Democrats insist Washington doesn’t face a D.C. crime crisis, but the numbers tell a different story. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer claimed, “I walk around all the time. I wake up early in the morning … And I feel perfectly safe,” dismissing Republican concerns as “full of it.” Yet Schumer enjoys a taxpayer-funded security detail that ordinary residents don’t have.
D.C. Councilmember Charles Allen also brushed off federal involvement, calling it “unnecessary, unwarranted,” while the Council declared crime rates were at “the lowest rates we’ve seen in 30 years.”
Despite these denials, the FBI’s 2023 numbers confirm the crisis. D.C.’s violent crime rate was 54 percent higher than New Mexico—the nation’s most dangerous state—and 220 percent higher than the national average. Its murder rate was 169 percent higher than Louisiana’s and 523 percent above the state average. Robberies were worst of all: 955 percent above the national average and the highest among America’s 25 largest cities.
Businesses and police know the reality. D.C.’s trade associations warned, “Washington, D.C., is quickly becoming a national outlier in rising crime, and the trends are alarming.” Police union chair Gregg Pemberton put it bluntly: “Crime is out of control, and our officers are stretched beyond their limits.”
Federal action is already showing results, with robberies down 46 percent and carjackings plunging 83 percent in the first week. Until Democrats stop denying the D.C. crime crisis, residents will continue to suffer while leaders play politics with public safety.
