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Trump says Washington is unsafe, but the data tells a more nuanced story
Trump says Washington is unsafe, but the data tells a more nuanced story

Yahoo

time8 hours ago

  • Politics
  • Yahoo

Trump says Washington is unsafe, but the data tells a more nuanced story

President Donald Trump is sending the National Guard to Washington to combat what he called 'bloodshed, bedlam and squalor and worse.' But crime data paints a much more nuanced picture of what's going on in the nation's capital. Among major cities in the United States, Washington does have high rates of violent crime and murder. But it has a much lower rate of violent crime than some cities Trump hasn't spotlighted, such as Memphis, Tennessee. In the District of Columbia, different types of crime tend to be concentrated in different parts of the city, and crime overall has been on a downward trend in recent years. The murder rate is far below its historic peak. More: Think it's hard working for Trump? Try running the DEA and the DC police Thaddeus Johnson, a senior fellow at the nonpartisan Council on Criminal Justice and a former police officer, said the capital is 'on par' with other big cities. He explained that – like many of its counterparts – the district saw crime increase during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic and the years that followed, but it's now experiencing a decrease. 'It's not perfect,' Johnson said. 'It's a lot of work to do.' Here's what to know. Washington recently saw murders spike, then drop The Metropolitan Police Department reported a 35% drop in violent crime and a 15% decrease in overall crime from 2023 to 2024. Matthew M. Graves, former U.S. attorney for the District of Columbia who also served as the city's local prosecutor, cited these stats in January as a testament to his prosecutorial strategy. Between 2023 and 2024, crime categories fell between 2% (theft not related to cars) and 64% (arson). But 2023 also saw 274 homicides reported, higher than any year since 2005, according to the Metropolitan Police Department. 'We have to be mindful that we had almost historic peaks in these crimes, and so we're going to have to get back to par first,' Johnson said, pointing to lower pre-pandemic crime levels in 2018 and 2019. 'And we're still working that way, and we're coming closer.' Violent crime has been down in 2025 Violent crime in Washington through Aug. 8, 2025, dropped 26% compared with the same period in 2024, according to data from the Metropolitan Police Department. That includes a 50% decrease in sexual abuse. Overall crime is down 7% so far. Motor vehicle theft is level, and burglary is down 20%. Johnson said 200 or so people tend to be responsible for much of the crime in a city like Washington. The crimes tend to be concentrated in Black and brown communities and happen between people who know one another, he said. Violent crime and property crime are concentrated Violent crime in Washington is highest in Ward 8, the southeastern corner of the city, which includes the low-income Anacostia area, according to an interactive map on the city government's website. It's followed by Wards 7 and 5 in the eastern part of the city. Violent crime is lowest in Ward 3 in the affluent northwest part of the city, bordering Maryland and across the Potomac River from Virginia. Property crime is highest in Ward 2, a tourist-heavy area that includes the National Mall, the White House and other landmarks, and Ward 5, an area in the northeast part of the city that borders Maryland. Washington has a comparatively high murder rate Washington's rate of murder and nonnegligent manslaughter was 25.5 per 100,000 people in 2024, according to a USA TODAY analysis of the FBI's Uniform Crime Reporting Program data. That places Washington at No. 5 among more than 30 cities with more than 500,000 people. The FBI categorizes crimes differently from the Metropolitan Police Department, so the rate will differ slightly from the police department's data. But the categorization is consistent across the country, and the FBI is the best source for comparing local crime data nationally. Here is the ranking: Memphis, Tennessee: 40.6 Baltimore: 34.8 Detroit: 31.2 Kansas City, Missouri: 27.6 Washington: 25.5 Washington has 10th-highest violent crime rate among major U.S. cities When other violent crime is factored in, Washington ranks lower among large cities. The city's violent crime rate is 926 per 100,000 residents, according to USA TODAY's analysis of the FBI's Uniform Crime Reporting Program data. Violent crime includes murder and nonnegligent manslaughter, rape, robbery and aggravated assault. Here is the ranking: Memphis, Tennessee: 2,501 Detroit: 1,781 Baltimore: 1,606 Kansas City, Missouri: 1,547 Milwaukee: 1,431 Albuquerque, New Mexico: 1,182 Houston: 1,148 Nashville: 1,124 Denver: 993 Washington: 926 Crime in DC used to be much higher A generation ago, crime in Washington was so high that the city earned the moniker the "murder capital." The number of homicides increased steadily from 148 in 1985 to a peak 482 in 1991, according to a report by the Criminal Justice Research Center. Violent crime, especially murder, dropped dramatically between then and the COVID-19 pandemic. This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Is DC unsafe, as Trump claims? What the crime data shows Solve the daily Crossword

Donald Trump says he will ask Congress to extend limit on control of Washington DC police
Donald Trump says he will ask Congress to extend limit on control of Washington DC police

