Trump's D.C. crime claims don't match the data
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Violent crime is declining in D.C. — not rising, as President Trump claimed on Monday.
Why it matters: Trump took unprecedented action to declare a "crime emergency" in the city, seizing control of D.C.'s police force as well as deploying the National Guard.
The big picture: D.C. crime hit a 30-year low in 2024, according to a Justice Department statement in January — down 35% from the city's 2023 crime wave.
- And for the first half of 2025, violent crime has dropped in all categories in Washington, according to new data from Major Cities Chiefs Association, an organization of law enforcement executives.
- Violent crime is down 26% from this time in 2024, per city police data.
Zoom in: Carjackings, which surged in D.C. post-COVID, are down 37% this year — despite Trump's claims they "tripled."
- Homicides are down 12% year-over-year, with 98 so far in 2025, per MPD. Though homicides are trending higher than a decade ago.
What they're saying: During a press conference Monday, Trump said that "murders in 2023 reached the highest rate probably ever" — ignoring the recent homicide decline in favor of a spike two years earlier.
- Homicides reached a 26-year high in D.C. in 2023, when 274 were reported. In 1991, D.C. was declared the nation's murder capital (482 homicides).
Between the lines: Several high-profile cases have troubled D.C. this year, including the slaying of two Israeli Embassy employees, which is being prosecuted as a hate crime, and the shooting of a 3-year-old girl.
- Youth crime remains a hot-button issue. The city launched a new MPD juvenile unit in April and extended youth curfews this summer — including a new Navy Yard curfew zone enforced this week.
In a separate press conference Monday, Mayor Muriel Bowser committed to working with U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro — who's criticized the city for being too lenient on minors — to reexamine laws around youth crime with the D.C. Council.
- Bowser also stressed that the city has worked hard to address crime spikes through boots-on-the-ground action and legislation.
- "There's nobody here who wants to tolerate any level of crime," says Bowser. "If you were a victim, or you know someone who is a victim, it doesn't matter if crime numbers have gone down. So understand we work every day to stop crime."