Donald Trump recently asserted that Washington, DC, currently has “no crime at all” – a sweeping and demonstrably false claim that clashes with every major source of official crime data. Even a basic look at statistics from the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD), FBI crime reports, hospital records, and community organizations shows that violent and property offenses remain a serious concern for the nation’s capital.
Far from being crime‑free, Washington, DC continues to grapple with homicides, carjackings, robberies, assaults, and persistent property crime. While some categories have risen or fallen in recent years, none of the credible data supports the idea that crime has disappeared. This fact‑check breaks down what Trump said, how crime has actually changed in DC, and why mischaracterizing public safety can be harmful.
Trump’s “no crime at all” claim vs. Washington, DC’s on-the-ground reality
Trump’s description of DC as essentially a crime‑free zone was presented as proof of his preferred “law and order” narrative. In his telling, crime in the city had somehow vanished, offering a convenient political talking point.
The empirical picture looks very different. DC’s public crime dashboard, MPD reports, FBI Uniform Crime Reporting (UCR) data, and independent analyses all show ongoing criminal activity across multiple categories. While some forms of crime have fluctuated since the pandemic, serious offenses remain deeply embedded in the day‑to‑day lives of residents.
Local officials and public safety advocates emphasize that declaring crime “gone” is more than a factual error. It risks erasing the experiences of victims, downplaying the urgency of prevention efforts, and misinforming people who rely on accurate information to feel safe in their own neighborhoods.
On the ground, the reality is unmistakable:
- Police data record fresh reports of violent and property offenses every single week.
- Emergency rooms and trauma centers continue to treat gunshot wounds, stabbings, and assault‑related injuries.
- Community organizations are still working with residents coping with trauma, retaliatory violence, and neighborhood‑level conflict.
Even with new policies, task forces, and community‑based interventions, the evidence points to ongoing challenges, not a crime‑free city.
| Offense Type | Recent Trend | Reality Check |
|---|---|---|
| Homicide | Higher than pre‑pandemic baselines | Remains a central public safety concern |
| Carjacking | Elevated in transportation corridors | Reported regularly across the city |
| Robbery | Rising some years, dipping others | Far from disappearing |
| Property Crime | Mixed pattern but ongoing | Substantial volume of incidents |
What DC police and FBI data actually show: homicides, carjackings, and assaults still a daily reality
When you examine the official record, Trump’s depiction quickly falls apart. The Metropolitan Police Department’s publicly accessible crime dashboard and the FBI’s national databases both document sustained levels of violent crime in the District.
In recent years, Washington, DC – like many large US cities – experienced a post‑2020 spike in violence. Some categories have begun to stabilize or modestly decline from their peak, but overall levels remain notably higher than the low points of the mid‑2010s.
Key trends include:
- Homicides: Still above pre‑2020 levels, driven predominantly by firearms and concentrated in specific neighborhoods.
- Carjackings: Frequently reported, often involving youth participants and firearms, and clustered around major roadways and busy commercial areas.
- Assaults with a dangerous weapon: Includes shootings, stabbings, and other armed attacks that continue to affect residents, commuters, and visitors.
Recent data show that gun violence in particular is not evenly distributed. It tends to cluster in communities east of the Anacostia River and in certain high‑poverty areas, even as downtown and tourist zones receive more visible policing and specialized initiatives. This geographic concentration means that some neighborhoods feel much more dangerous than others, even if citywide totals appear relatively stable year‑to‑year.
| Offense (DC) | Recent Trend | Context |
|---|---|---|
| Homicide | Remaining elevated | Higher than pre‑2020 benchmarks |
| Carjacking | Stubbornly frequent | Often linked to armed groups and youth |
| Assault w/ weapon | Up and down, but persistent | Concentrated in specific hot spots |
Criminologists caution that focusing solely on a single year’s percentage gain or drop can be misleading. A 10% decline from an unusually high starting point, for example, can still leave the city well above its pre‑pandemic safety levels. In other words, “down from last year” is not the same as “problem solved.”
National FBI figures tell a similar story: DC is not experiencing zero crime, nor is it uniquely lawless compared with other major cities. Rather, it faces a challenging mix of stubborn violent crime, shifting property offenses, and deeply localized hot spots – a far cry from the simplistic “no crime at all” narrative.
How misinformation about public safety damages trust and distorts debate
Experts in policing and public policy warn that misleading statements about crime do more than confuse people – they actively undermine the fragile trust between communities, law enforcement, and local government.
When a national figure describes a city as either a war zone or completely safe, residents who live the reality every day are left wondering whose version of events to believe. People who regularly hear gunfire, see police tape, or know victims personally do not recognize themselves in claims that crime has disappeared. That gap generates cynicism and suspicion.
