As I was driving down Marion Barry Avenue in Southeast Washington, D.C., on Wednesday, I had to pull over to let some police cars, lights flashing, pass me. It seemed ironic as I was in that area to interview people about whether Trump’s efforts against D.C. crime have had any impact.
President Trump took over the police and sent the National Guard into Washington, D.C. on August 12. Southeast D.C., known as Anacostia, is a high-crime area, and some people there have noticed a difference. (RELATED: Trump’s National Guard Deployment and the Art of the 80-20 Issue)
“In general, it’s been safer,” said Johnson, a young dad who lives in Southeast D.C. “It’s been better when I take my daughter home. It’s been easier to travel. The Guard are at a lot of the Metro Stations, they watch the stations, and that’s where a lot of stuff happens in D.C.”
Others agree that crime has subsided, but aren’t sure the National Guard presence has had much effect.
“I’ve heard a lot fewer gunshots in the last month, but I don’t see the Guard down in this area much,” said Rita, a parking lot attendant in Anacostia.
Of course, not everyone is a fan.
“There’s no difference [in crime]. They’re just harassing black people. They’re not messing with anyone else,” said Chris, a security guard in the area. “It’s a waste of time. They’re not here to solve nothing.”
The data, though, suggests that Trump’s actions have helped reduce crime. Comparing August 12 to September 10 of this year to the same period last year shows that total crime is down 40 percent. Violent crime and property crime are down 70 percent and 36 percent, respectively. Some of the improvements are astounding. Robbery dropped 146 percent, burglary 100 percent, and motor vehicle theft 90 percent. (RELATED: The Eisenhower Precedent: Is Trump Justified in Deploying the National Guard to Chicago?)
It’s not all good news. Assaults with a dangerous weapon are 5 percent higher. There were six sexual assaults during this period last year. There were nine in 2025.
Furthermore, it’s best to treat D.C. crime data with skepticism. As noted elsewhere, the Metropolitan Police Department is almost surely manipulating the data to make crime rates look lower than they really are. It can’t be ruled out that data hijinks might be, at least in part, responsible for the positive numbers over the last month. (RELATED: Crime in DC Is NOT at a 30-Year Low)
Yet there is one crime statistic that is very hard to manipulate, that of homicide. Since Trump sent in the National Guard, there have been six murders in D.C. There were 16 for the same period in 2024. The monthly average for homicides from January to July of this year was 14. The homicide data are the best evidence that what Trump and the National Guard have achieved is remarkable.
But if Trump’s actions have had a positive effect on crime, they may have had negative effects in other areas.
“I’ve had less business,” said Moses, the proprietor of a pizzeria on MLK Jr. Ave in Anacostia. “The Guard seems to do a lot of random stops. When the Guard is here, I think people tell each other and they don’t go out.”
Andre, a waiter who works just around the corner from the pizzeria, concurred.
“We’ve seen maybe 25 percent fewer customers in the last month,” he said.
He suggested, though, that it wasn’t only due to the National Guard.
“Some people may not be coming into the city because of recent protests, or maybe because they’ve got expired tags and are now more worried about getting pulled over,” he stated.
Still, Andre acknowledged that there are D.C. residents who approve of what Trump has done.
“Some people in the community, I think, appreciate the added layer of security,” he said. “It’s kind of a Catch-22.”
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