Washington, D.C. — D.C.’s leaders made significant progress in recent years to improve the safety of the nation’s capital, bringing crime in the city—including violent crime—to a 30-year low in 2024. But recent interference from federal policymakers threatens these local collaborative efforts. A new report from the Center for American Progress underscores D.C.’s success in reducing and preventing crime, specifically finding:
- Homicides in D.C. saw one of the largest declines among major U.S. cities in 2024—down 32 percent from 2023 and down compared with every year since 2019.
- Compared to the first three months in 2023, in 2025, homicides are down 37% year-to-date (YTD), assaults with a dangerous weapon are down 39% YTD, all violent crime is down 40% YTD, and property crime is down 19% YTD.
- Violent crime was down in all eight wards in 2024 compared with 2023, and across the district, it was lower in 2024 than in any other year with available Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) data, going back to 2010.
- Compared with 15 similarly sized cities, Washington had the second-lowest violent crime rate per 100,000 residents and the sixth-lowest property crime rate in 2024.
In spite of D.C.’s commitment to making the city safer, its status as a federal district makes it vulnerable to overreach by the federal government. In fact, President Donald Trump and Congress have threatened to interfere with D.C.’s local public safety functions, and the president’s recent executive order—calling for a task force with no representation from local D.C. leadership—would create significant barriers to improving safety across the district and, in fact, make D.C. less safe.
D.C. leaders have demonstrated they know what’s best for city residents. Public safety is not a one-size-fits-all solution. It is critical for D.C. to maintain the power to enact changes that are responsive to local needs, that most effectively use resources to target local issues with a knowledge of local context, and that reflect residents’ vision of safety. D.C. leaders have already developed and invested in city infrastructure, such as the Office of Neighborhood Safety and Engagement, to ensure a whole-of-government approach to safety while investing in community-based programs to reduce violence and provide support to people closest to violence in their communities.
“D.C. residents deserve to elect leaders who will shape and set in motion their city’s public safety agenda, just like every other city,” said Allie Preston, senior policy analyst for Criminal Justice Reform at CAP and co-author of the report. “In recent years, D.C.’s government and community leaders have demonstrated they can create real, data-driven improvements despite congressional claims that D.C. is failing to address crime. The federal government should stay out of D.C.’s business, and the numbers bear that out.”
“Trump and Congress have tried to exert even more power over D.C. governance in recent years despite already having disproportionate control over what are typically local government responsibilities,” said Rachael Eisenberg, managing director for Rights and Justice at CAP and co-author of the report. “D.C.’s public safety gains show that a comprehensive approach to public safety, driven by the needs of the community, can work. In fact, recent progress made should give federal officials more confidence in the solutions that are already working. That’s why it’s critical for Congress to pass the budget fix bill protecting D.C.’s funding.”
Read the report: “How DC’s Local Leaders Are Keeping Residents Safe” by Allie Preston, Chandler Hall, and Rachael Eisenberg
For more information or to speak with an expert, please contact Rafael Medina at [email protected].