DC teens are engaging in rampant criminal activity with lenient consequences.

A Washington, D.C., teenager who went on a ‍days-long robbing spree last month⁤ cannot be charged as an adult and will thus avoid significant ⁢punishment, the latest example of a juvenile crime surge that critics‍ say the city refuses to take seriously.

D.C. police in late August arrested five teenagers who were caught on ‌video attempting to carjack⁤ a man they followed using a different stolen vehicle. For one of the suspects—a 13-year-old girl—that incident came at the tail ⁢end ‌of a four-day string ​of robberies,‌ which allegedly saw her commit another carjacking, among other​ thefts. While those charges could lead to decades of prison time for an adult⁣ offender, the female suspect and her four accomplices​ were all charged as juveniles, as only some 16- and 17-year-olds can be tried ​as adults in the nation’s capital. As a result, one of‌ the suspects was released immediately,‌ while the others will face more lenient sentences—D.C.’s juvenile ‍justice system has no mandatory minimums.

The ordeal reflects D.C.’s ongoing juvenile​ crime⁣ surge, an issue that local experts and crime victims say the ​city is failing to combat. More than ⁤63 percent of D.C.​ carjacking arrests this year have⁢ involved juveniles, according to a city database, and a 14-year-old district resident was charged with felony murder in July. D.C. attorney general Brian Schwalb (D.) has nonetheless defended his emphasis on rehabilitation “restorative justice” when it comes to juvenile ⁣crime,‍ saying during an‍ April town hall that “kids⁢ are kids” and should not “be treated as adults.” Earlier this summer, Schwalb opposed a⁤ measure to expand pretrial detention ⁤for​ dangerous​ juveniles.

For former advisory neighborhood commissioner‌ Denise Rucker Krepp, a D.C. Democrat, Schwalb’s approach emboldens violent criminals.

“Murder, armed robbery, and armed carjacking are not juvenile crimes,” Krepp told the ⁢ Washington Free Beacon. “They are adult crimes‌ and ​should be prosecuted⁤ as such.”

Schwalb’s office, which ‌declined to comment, handles criminal cases that involve youths under 18 years of⁣ age. Juvenile offenders in D.C., regardless of the severity of their‌ crimes, cannot be held in⁣ jail beyond⁢ their 21st birthday. ‍As a⁢ result, even ‍juvenile murderers in D.C. have avoided significant‍ jail time.

In one case, a 15-year-old ‍who shot Washington Commanders running back Brian Robinson Jr. and killed another ​teen was sentenced to ‌just six years⁤ in jail—the maximum amount⁢ allowed for‍ a juvenile of that age. The ​slain teen’s mother lamented the district’s inability to ​prosecute the offender ​as an⁢ adult.

“I think‌ if ‍you’re old enough to shoot someone or take ‍someone’s car with a gun, you should be able to do life ‍in jail, you ‍should be able to do the time‌ for ‍the crime, ⁤’cause I’m never going to see my son⁤ again,” the⁤ mother said.

Still, the high-profile case ⁤did not prompt Schwalb to ⁢change his tune on juvenile offenders. Just months after‌ the ordeal, Schwalb in June lamented that the “system” has failed D.C.⁢ kids “long before” they commit crimes, stressing the need to engage in an “effort to⁢ rehabilitate.”

Included in Schwalb’s rehabilitation efforts is a “restorative justice program” that allows a juvenile offender to avoid jail⁣ time should the​ victim agree instead to pursue⁢ a “facilitated conversation.” Schwalb’s ⁣ website notes⁢ that the concept “hails ​from indigenous practices‍ in Native American, West African, and⁣ New Zealand cultures.” D.C. juveniles ‍can also be referred to a diversion program that keeps them out of the “juvenile delinquency system” in‌ favor of “individual and family therapy” and other “services.”

In ‌the case of the‌ 13-year-old carjacker arrested last month, however, the victim—a food delivery driver named Mohamed—will almost certainly decline to ​participate in Schwalb’s “restorative ​justice program.”

“It’s very bad for [the] ​ community. … I am scared to go​ to D.C.⁢ [to] work,” the victim told​ Fox 5.​ “Why this age—why not go to school?”

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