President Donald Trump has recently ramped up his rhetoric about crime in Washington, DC, even suggesting the district could be federalized to restore order. Last week, he ordered a heightened federal law enforcement presence following an attack on a former official, tying the move to his earlier executive order to “Make the District of Columbia Safe and Beautiful.”
At a press conference on Monday, Trump claimed the capital had “become one of the most dangerous anywhere in the world.” But do the facts support his claims?
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Is Washington, DC as crime-ridden as Trump claims?
Despite Trump’s claims, the official data paints a different picture of crime in Washington, DC. According to a January press release from the US Attorney’s Office, using police data, violent crime in 2024 reached a 30-year low. Moreover, crimes like homicides, robberies, armed carjackings, and assaults with a dangerous weapon have all declined, as reported by Newsweek.
Recent data from the Washington Metropolitan Police further supported this, as it showed a 26% drop in violent crime compared to the same period last year. This included homicides declining by 12 per cent, robbery decreasing by 28 per cent, assault with dangerous weapons dropping by 20 per cent, and carjackings, which have seen the most significant decline, falling by 37 percent this year, according to the police data.
In August, an FBI report was released, which revealed that the total number of assaults, homicides, kidnappings, abductions, and sex offences saw a significant drop in Washington, DC, from 23,914 in 2023 to 22,320 in 2024.
In 2024, Washington, D.C. recorded 22,320 crimes against persons, with assaults making up the vast majority at 21,437 cases, according to FBI data. While sex offenses (655), homicides (179), and kidnappings (49) were less common, the district’s per capita rate of crimes against persons remains higher than in more populous states like California, New York, and Texas.
