What was the monthly homicide total in washington dc for 2024 and how does 2025 compare?
Executive summary
D.C. recorded between 187 and 190 homicides in 2024 depending on the outlet’s count — the Metropolitan Police and federal summaries report 187, while local press cited 190 — a roughly 31–32% drop from 274 in 2023 [1] [2] [3] [4]. Preliminary 2025 reporting and agency summaries show homicides continued to fall year-to-date: multiple sources report declines in the first half of 2025 (19% decline Jan–June) and lower year-to-date totals compared with the same periods in 2024 (for example, 99 vs. 112 through August in PBS reporting) [5] [6] [7].
1. What the official 2024 totals say — two close but different official figures
D.C.’s criminal-justice sources converged on a big drop in homicides in 2024: the U.S. Attorney’s Office and MPD-based summaries described a 32% decline from 2023 and called 2024 a 30‑year low for violent crime, citing 187 homicides in at least one federal release [3] [2]. Local outlets reported 190 homicides using D.C. police statistics, describing the year as the first since 2020 with fewer than 200 killings and a 31% decline from 2023’s 274 [1] [4]. Both figures show the same story: a sharp reduction from a high 2023 baseline [1] [3].
2. How 2025 compares in aggregate: falling further so far
Multiple trackers and analysts report that 2025 homicide counts have continued to trend downward compared with equivalent 2024 periods. The Council on Criminal Justice and BBC analysis both calculate a 19% fall in homicides in the first half of 2025 vs. Jan–June 2024 [5] [8]. PBS and other outlets likewise note lower year‑to‑date totals in 2025 — for example, 99 homicides through August 2025 versus 112 through the same month in 2024 — signaling continuation of the 2024 improvement into 2025 [6] [7].
3. Monthly pattern and averages: what the sources report about pace
Analysts who broke the year into months or half‑years describe roughly a monthly average decline in 2025 versus 2024: one summary gives a monthly average of about 12 murders in 2025 compared with 15 per month in the same 2024 span [9]. FactCheck reported 103 homicides so far in 2025 at a mid‑point in reporting and calculated a pace of about three per week, which aligns with lower monthly totals than in 2024 overall [10]. These figures are snapshots from different cutoffs; the open-data portal hosts case‑level records for granular month-by-month checks, but readers should consult MPD/opendata exports for precise monthly tallies [11].
4. Why counts differ and why contextual numbers matter
Discrepancies — 187 vs. 190, different year‑to‑date tallies — stem from data cutoffs, reconciliation between MPD and federal summaries, and the timing of public releases; reporters cite both MPD and the U.S. Attorney’s Office and sometimes round or update as investigations close [1] [3] [2]. Analysts warn that raw counts must be compared against population and longer trends: the homicide rate per 100,000 (reported by some outlets as ~27.3 in 2024) and population changes affect interpretation but are treated differently across sources [12] [6] [13].
5. Competing narratives and possible agendas in coverage
Sources present consistent numeric declines but emphasize different narratives. Local and federal law‑enforcement releases highlight a 30‑year low in violent crime, framing policy and enforcement successes [3]. Political outlets and the White House at times use homicide rates to argue broader policy points or international comparisons; independent fact-checkers and journalists push back on sweeping claims about international rankings or when a single short homicide‑free streak is touted as unprecedented [12] [6] [10]. Readers should note that political actors may selectively cite rates or outdated years to support policy claims [6] [10].
6. Limitations, open questions, and how to verify month-by-month totals
Available sources show clear year‑over‑year declines but use different cutoffs and occasionally different denominators (counts vs. rates). The public DC opendata crime feed contains incident‑level entries for 2025 and is the best place to compile precise monthly totals, but the summary press releases and federal briefs are authoritative for annual totals and trend context [11] [3]. If you need an exact month-by-month table for 2024 and 2025, consult the MPD daily crime summaries and the DC open data repository for consistent timestamps and incident disposition notes [14] [11].
Bottom line: every reputable source in this set shows 2024 marked a sharp decline from 2023 (about 31–32% fewer killings; total ~187–190), and preliminary 2025 data indicate a continued drop in homicides through the first half and into later year‑to‑date counts [4] [3] [5] [6].