Washington DC has stepped up security inside and around government buildings to protect world leaders visiting the capital this week for the 2024 NATO summit from potential criminal threats.
Fences, barricades and roadblocks have sealed off parts of the city. While murders and carjackings have fallen since the start of 2024, violent crime surged in the capital last year and remains the capital’s biggest challenge.
Mike Varden, a former Secret Service agent and founder and CEO of security firm Lake Forest Group, said Washington, D.C., is likely the best-equipped city in the United States to provide security for an international event because the nation’s capital has a variety of city and federal agencies that deal with both local crime and organized threats.
“Washington, D.C., has a number of different local and federal law enforcement agencies. It’s really unlike anywhere else in the world. … We have the U.S. Capitol Police, the U.S. Marshals, the Metropolitan Police in the city of Washington,” he told Fox News Digital.
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National Guard troops from Washington DC are being deployed to provide security for the NATO summit in Washington DC. (Andrew Layden/NurPhoto)
Felden, who worked on security planning for the NATO summit in Chicago in 2021, said the conference will be designated a National Special Security Event (NSSE), which will involve three main federal agencies responsible for safety, security and emergency management for the event. These agencies include the Secret Service, the FBI and the Federal Emergency Management Agency.
“In my experience, I think Washington DC is better equipped to handle this size in terms of the NSSE classification than any city in the world,” he told Fox News Digital.
To mark NATO’s 75th anniversary, representatives from 32 countries, including new member states Finland and Sweden, will gather in Washington, D.C., from Wednesday through Friday. Physical security downtown will include fencing, barricades, checks for special ID badges and military vehicles blocking access to certain roads.
NATO leaders pose for a family photo during NATO’s 75th anniversary celebrations at Mellon Auditorium in Washington, DC, on July 9, 2024. (Saul Loeb/AFP)
“NATO has over 30 member countries, and all of their heads of state are protected by the Secret Service,” Vaden explained. “We actually have a platoon of Dignitary Protection for visiting heads of state. In addition to that, and this applies to Washington, D.C., we have temporary flight restrictions, TFRs, and we have the Coast Guard at sea.”
Ted Williams, a former Washington, D.C., homicide detective and Fox News contributor, called the increased security measures this week “a necessary minor inconvenience to ensure the safety of world leaders visiting D.C.”
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National Guard troops from Washington DC are being deployed to provide security for the NATO summit in Washington DC. (Andrew Layden/NurPhoto)
“The last thing we need is an international incident that embarrasses our country as we host a NATO meeting here in the District of Columbia,” Williams told Fox News Digital.
While local crime is taken into consideration, “intelligence is the key component” of risk assessments during the summit, Burden explained. “Based on the intelligence, they develop a risk profile. Based on the risk profile, they may request additional assets, such as the National Guard, additional personnel, increased flight restrictions. It’s driven by intelligence.”
The Washington DC subway will be closed during the 2024 NATO summit. (MPD)
Road closures in Washington DC during the 2024 NATO Summit. (MPD)
He added that the “new threat” that is “of greatest concern” to most security officials right now is protests, specifically those related to the war between Israel and Hamas and between Ukraine and Russia.
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On July 9, during the 75th NATO Summit in Washington, DC, Ukrainians and their supporters took part in a demonstration in solidarity with Ukraine in front of the Washington Monument. (Beata Saursel/NurPhoto)
Williams said police downtown are “prepared” for demonstrations that could turn violent, noting that the last time Washington, D.C., erected similar fencing was after the Jan. 6 riot at the Capitol.
The increased policing is part of the Metropolitan Police Department’s (MPD) efforts to curb juvenile crime. Earlier this month, the MPD implemented a juvenile curfew that will last until August, meaning that for the next two months, minors who are seen out and about unsupervised between midnight and 6 a.m. will face disciplinary action.
This map shows the map of NATO member states. (Fox News)
Curfews are nothing new to D.C., but MPD has suffered from staffing shortages in recent years, Williams said, which could make enforcing a curfew difficult.
“We have a police officer shortage, not just in DC, but across the country. This is going to be one of the most challenging issues because there are many exceptions to DC’s curfew,” Williams said. “For example, young people under 17 can be out with their parents or guardians during curfew hours. Young people can be in front of their homes during curfew hours and it is not a violation. Young people are allowed to go to and from work during curfew hours.”
On January 29, 2010, I took an aerial shot of the Washington DC skyline, including the U.S. Capitol, the Washington Monument, the Lincoln Memorial, and the National Mall. (SAUL LOEB/AFP via Getty Images)
Many suspected criminals involved in certain violent crimes, such as carjackings, are underage, and the curfew should help curb their numbers over the summer holidays.
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“But a curfew can be effective if it can be enforced. As things stand, with the limited number of officers on the street, it may be more of a ploy than substance,” Williams said. “When you consider that the same officers who have to deal with crime on the street have to enforce the curfew, it’s an insurmountable challenge.”
Violent and property crimes have declined in Washington, D.C., since last year, and total crime across the nation’s capital has fallen 17%, according to MPD statistics.
