National Guard Deployment Coincides with Decrease in Homicides

In early 2026, President Donald Trump’s decision to deploy the National Guard to Washington, D.C., coincided with the city experiencing its lowest homicide rates in a decade.

This marks the first time in almost 30 years that the D.C. area has gone three consecutive weeks without a homicide. In fact, the first homicide of 2026 occurred on January 21.

Throughout January, the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) reported only two homicides, a notable decline from the nine that were reported during the same month in 2025.

Back on August 11, 2025, Trump signed an executive order to send in the National Guard as part of an effort to restore order. Troops began arriving the very next day to support local police, patrolling high-crime areas, and safeguarding key infrastructure like subway stations and major federal landmarks.

This surge in manpower allowed local law enforcement to shift focus from routine policing to a more proactive approach aimed at high-level crime enforcement.

At that time, the district was grappling with a severe security crisis. Violent crime rates were skyrocketing across the country, with homicides reaching an alarming rate of 27.54 per 100,000 residents in 2024. Additionally, D.C. ranked highly for vehicle thefts, with a rate of 842.4 per 100,000 residents—over three times the national average.

Currently, hundreds of troops remain stationed throughout the district in continuation of the federal mission. While a federal judge declared the deployment illegal in November, a U.S. appeals court granted a stay in December, allowing the National Guard to stay while the government files for an appeal.

This deployment has been extended to last through the end of 2026.

In the midst of this, the marked decrease in homicides indicates a significant shift from the city’s peak of 274 homicides in 2023, and federal officials attribute this newfound stability to the coordinated federal intervention in Washington, D.C.