The Guardian

time20 hours ago

  • Politics
  • The Guardian

Donald Trump says he will ask Congress to extend limit on control of Washington DC police

Update: Date: 2025-08-14T09:46:53.000Z Title: Trump says he will seek 'long-term' control of DC police Content: Hello and welcome to the US politics live blog. I'm Tom Ambrose and I will be bringing you all the latest news lines over the next few hours. We start with news that Donald Trump said on Wednesday he would ask Congress for 'long-term' control of Washington DC's police department and signaled he expected other Democratic-led cities to change their laws in response to his deployment of national guard troops and federal agents into the capital. The president's comments came as the White House took credit for dozens of arrests overnight in Washington as part of Trump's campaign to fight a 'crime crisis', which the city's leaders say does not exist. Trump earlier this week invoked a never-before-used clause of the law that sets out the federal district's governance structure to take temporary control of the police department, but will need Congress's permission to extend it beyond the 30 days allowed under the statute. It comes as the New York Times reported that protesters last night gathered around law enforcement officers, including homeland security agents, who set up a police checkpoint in the busy U Street corridor in north-west Washington. Crowds chanted 'go home fascists' and told drivers to turn away from the checkpoint on 14th Street, warning that they could be stopped for reasons including not wearing seat belts or broken taillights. The checkpoint was closed just before 11 pm. Read our full report here: In other developments: Trump promised 'very severe consequences' if Vladimir Putin doesn't agree to ceasefire at their Friday meeting in Alaska. He didn't, however, elaborate on what those penalties will be. Trump took part in a virtual meeting with Volodymyr Zelenskyy and European leaders ahead of his summit in Alaska with Putin which the German chancellor described as 'constructive'. Zelenskyy confirmed that Trump said he would call him right after the meeting with Putin. At the Kennedy Center, Trump announced that he would host this year's honors himself. California governor Gavin Newsom, who revels in trolling Trump on social media, used the president's bizarre writing style to promote a news conference on his state's plan to counter Texas gerrymandering, scheduled for Thursday at 11.30 am Pacific Time. The White House announced that Trump revoked an executive order issued by his predecessor, Joe Biden, which made it government policy to promote competition throughout the US economy. Unlike many of Trump's orders, this one, which ended 72 federal initiatives to fight corporate monopolies and aid workers and consumers, was released without any publicity at all. Trump's pick to lead the Bureau of Labor Statistics, EJ Antoni, was in the crowd outside the Capitol on 6 January 2021 when Trump supporters rioted in a failed effort to keep him in office.

DC to wake up to troops deployed along the National Mall
DC to wake up to troops deployed along the National Mall

Yahoo

timea day ago

  • Politics
  • Yahoo

DC to wake up to troops deployed along the National Mall

President Donald Trump's plan to address crime in Washington, D.C., calls for deploying federalized National Guard troops along the National Mall overnight Wednesday into Thursday morning, according to a person familiar with the effort. The idea is that residents and tourists would awake to the sight of a significant military presence, the person said. The deployment of troops along a relatively safe and quiet stretch of Washington, D.C. -- known for museums, monuments and hot dog vendors serving tourists -- is extraordinary. MORE: Trump to seek 'long-term' extension of federal control of DC police The law grants a president the power to active the National Guard to protect federal personnel and property, such as in the case of the inauguration or the Jan. 6, 2021, riots. A president also has the power to mobilize troops in times of extraordinary crisis as was done in 1992 during the Los Angeles riots. But it was unclear what Thursday's show of military might on U.S. soil would achieve, other than a spectacle for tourists and school groups on summer vacation. Army officials said their mission was to aid law enforcement with logistics support, transportation and administration duties, as well as being visible around the Mall. "That's part of our assignment -- to go to the national monuments and be present," Col. Dave Butler, an Army spokesperson, told ABC News on Tuesday. A White House official told reporters on Wednesday to expect a "significant" presence on the ground Wednesday night. According to the person familiar with the plan, the presence of Guard troops would begin ramping up overnight and continue until Thursday. MORE: National Guard troops told to maintain presence near National Mall as part of Trump's anti-crime mission Trump announced Monday that he planned to mobilize 800 National Guard troops to address what he considered "out of control" crime in the city, as well as taking over control of the police department. Officials said a joint task force, led by Army Col. Larry Doane, will run the operation. While the task force is expected to include 800 activated National Guard members, D.C. residents won't see that many on the streets. The troops will work in shifts of 100 to 200 troops at a time, and some of them will be assigned to administrative or logistical roles in support of local law enforcement. The task force overseeing the activated Guard troops will operate similarly to how the D.C. Guard has handled inaugurations or responding to crises, as it did during the Jan. 6 riots. The National Park Service will play a considerable role because of its oversight of the National Mall, officials said.

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