When We Don’t Police Ourselves, the Government Will Do It for Us

Former Westchester County DA and Fox News host Jeanine Pirro, now U.S. Attorney for D.C., stood before posters of young victims of gun violence, underscoring a grim truth: 29 young people under 20 were shot and killed in 2024, and by mid-2025 that number had already reached 16. All of them came from minority communities. She made it clear—illegal guns and a culture of zero accountability are driving the crisis.

Pirro dismissed claims that crime is down, insisting statistics mean nothing to grieving families. “Tell the mother of the intern shot going out for McDonald’s that crime is down,” she said. She linked the violence to offenders who “don’t have any reason to fear law enforcement,” vowing to change that: “We are going to catch you, and we are going to change the laws.”

She blasted three D.C. laws she says are undermining public safety. The Youth Rehabilitation Act, allowing probation for offenders under 25 regardless of the crime. The Incarceration Reduction Act, permitting release of convicted murderers after 15 years based solely on age. And record-sealing policies that hide convictions after five years, which she argued deny parents, employers, and the public vital information.

Pirro also criticized Title 16 limits, noting that if a juvenile shooter doesn’t kill the victim, the case goes to family court, where the focus is rehabilitation, not punishment. “I’m done with yoga and ice cream socials,” she declared, rejecting what she views as a failed approach. She pointed to a recent case where a 19-year-old convicted of shooting someone in the chest walked away with probation—calling it “intent to kill” and proof that the system is broken.

Operationally, Pirro said her office is working with the re-accredited D.C. crime lab to improve forensic capacity but is hindered by severe staffing shortages—90 vacant attorney positions and 60 unfilled investigator and paralegal roles. President Biden has authorized hiring and is aware of the urgent need to fill 13 D.C. Superior Court judge vacancies, with felony trials already being scheduled into 2027.

When pressed about addressing the root causes of crime, Pirro was blunt: “I’m not concerned about why they commit crimes. My concern is if they commit crimes. My concern is the victims.” She stressed her mandate is prosecution and justice for victims, leaving prevention and rehabilitation to others. The point is, she doesn’t care that we fail to teach our children trades and vocations to secure good jobs. She doesn’t care that we use racism as an excuse to avoid self-accountability. She doesn’t care that 60–80 percent of children in our community are born out of wedlock. She doesn’t care about any of that—only that the outcome is high crime and violence. And in her position, that’s all she’s required to care about.

That’s why this should be a clarion call for Black people to get our house in order and stop blaming others for how our community is policed. If we don’t address our own breakdowns in family structure, discipline, and economic direction, outside forces will step in with their own solutions—and their brand of “justice” rarely works in our favor.

Pirro’s crackdown is a warning shot. The system will fill the leadership vacuum we leave. If we want fairness, we must first show the capacity to hold our own accountable. Because if we don’t, the people in power will decide what “justice” looks like—and when that happens, we won’t have a say in the outcome.