A 22% drop in violent crime was recorded in the nation’s capital over the past week, following President Donald Trump’s controversial but effective decision to assume control of the city’s policing powers.
Breitbart reported that Trump invoked Section 740 of the D.C. Home Rule Act and placed the Metropolitan Police Department under direct federal oversight, while also deploying the National Guard to assist law enforcement efforts on the ground.
For the first time since March, D.C. recorded zero murders over seven days, according to public safety analyst David Marcus. In a city plagued by spiraling crime and dwindling public confidence, this statistic speaks volumes.
While skeptics bristled at federal involvement, carjackings plummeted by a staggering 83% and robbery dropped by 46% within the same time frame. The message was clear: when law and order are prioritized, results follow.
The White House’s rapid response team quickly flagged the results, sharing highlights and nighttime footage of law enforcement operations in neighborhoods long untouched by proactive policing.
"I understand a lot of you tend to be on the liberal side,” Trump told reporters, highlighting what many in local leadership have danced around for years. “But you don’t want to get mugged and raped and shot and killed.”
Call the language blunt, but it landed because folks in D.C. have been increasingly unable to run errands without holding their breath. Trump wasn’t describing some war-torn overseas outpost — he was talking about the capital of the free world.
He didn’t pull punches when putting the city’s spiraling crime in context either. “The murder rate,” he said, “is higher than that of Bogotá, Colombia; Mexico City; some of the places that you hear about as being the worst places on earth.”
In the president’s words, murders reached possibly “the highest rate ever” in 2023. “They say 25 years,” he added, “but they don’t know what that means.” Whether or not the precise figure can be nailed down, the trendline was indisputably devastating — until now.
Federal authorities have spearheaded the removal of multiple homeless encampments that had previously become semi-permanent fixtures throughout the city. These steps — predictably decried by progressive voices — were greeted with quiet gratitude by many residents who’ve simply had enough.
Much of D.C. seemed stuck in a pattern of performative outrage and passive governance. The recent data show what happens when accountability replaces empty slogans.
For decades, local leadership in the District has been guided more by ideology than results. Crime surges were met with candlelight vigils, community summits, and new committees — none of which prevented bullets from flying or vehicles from being stolen.
Trump, for his part, didn’t show up with another hashtag. He showed up with a constitutional clause and federal boots — and the drop in crime speaks for itself.
“Our capital city has been overtaken by violent gangs and bloodthirsty criminals,” he said. Some rolled their eyes. Others locked their doors a little tighter and wondered when common sense would finally win out.
Activating the National Guard may spark headlines, but it's the visible changes on the street — a week without murder, a massive cut in carjackings — that lay the foundation for trust in governance again.
People don’t expect perfection, but they do expect safety. When law enforcement has cover from the top, instead of pressure to turn a blind eye, the fog begins to lift.
Time will tell how lasting these improvements are, but the last seven days offer more than just statistics — they offer hope, and a striking rebuke to policies that tolerated lawlessness in the name of equity.