Crime rates in Washington DC
Executive summary
Washington, D.C.’s headline story for recent years has been a sustained drop in violent crime, with federal and local prosecutors calling 2024–2025 levels the lowest in roughly 30 years [1] [2]. That broadly positive trajectory is supported by multiple data series and news analyses, but it comes with important caveats about classification, preliminary reporting, and political disputes over how the numbers are compiled and presented [3] [4] [5].
1. What the numbers say: steep declines, especially in violent crime
Local and federal counts show sharp declines in violence: the U.S. Attorney’s office and MPD reported total violent crime in 2024 down about 35% from 2023 and at a multi‑decade low, and national reporting finds homicides and other crimes falling across many large cities through 2024–2025 [1] [4]. City dashboards and data aggregators show falling homicide, robbery and assault counts through mid‑2025 and year‑end 2025 snapshots that continue the downward trend, with homicide having multiple spikes in prior years but overall declining by 2025 compared with recent peaks [3] [6] [7].
2. How DC compares: rates remain high historically but are improving
Measured per 100,000 residents, Washington still registers relatively high raw rates compared with many jurisdictions—USAFacts reports 2024 figures of roughly 1,006 violent crimes and 3,693 property crimes per 100,000 people for the District—yet those metrics showed year‑over‑year improvement, including an overall crime rate decline of about 13% between 2023 and 2024 [8]. Analysts such as Jeff Asher and outlets like Axios emphasize that the District’s violent crime rate is now closer to levels not seen since the late 20th century, even while acknowledging the city’s long historical highs in the 1980s–1990s [7] [9] [2].
3. Data sources and methodological cautions
The official MPD “daily crime” and open data portals caution that their reports are preliminary, subject to reclassification, and use DC Code definitions that can differ from FBI NIBRS tallies; geography assignment rules were changed in 2020 and classification amendments can alter year totals after initial publication [3] [10]. Transit police and WMATA publish separate blotters and notes that initial incident reports are not comprehensive and may change after follow‑up investigations, underscoring that granular categories and clearance rates evolve as cases are reviewed [11].
4. Pushing back: allegations of data manipulation and political context
The improving statistics have not been universally accepted; a House Oversight report alleges MPD leadership pressured commanders to reclassify offenses so they would not appear in public DCR summaries, a claim that, if substantiated, would complicate interpretations of the decline [5]. Media outlets and the DOJ/US Attorney have presented contrasting narratives: federal prosecutors framed declines as real and sustained, while political actors and oversight investigators have raised concerns about possible incentives to show lower crime for political benefit [1] [5].
5. What’s missing and what to watch next
Available reporting shows improving clearance rates for some violent crimes through 2025 and reductions in juvenile involvement in certain offenses, but not all measures are uniformly reported and the MPD warns of later revisions, meaning year‑end comparisons require caution [3] [12]. The best signal will come from reconciled datasets—MPD final year reports, NIBRS/FBI releases and independent analyses such as the Washington Post’s city comparisons—alongside transparency about classification practices and any Oversight committee findings [3] [4] [5].