones

• The crimnibus will reinstate “drug-free zones” that were unanimously repealed in 2014, with Councilmembers Mendelson and Bonds, as well as then-councilmember Bowser’s support.
• These provisions permit cops to arrest anyone for nearly any reason as long as they can associate the person in some way with drug use. It will make it impossible for young people to hang out in a group in certain areas without risking arrest or police harassment.
• Drug-free zones were repealed a decade ago because they were seen as unconstitutional and due to racially-biased enforcement.
• According to the DC Council Office of Racial Equity, these provisions “will likely exacerbate racial inequity in the District” and “result in a disproportionate number of arrests of Black residents.”
• Finally, evidence shows that these zones do not reduce drug use or sales.
• The Council should not reinstate this failed and unconstitutional “war on drugs” policy. Instead they should:
  • improve access to drug treatment and apply harm reduction principles when addressing illegal drug use and distribution in DC.
  • provide safe spaces free from police harassment for young people to be together, and invest in community based services.

Anti-Mask Provisions

• The crimnibus will revive DC’s overly broad anti-mask law that the Council unanimously repealed as part of the Revised Criminal Code Act in the aftermath of the 2020 racial justice protests.

• When the original law was introduced in 1983, it was intended to prevent hate groups like the Ku Klux Klan from intimidating people while wearing hoods and masks. But it was written so broadly and applied subjectively that it has instead been used to stop, pat down, and even charge District residents for wearing hoodies.
• According to the DC Council Office of Racial Equity, the provisions “will likely undermine the equal protection rights of DC’s Black residents and exacerbate racial inequities in arrest and public safety outcomes as it creates another justification for police contact and surveillance most likely to befall Black residents.”
• Reviving an anti-mask law while we are in the midst of yet another dangerous COVID-19 wave is even more harmful. Even if the law states that mask-wearing for a reason other than breaking the law is allowed, it’s effectively impossible to figure out someone’s intent just from appearance, meaning the police will decide who they think is and isn’t “legitimately” wearing a mask.
• The Council should listen to their own Police Reform Commission, who recommended that this repeal be made permanent, and ensure that police can only arrest someone when they have evidence, not because of a fashion choice or health need.

GPS Monitoring

• The crimnibus will allow MPD to request GPS monitoring information from federal agencies, sharing information about a person’s location widely.
• Sharing someone’s location with the police 24 hours a day is an unwarranted invasion of privacy.
• The fact is very few individuals under GPS monitoring re-commit any crimes.
• GPS data is already shared widely with police agencies and has been used to criminalize folks based on mere association.
• The DC Council should regulate and limit the sharing of GPS data so people are not constantly surveilled and criminalized.

DNA Collection & Sharing

• In a broad invasion of privacy, the crimnibus will require MPD to collect a DNA sample from a person arrested or convicted of a range of crimes, including any felony, even if DNA evidence isn’t at all relevant to the case.
• DNA is not relevant in every case, making the requirements in this law plainly overbroad.
• It is unclear how MPD will use DNA data it keeps.
• The DC Council should limit DNA collection to circumstances in which it's demonstrably relevant to the crime being prosecuted, and limit the sharing of the DNA collected to entities involved in the relevant prosecution.