DC Mayor Muriel Bowser announced a “gun violence prevention director,” a new position, at a press conference on Thursday.
Bowser appointed Linda Harllee Harper for the new post. Harper currently serves as senior deputy director to DC’s Department of Youth Rehabilitation Services (DYRS), which works for youth impacted by the DC Juvenile Justice System.
She previously served at DC Public Schools (DCPS) as a substance abuse prevention intervention coordinator at the former Oak Hill Youth Center.
“Linda Harllee Harper is a visionary leader in social and criminal justice,” the mayor said in a statement. “For more than fifteen years, Mrs. Harllee Harper has successfully led and supported reform efforts in the District’s Juvenile Justice System, and is credited with launching a network of contracted local community-based providers designed to serve as an alternative to residential care or detention.”
“Linda certainly has a heart for our communities and those impacted by violence, as evidenced by her long career helping young people,” Bowser added.
Councilmember Charles Allen also issued a release about the appointment, saying that the District “urgently needs to act boldly and strategically to tackle gun violence.”
“We need the full weight of the District government working together to solve this challenge, as gun violence rises and we near the anniversary of another public health crisis, the COVID-19 pandemic. That is why I am so pleased Linda has been chosen for this position. Her philosophy is deeply rooted in the public health approach that is imperative to reducing violence,” stated Allen.
Saying he worked with her in the past, the councilmember praised Harper for her “exceptional and recognized leadership within the fields of youth justice and violence prevention.”
According to Allen, Harper has transformed the city’s juvenile justice system into a national model during her time at the Department of Youth Rehabilitation Services, together with Director Clint Lacey.
One of the most recent gun-related tragedies in the District took place on January 21, when three individuals, including a 15-year-old boy, were killed in four shootings in Southeast.
15-Year-Old Boy, Two Others Killed in Multiple Southeast DC shootings