Donald Trump has deployed the National Guard in Washington DC and seized control of its police force, claiming the capital is 'lawless' and 'one of the most dangerous cities anywhere in the world'. The president portrayed himself as DC’s saviour, vowing to rid it of 'crime, bloodshed, bedlam, and squalor and worse', and demanded unhoused people leave the city or face eviction.
Experts say Trump’s portrayal of crime in Washington DC has little to do with facts. While DC did experience a sharp increase in homicides in 2023, with 274 killings up from 203 the year prior, crime trends have since changed dramatically. A January report from the Metropolitan Police Department and US Attorney’s Office showed total violent crime in 2024 was down 35% from the previous year, marking the lowest rate in over 30 years.
The reduction included a 32% decline in homicides, a 39% decline in robberies, a 53% decline in armed carjackings, and a 27% decline in assaults with a dangerous weapon compared to 2023. Adam Gelb, president of the Council on Criminal Justice, noted 'an unmistakable and large drop in violence since the summer of 2023', with DC’s homicide rate falling 19% in the first half of 2024 versus the same period in 2023.
Mayor Muriel Bowser responded to Trump’s claims, saying: 'Any comparison to a war-torn country is hyperbolic and false.' Trump’s announcement came after a former staffer was reportedly attacked by a group of young people. The president claimed 'caravans of mass youth rampage through city streets' and called for aggressive police responses, saying 'you knock the hell out of them'. However, DC police have made roughly 900 youth arrests this year, nearly 20% fewer than the same period last year.
Insha Rahman of the Vera Institute of Justice noted that DC has reduced youth violence through community-based programmes rather than expanded policing or harsher punishments, citing restorative justice diversion programmes that allow youth to avoid prosecution.
