Fact-checking Trump’s claim that crime in Washington is out of control

US President Donald Trump said helium is deploying 800 National Guard soldiers to Washington, DC, and taking power of its constabulary section aft claiming that transgression was “out of control” successful the superior city.

The nation’s superior is “becoming a concern of implicit and full lawlessness,” Trump said astatine an August 11 quality conference as helium invoked the Home Rule Act to instrumentality national power of the city.

“Washington, DC, should beryllium 1 of the safest, cleanest and astir beauteous cities anyplace successful the world, and we’re going to marque it that.”

But galore of the details Trump cited bash not basal up to scrutiny.

Trump’s actions are a measurement towards making bully connected his menace of a federal takeover of the territory after carjackers severely beat a erstwhile Department of Government Efficiency employee.

In a news briefing aft Trump’s announcement, Washington, DC, Mayor Muriel Bowser said the territory would cooperate with the national authorities and added that she speaks with Trump often astir the city’s advancement connected crime.

“In fact, my archetypal gathering with him aft helium was elected the 2nd time, we went implicit the transgression trends; we went implicit however we are seeing decreases, truthful the president is work successful connected our efforts,” she said.

So wherefore did Trump determine to instrumentality DC nether national control, and did helium falsely assertion that the transgression complaint had spiked successful the superior city?

Can Trump invoke a national takeover of Washington, DC, nether Section 740 of DC Home Rule Act?

Trump cannot instrumentality over the city without legislature approval. He is utilizing an exigency proviso to temporarily oversee the district’s constabulary force.

The US Constitution created the District of Columbia arsenic a spot of the national government. In 1973, President Richard Nixon signed the Home Rule Act, enabling territory residents to elite a politician and metropolis council. The instrumentality gives the territory autonomy for section governance, but the metropolis inactive answers to Congress connected matters including budgetary oversight and the quality to overturn section legislation.

Section 740 of the Home Rule Act allows the president to temporarily instrumentality power of the city’s constabulary section during an emergency.

In an August 11 enforcement order, Trump invoked Section 740, citing transgression successful the territory arsenic an emergency. The enforcement bid says national usage of the district’s Metropolitan Police Department is needed to support instrumentality and order; support national buildings and monuments; and guarantee “conditions indispensable for the orderly functioning of the Federal Government.”

Trump delegated operational power of the section to US Attorney General Pam Bondi.

The exigency powers cannot widen past 48 hours, the instrumentality says, unless the president notifies Congress successful penning astir the crushed and the clip play needed. If helium notifies Congress, Trump tin widen the exigency for up to 30 days.

Did Washington, DC, homicides scope the highest complaint ever successful 2023? 

Trump said, “Murders successful 2023 reached the highest rate, astir apt ever. They accidental 25 years, but they don’t cognize what that means, due to the fact that it conscionable goes backmost 25 years. Can’t beryllium worse.”

The city’s Metropolitan Police Department information showed 274 homicides successful 2023, the highest fig implicit the past 20 years. Trump omitted that the department’s preliminary transgression information shows homicides person declined 32 percent since 2023, to 187 successful 2024.

The homicide complaint continues to decline. This year, done August 11, homicides decreased by 12 percent compared with the aforesaid clip play successful 2024.

Jeff Asher, an expert for AH Datalytics, told PolitiFact that the homicide complaint increased substantially aft 2020, peaking successful 2023 astatine 39 per 100,000 people.

That was the highest complaint since 2003, but acold beneath the 1991 highest of 81 per 100,000 people. The falling complaint matches nationalist trends, Asher said.

White House spokesperson Steven Cheung said connected X that the metropolis constabulary statistic are not arsenic they seem. Cheung attached a July WRC-TV story astir a territory constabulary commander’s May suspension aft helium was accused of altering transgression statistics.

Fraternal Order of Police Chairman Gregg Pemberton told the TV station that national members and absorption said the bid unit privation to “make definite that these classifications of these reports are adjusted implicit clip to marque definite that the wide transgression stats enactment down.”

A constabulary spokesperson told PolitiFact that Commander Michael Pulliam is connected administrative permission and the section can’t remark connected progressive interior investigations. The national did not respond to our petition for comment.

Have convulsive crimes specified arsenic carjacking accrued successful Washington, DC?

Trump said, “The fig of car thefts has doubled implicit the past 5 years, and the fig of carjackings has much than tripled.”

Trump is close that the fig of these crimes increased, but helium did not notation a caller diminution successful carjackings.

The city’s dashboard shows carjackings roseate from 2020 done 2023 earlier declining successful 2024. This year, done August 9, determination person been 188 carjackings compared with 299 during the aforesaid clip play successful 2024, and compared with 607 successful 2023, a constabulary spokesperson told PolitiFact.

The city’s preliminary car theft information shows a 25 percent driblet from 2023 to 2024, and car thefts are fundamentally level twelvemonth to day successful 2025 compared with the aforesaid play past year.

“Auto theft accrued a immense magnitude successful DC aft 2020 earlier surging again successful 2023 pursuing the video being posted showing however to bargain definite models of Kia and Hyundai cars,” Asher said. The “Kia Boyz” phenomenon happened nationwide.

Overall, the city’s information shows that, done August 11 this year, compared with 2024, convulsive transgression successful the territory declined by 26 percent. Washington, DC’s convulsive transgression alteration is portion of a nationwide inclination successful large cities.

Does implementing cashless bail impact transgression rates?

Trump said, “The extremist near City Council adopted nary currency bail. By the way, each spot successful the state wherever you person nary currency bail is simply a catastrophe … Somebody murders somebody, and they’re retired connected nary currency bail earlier the time is out.”

“No currency bail” oregon “cashless bail” allows definite defendants awaiting proceedings to beryllium released from custody without paying bail. Even with cashless bail laws successful place, defendants accused of convulsive crimes, specified arsenic murder, tin inactive beryllium detained if judges find they are a nationalist information menace oregon formation risk.

Misdemeanour charges typically effect successful higher rates of release, according to the district’s Pretrial Services Agency.

In 2024, 89 percent of defendants were not rearrested during the pre-trial period, the bureau said.

Proponents of eliminating currency bail accidental a currency request harms low-income people. Those who enactment currency bail accidental it ensures defendants look successful court, and removing it threatens nationalist safety. Washington, DC, was a pioneer successful pretrial reform, mostly eliminating currency bail successful the 1990s.

There’s a deficiency of adept statement connected the interaction of cashless bail connected transgression rates.

A 2024 study by the left-leaning Brennan Centre for Justice astatine NYU Law said researchers recovered “no statistically important relationship” betwixt bail betterment and transgression rates. The survey looked astatine transgression complaint information from 2015 done 2021 for 33 cities crossed the US, 22 of which had implemented immoderate benignant of bail reform.

The Prison Policy Initiative, a nonprofit that supports reducing the situation population, measured nationalist information earlier and aft pretrial reforms successful 4 states and 9 cities and counties, including Washington, DC. In general, researchers recovered that releasing radical pre-trial did not enactment communities astatine hazard for much crime.

The Trump medication has cited a 2022 study from the Yolo County, California, territory attorney’s bureau arsenic grounds that cashless bails origin accrued crime. The study explored the effects of California’s impermanent bail suspension during the COVID-19 pandemic, uncovering that 420 retired of 595 radical — 70.6 percent — were rearrested aft being released from jailhouse nether this system.

A November 2024 insubstantial by the Public Policy Institute of California besides recovered that implementing exigency bail orders caused “notable increases successful some the likelihood and fig of rearrests wrong 30 days”. However, erstwhile reversed, the instrumentality to currency bail did not impact the fig of rearrests.