DC police chief says average homicide suspect has ELEVEN prior arrests before ... trends now The Washington DC Police Chief has slammed lenient law enforcement tactics for allowing the nation's capital to be plagued by violent criminals. Robert Contee revealed that the average homicide suspect has a shocking eleven prior arrests before they commit a murder. 'What we've got to do, if we really want to see homicides go down, is keep bad guys with guns in jail,' he said. 'When they're in jail, they can't be in communities shooting people.' Contee made the declaration while speaking alongside DC Mayor Muriel Bowser, after a reporter asked him how cops plan to stamp out a recent crime wave sweeping the nation's capital. The Washington DC Police Chief has addressed the recent spike in crimes in the nation's capital, including a 300 percent rise in arson and 34 percent rise in homicides. Pictured: Washington Metropolitan Police investigate near the Supreme Court and Capitol, October 19, 2022 Contee's comments come amid a spate of violent offenses being perpetrated across the US in recent months by criminals with lengthy rap sheets. Faced with questions over why violent thugs are running rampant on the nation's streets, the police chief had a straightforward solution. 'We need to keep violent people in jail,' he said. 'When people talk about what we're gonna do different, or what we should do different, what we need to do different, that's the thing that we need to do different.' The nation's capital has become a crime hotspot in recent months, with official statistics showing a 34 percent rise in homicide rates since last year. Cases of arson have skyrocketed a shocking 300 percent this year, sex abuse crimes are up 120 percent, and motor vehicle theft is up 110 percent. Last month, DC's failure to crack down on repeat offenders was on full display after Congresswoman Angie Craig was attacked in her apartment building. The Minesota Democrat was assaulted by serial criminal Kendrick Hamlin, who was free despite a criminal record that included 13 prior assaults. 'I got attacked by someone who the District of Columbia has not prosecuted fully over the course of almost a decade, over the course of 12 assaults before mine that morning,' Craig said at the time. 'I mean, it wasn’t even in every instance that he got 10 days or 30 days. Many times, the charges were completely dropped before any justice was achieved at all.' DC Police Chief Robert Contee, pictured, insisted the solution to preventing crime is to 'keep violent people in jail' Rep. Angie Craig was attacked last month by a serial offender who was free on the streets Police arrested Kendrick Hamlin (pictured), a homeless man accused of assaulting Rep. Angie Craig In one of the latest crimes to hit the capital, last month, two bystanders were shot, and one died, when gunmen opened fire in Washington DC Contee's statement alongside Mayor Bowser came as the duo took a victory lap following the removal of a DC City Council bill to soften penalties on violent crime. The legislation would have changed the criminal code to reduce penalties for crimes including burglaries, robberies, and carjackings. But before it was sent to Congress, where it was widely expected to be rejected, the city council announced it was withdrawing the bill. Mayor Bowser had previously vetoed the legislation in January, with one of the major sticking points being the removal of minimum sentences for most crimes. The unpopular bill caused a political headache for President Biden after he backed a GOP proposal to block the criminal code changes just weeks after condemning it. Under mounting pressure, the legislation was eventually withdrawn this week. Subway shooter Frank James had an extensive rap sheet in New York and New Jersey The U-turn occurred amid increased awareness over violent crime on the east coast, with two people shot in DC just days before the council's decision. Law enforcement are still investigating the shooting, which erupted in northwest DC as a woman was peacefully walking down the street. A 29-year-old man was shot in the stomach during the incident and later died in hospital, while the female bystander was shot in the leg as numerous rounds of gunfire peppered the sidewalk. 'I do believe with a good degree of surety that the young lady walking down 14th Street was very likely not an intended target and was an unfortunate bystander who was struck by gunfire,' said Third District Cmdr. James Boteler. And last year, it emerged that infamous subway shooter Frank James had an extensive criminal history prior to opening fire on 10 people on a Brookyln train. He was arrested in April in the days following the horrific shooting, leading to him being charged with carrying out a terrorist attacked on mass transit. James' rap sheet stretched back three decades, and included arrests for possession of burglary tools, criminal sex act, larceny, and criminal tampering. The failure of law enforcement to remove him from the streets prior to his mass shooting raised questions over the leniency of penalties for criminals with numerous prior arrests. NYC subway shooter Frank James had a criminal record that stretched back three decades, but was free on the streets prior to opening fire on a packed Brooklyn train All rights reserved for this news site (dailymail) and under his responsibility