The consequences can be serious:
- Residents may doubt official statistics or media coverage, leaning instead on rumors and viral clips to decide where to go and how to move around the city.
- Police officers can face backlash if people suspect that crime numbers are being massaged to match political talking points.
- Local leaders may struggle to build support for effective, evidence‑based strategies when public debate is dominated by exaggerations and absolutes.
Misinformation also flattens complex local patterns into partisan slogans. Instead of discussing targeted tools such as violence‑interruption programs, credible gun‑trafficking enforcement, hospital‑based intervention for shooting victims, or youth employment initiatives, the conversation gets reduced to “tough on crime” versus “soft on crime” sound bites.
Yet high‑quality, transparent data are widely available. City dashboards, open‑data portals, independent research centers, and community surveys all offer nuance about which crimes are rising, which are falling, and where resources are most needed.
| Source | What It Provides | Risk When Ignored |
|---|---|---|
| City crime dashboards | Daily, verified incident data by neighborhood and category | Policies shaped by anecdotes and myths instead of facts |
| Independent researchers | Analysis of long‑term trends and contributing factors | Misreading whether problems are improving or worsening |
| Community reports | Firsthand accounts and local context | Blind spots in enforcement and prevention efforts |
Once public trust erodes, rebuilding it requires sustained transparency, honest acknowledgment of both progress and setbacks, and consistent accountability – none of which are supported by sweeping claims that crime is either everywhere or nowhere.
How to read crime statistics and see through partisan spin
When politicians make dramatic statements about crime, it’s crucial for readers and voters to look past the slogan and interrogate the data behind it. A few basic questions can reveal whether a claim is grounded in reality or cherry‑picked for effect.
1. What metric is being used?
Crime can be measured in multiple ways: reported incidents, arrests, convictions, or survey‑based victimization estimates. Each captures something different. A drop in arrests, for instance, might reflect changes in enforcement strategy rather than an actual decrease in offending.
2. What time frame is being highlighted?
A claim that focuses on a single month or compares only two years can obscure the broader trend. Looking at 5‑ or 10‑year windows offers a clearer understanding of whether crime is genuinely rising, falling, or cycling in patterns.
3. Are you seeing raw numbers or per‑capita rates?
Population changes can mask reality. Washington, DC, has a large daytime population due to commuters and tourists that differs from its nighttime residential base. A city could show fewer total crimes but a higher rate per resident if its population shrinks.
4. Which categories are included – and which are omitted?
A politician may highlight a decline in one category, like burglaries, while ignoring spikes in others, such as carjackings or assaults. Holistic assessments account for multiple forms of serious crime, not just the category that fits a talking point.
Cross‑checking claims against neutral data sources is essential. MPD’s online dashboards, FBI Uniform Crime Reporting data, and nonpartisan audits all provide more context than campaign speeches or viral posts. Credible journalism and research will also flag limitations in the data, such as reclassification of offenses, underreporting, or changes in methodology, rather than presenting the numbers as flawless.
Useful questions to keep in mind include:
- What period is being discussed (month, year, decade)?
- Which crimes are counted, and which serious offenses are left out?
- Where do the numbers come from, and can the public verify them?
- How do current figures compare with longer‑term averages, not just the last news cycle?
| Claim Type | Reality Check |
|---|---|
| “Crime is at zero.” | Review total reported incidents across all major categories. |
| “Crime is out of control.” | Compare current rates to at least 5-10 years of trend data. |
| “We fixed crime last year.” | Look for sustained, multi‑year declines in violent and property crime. |
Conclusion: Political messaging vs. measurable reality in Washington, DC
As the 2024 campaign heats up, Trump’s assertion that Washington, DC, has “no crime at all” stands in direct opposition to what public records, neighborhood‑level data, and residents themselves clearly show. The city’s crime landscape is complicated: some offenses have decreased from pandemic‑era peaks, others remain stubbornly high, and violence is heavily concentrated in particular communities.
What is not complicated is this: no serious dataset, from the MPD to the FBI, supports the notion that crime has been eliminated in the nation’s capital.
This episode is part of a broader pattern in which political rhetoric drifts far from verifiable evidence, leaving voters with the burden of separating marketing from measurement. In an era saturated with rapid‑fire information and misinformation, checking claims against transparent, independent data has never been more important.
For now, the facts are clear. Washington, DC continues to face real public safety challenges, even as policies evolve and some indicators improve. The claim of “no crime at all” is not just inaccurate – it erases the lived experience of the people most affected by violence and undermines an honest conversation about what it will take to make the city safer.
