The Washington Post dug in on the narrative this week that crime is down in Washington, D.C., leading them to conclude that President Donald Trump’s decision to federalize the Metropolitan Police Department is unwarranted.
However, a story that the same outlet ran in May reported that over 90 percent of residents are concerned about crime in the district.
The Washington Post noted at the time that 50 percent of D.C.’s residents saw crime as an extremely or a very serious issue, while an additional 41 percent believed it to be moderately serious.
The outlet did point out that those of the extremely or very serious viewpoint had dropped 15 percent since April 2024 but acknowledged another dynamic: By May 2025, some were concerned that Trump would take over the district’s government, meaning fewer people may have been willing to admit that crime is a major problem.
On Monday, Trump announced he was placing the D.C. Metropolitan Police Department under Attorney General Pam Bondi’s control.
“I’m announcing a historic action to rescue our nation’s capital from crime, bloodshed, bedlam, and squalor, and worse. This is Liberation Day in D.C., and we’re gonna take our capital back. We’re taking it back,” Trump said in remarks from the White House.
The Washington Post called Trump’s conclusions into question, reporting that same day, “Violent crime in D.C. has been on the decline since 2023, when a generational spike in killings rendered the nation’s capital one of America’s deadliest cities, plunging communities into grief and igniting a local political crisis that escalated to Congress.”
The outlet then zoomed out to the national level, reporting, “The decrease since then is part of a nationwide drop over the past two years that in 2024 brought homicide rates to their lowest level in decades. This year, homicides are down more than 30 percent in data that The Washington Post collected from more than 100 police departments in large U.S. cities. Reports of burglaries and robberies also dipped by double-digit percentages.”
Looking specifically at D.C. shows crime is still alarmingly high.
Would you bring your family to Washington for a vacation?
In 2023, the city had the fourth-highest homicide rate in the nation behind Memphis, St. Louis, and Baltimore.
Washington’s rate was 40 per 100,000 residents.
By 2024, the rate fell to roughly 28 per 100,000 residents. But while lower than the year before, it still far outstripped the national average, and it came after years of increases.
For example, in 2012, there were 88 murders versus 187 in 2024, and 101 so far this year.
Further, the Metropolitan Police Department reported that theft is little changed from the same point last year, with over 2,900 auto thefts and 3,700 thefts from vehicles.
D.C.: “When you hear from city leaders and others that crime is actually down, are you seeing that?”
“No. I’m not seeing it. We’re seeing carjackings, violence in the communities… think about how many lives could’ve been saved just by having [the National Guard] on the scene.” pic.twitter.com/tG4whmOSMg
— Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47) August 14, 2025
ABC News anchor Kyra Phillips said Monday on-air that while D.C. crime numbers may be better, it still does not feel safe in the city.
“I can tell you firsthand here in downtown D.C. where we work, right here around our bureau, just in the past six months, you know, there were two people shot, one person died, literally two blocks down here from the bureau,” she recounted.
“It was within the last two years that I actually was jumped walking just two blocks down from here,” Phillips said.
ABC ANCHOR: “Here in Downtown D.C., where we work, right here around our bureau, just in the past 6 months, there were 2 people shot…Literally, 2 blocks away.”
“I actually was jumped walking just 2 blocks down from here.”
“This morning, my coworker’s car was stolen.” pic.twitter.com/W32oufHHC7
— Breaking911 (@Breaking911) August 11, 2025
“And then, just this morning, one of my co-workers said her car was stolen a block away from the bureau,” the anchor added.
During his Monday announcement, Trump cited some recent examples of violent crime in the district, including the murder of two Israeli embassy staff members in May, a congressional intern shot and killed in June, and a former Department of Government Efficiency staffer brutally beaten not far from the White House during an attempted carjacking last week.
That same day, Metropolitan Police Union Chairman Greggory Pemberton offered his full support for Trump’s plan to bring in more federal law enforcement assets, including the National Guard.
DC Police Union Chairman, @G_Pem joins @SandraSmithFox to discuss how President Trump is declaring a DC Public Safety Emergency.#AmericaReports pic.twitter.com/p3KBAV4Je1
— America Reports (@AmericaRpts) August 11, 2025
He told Fox News on Monday, “We completely agree with the President that the crime in the District of Columbia is out of control and something needs to be done.”
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