Fact-check of Trump’s D.C. crime claims reveals dip in violent crime incidents
&imwidth=600&imheight=450&format=webp&quality=medium "Fact-check of Trump’s D.C. crime claims reveals dip in violent crime incidents")
President Donald Trump speaks to the press on Monday. Photograph: (Reuters)
The homicide rate did rise in 2023 to around 40 per 100,000 residents, hitting the highest point in 20 years, according to FBI data. However, it wasn’t the highest rate ever recorded and, in fact, was significantly higher in the 1990s and in the early 2000s.
President Donald Trump on Monday declared a public safety emergency in Washington, D.C., and deployed National Guard troops in the US capital. Trump stressed that if needed, military intervention will be considered. He announced that the Washington, D.C. police department will be under federal control and the National Guard troops will be deployed. To substantiate his actions, Trump showed several charts and claimed that the crime rate in DC is worse than a number of cities across the world, including Baghdad, Brasília, Panama City, and Bogotá.
“Our capital city has been overtaken by violent gangs and bloodthirsty criminals, roving mobs of wild youth, drugged out maniacs, and homeless people, and we’re not going to let it happen anymore.”
However, Trump’s claims were both countered and fact-checked.
Trump said that “the number of carjackings has more than tripled; murders in 2023 reached the highest rate—probably ever.” According to the nonpartisan Council on Criminal Justice (CCJ), the number of carjackings in DC did peak in June 2023, but they actually fell by 75% in June 2025 when compared to June 2023.
The homicide cases also peaked in August 2023, but the figure fell by 65% compared to June 2025.
Overall, the homicide rate in DC fell 19% in the first half of this year, compared to the similar period last year, according to CCJ.
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Fact-check does not approve Trump’s claims
Even Trump’s favourite mainstream media channel, Fox News, did not approve of his claims. Its contributor Ted Williams, a criminal and civil trial attorney and former member of the Washington Metropolitan Police Department, issued a fact check and said crime is not out of control in the District of Columbia.
“Yes, there is crime, and there will always be crime,” Williams said, and while identifying minors as perpetrators of robberies, added, “In any major metropolitan city you’re going to have, unfortunately, juveniles committing crimes.”
Trump turned his attention toward Washington’s crime since 19-year-old DOGE staffer Edward Coristine, better known as “Big Balls,” was attacked a week ago by a couple of 15-year-olds who stole his iPhone.
The homicide rate did rise in 2023 to around 40 per 100,000 residents, hitting the highest point in 20 years, according to FBI data. However, it wasn’t the highest rate ever recorded and, in fact, was significantly higher in the 1990s and in the early 2000s.
DC attorney general ‘considering options’
DC Attorney General Brian Schwalb said the Trump administration’s actions are “unprecedented, unnecessary, and unlawful” and said, “There is no crime emergency in the District of Columbia.”
“Violent crime in DC reached historic 30-year lows last year, and is down another 26% so far this year.”
“We are considering all of our options and will do what’s necessary to protect the rights and safety of District residents,” he added.
What Washington, DC, crime statistics show
President Trump made repeated references to rising crime in Washington, DC, but official crime statistics published by Washington’s Metropolitan Police show that violent offences fell between 2023 and 2024 and are continuing to fall according to preliminary data for 2025.
The data for this year to date suggests that robbery numbers have fallen by more than a quarter and homicides by 12%, compared with the same time last year.
Nationally, violent crime in the US fell 4.5% between 2023 and 2024, according to the latest FBI figures that include only crimes that are reported to the police.
