DC AG infuriates residents after saying city 'cannot prosecute and arrest' out of crime crisis: 'Madness'

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Washington, D.C., Attorney General Brian Schwalb infuriated residents after claiming the city's rampant crime crisis cannot be dealt with through law and order.

Angry residents met with community leaders in Washington, D.C., Tuesday for a panel to discuss the rise of violent crime in the city, specifically among juveniles, when Schwalb made the controversial comment.

As residents voiced their concerns and frustrations, the Democrat suggested that if district residents want to be "safer in the long run," they must take preventative measures rather than arrest and prosecute violent criminals.

"We as a city and a community need to be much more focused on prevention and surrounding young people and their families with resources if we want to be safer in the long run," Shwalb said in a viral clip from Fox 5. "We cannot prosecute and arrest our way out of it."

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A photo of a law enforcement vehicle for the Washington, D.C., police department. (Celal Gunes)

"Madness," Rep. Dan Bishop, R-N.C., wrote on X. "DC is emblematic of the pro-crime policies leftists want to export to the rest of the country."

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"Yes you can," the Republican House Judiciary Committee also posted in response after recent statistics reveal robberies in D.C. are up 11% since Jan. 1.

Will Reinert, national press secretary for the National Republican Congressional Committee (NRCC), wrote that Schwalb's comment was "beyond parody."

Rep. Dan Bishop, R-N.C., said Shwalb's comment was "madness." (Bill Clark)

"I would suggest you try prosecuting and arresting your way out of some of this," conservative commentator and podcaster Mary Katharine Ham wrote in a repost of the video.

Abigail Jackson, communications director for Sen. Josh Hawley, R-Mo., responded to Shwalb's claim, saying, "yes... you can...."

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Gabriel Shoglow-Rubenstein, a spokesperson for the D.C. AG's office, told Fox News Digital Shwalb is "laser focused" on making D.C. "safer."

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"The Office of the Attorney General is laser focused on using the law to make D.C. safer. This includes prosecuting juveniles and holding them accountable when they commit crimes, which we do for every serious offense where there is sufficient evidence to prove a case," Shoglow-Rubenstein said. 

"Prosecution, however, by definition, takes place after a crime has occurred, and to truly make the District safer, we need to focus on stopping crime before it happens in the first place," he added. "Prevention efforts cannot replace effective policing and prosecution, but are equally necessary in order to make D.C. safer now and in the long run."

Tuesday's panel, "Understanding Juvenile Carjacking: A Panel Discussion," was moderated by Councilmember Charles Allen, who is facing a recall effort amid a rise in violent crime in Ward 6.