Overview
- An analysis by the Council on Criminal Justice of 40 cities found homicides fell 21% in 2025 from 2024 and 44% from 2021, with 11 of 13 tracked offenses down, drug crimes up, and sexual assaults flat.
- Washington, D.C., recorded one of its lowest January homicide totals in a decade and went more than three weeks without a killing to start 2026, compared with nine homicides during the same period last year.
- The White House credits an August 2025 federalization of the Metropolitan Police Department and a National Guard deployment, citing more than 7,500 arrests and 735 illegal firearms seized by the D.C. Safe and Beautiful Task Force.
- Early 2026 city data show broad declines in reported offenses in D.C. versus a year ago, including a steep drop in violent crime and robberies following the federal law‑enforcement surge.
- Analysts note limits to city‑sample data and say causes of the declines remain unresolved, and a legal fight over the Guard deployment continues after a judge deemed it unlawful and an appeals court allowed it to remain pending appeal.