The media is set to fact-check President Donald Trump’s claims regarding violence in Washington, D.C., highlighting potentially misleading crime statistics.
Trump aims to enhance the presence of federal law enforcement throughout D.C. and has taken control of the local police department following incidents where former staff from his administration were attacked during a carjacking on August 3. Various media outlets and Democratic councillors responded to Trump’s assertions about violent crime in the area, referencing a reported 35% reduction, based on police data. However, this data omits serious crimes like aggravated and felony assault, which can skew the perception of crime trends in Washington since the pandemic began in 2020.
The D.C. Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) only categorizes murder, sexual assault, weapon-related assaults, and robbery as “violent crimes,” which showed a decline in 2024. Although aggravated assault is classified as a violent crime by the FBI, it seems to be underreported in D.C., and instances of it are actually increasing.
Interestingly, the MPD mentioned that some forms of assault don’t qualify under their violent crime statistics, leaving questions unanswered. FBI data indicates that violent crime in D.C. fell by only 10% in 2024, still above levels seen in 2018.
Moreover, murder rates in D.C. have remained elevated since 2021, surpassing those from previous years, with recent FBI figures revealing a 12% rise in attacks with weapons in 2023. Research from the Rochester Institute of Technology ranks D.C.’s homicide rate as the fourth highest in the nation, just behind cities like Chicago and New York. Notably, two Israeli embassy workers were among the high-profile murder cases in D.C. for 2025.
“Unfortunately, media outlets and some politicians are minimizing these concerns, but the reality is that our nation’s capital remains unsafe,” stated the White House, referencing the Rochester Institute’s findings.
The D.C. Police Union has pointed out ongoing issues, emphasizing that with around 3,000 officers, there’s been controversy regarding the integrity of crime statistics. Reports allege that the MPD manipulated data to project lower levels of violence, prompting an investigation into a police commander earlier this year for making questionable changes to crime reports.
Even with crimes reported, D.C. officials face challenges in prosecuting offenders. The district’s crime lab lost its accreditation in 2021 due to evidence misrepresentation, resulting in a backlog of cases needing resolution.
In January, a press release from the Department of Justice highlighted the incomplete local crime data while touting successes under the Biden administration. Some officials suggest progress is being made in reducing violent crime, attributing it to ongoing investigations and prosecutions.
On Monday, Trump announced plans to deploy the National Guard to D.C. in an effort to restore law and order, coinciding with an increase in federal law enforcement presence in the district.
