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FULL VIDEO: President Trump announces DC police will be under federal control, deploys National Guard
President Donald Trump announced Monday that he is placing the D.C. police department under federal control and is deploying the National Guard in an effort to boost public safety in the nation’s capital.
WASHINGTON - Crime in D.C. is in the spotlight as President Donald Trump announced Monday that he is placing the Metropolitan Police Department under federal control and deploying National Guard troops to enhance security and make the area safer.
The district has seen changes in crime through the years and here’s a look at some recent statistics.
The Trump administration highlighted via email a recent local media report regarding accusations of a DC police commander who was placed on leave, accused of changing crime stats. FOX was not immediately able to verify those claims independently.
DC crime stats
By the numbers:
DC police statistics show homicides, robberies and burglaries are down this year when compared with this time in 2024. Overall, violent crime is down 26% compared with this time a year ago. In 2024, the city saw a 35% drop from 2023.
During the press conference, Trump referenced a "recent story about a man" who quite after he was "asked to do phony numbers on crime," and asserted that while "it looks like it's going [down]--they're not going down." He said Attorney General Pam Bondi would be looking into that report. It's unclear if that story mentioned by Trump was the same local report highlighted by the administration's email.
On Monday, MPD released updated data on violent and property crimes so far in 2025 compared to last year.
Violent crimes
As of Aug. 11, 2025, MPD reported that a total of 1,586 violent crimes occurred compared to 2,138 this time last year. So far this year, there have been 99 homicides compared to 112 in 2024. According to the data, approximately 55 sex abuse crimes were reported this year compared to 110 in 2024.
RELATED: DC council member calls for National Guard's help as city grapples with escalating violence in 2023
In 2025, police reported 534 assaults with deadly weapon crimes compared to 667 last year. Meanwhile, police noted there’s been a decline in robberies with 898 in 2025 compared to 1,249 this time last year.
Lethal violence on the rise in DC, new study indicates
A new study has found that there are fewer acts of violence in the District. But the crimes that are occurring are more deadly.
Property crimes
There are 14,093 property crimes reported in 2025 compared to 14,734 this time last year.
Approximately 437 burglaries occurred in D.C. this year compared to 543 this time a year ago.
Motor vehicle thefts in 2025 and 2024 are similar, at a little over 2,900, according to DC Police data.
MPD noted that auto thefts so far this year is slightly down (3,720) compared to 3,866 in 2024.
The data found that theft (other) in 2025 is at 7,023 compared to 7,418 last year, while arsons were similar in the past year.
DC carjacking rates spike in 2023
Dig deeper:
In Aug. 2023, Ward 8 Councilman Trayon White called on the National Guard to manage crime in Washington, D.C. That year, White urged the community to help stop the spike in violence that led to a 28% increase in homicides in the District, FOX 5 DC’s Stephanie Ramirez reported.
Meanwhile, the summer of 2023 experienced an alarming number of carjackings, with 140 reported in June 2023 and another 121 carjackings reported in July 2023, according to DC Police.
But carjackings declined substantially so far in 2025 compared to 2023, with police reporting 36 carjackings in June 2025 and 16 carjackings in July 2025, according to the DC police carjacking database.
Trump compares DC’s crime rate to Mexico City’s
Big picture view: The crime rates in D.C. were compared to those of Mexico City during President Donald Trump’s news conference Monday.
Trump claimed that the District had a higher violent crime rate than Mexico City.
"The murder rate in Washington today is higher than that of Bogota, Colombia, Mexico City, some of the places that you hear about as being the worst places on Earth, much higher," Trump said. "This is much higher. The number of car thefts has doubled over the past five years, and the number of carjackings has more than tripled. Murders in 2023 reached the highest rate, probably ever. They say 25 years, but they don't know what that means because it just goes back 25 years can't be worse."
The Human Rights Watch published a 2025 world report highlighting Mexico’s crime rate, with the organization noting that this activity is common in many parts of Mexico.
According to the report, six cities had homicide rates higher than 100 per 100,000 residents in 2022. Nationally, the homicide rate fell slightly, for the third year in a row, from 25.9 per 100,000 in 2022 to 24.9 per 100,000 in 2023, with the Human Rights Watch explaining that the number of reported disappearances has spiked.
Citing security analysts’ estimates, the Human Rights Watch reported that roughly two-thirds of homicides are committed by organized crime.
And in 2023, two-thirds of homicides were committed with guns. Authorities estimate that about 70% of guns used in crimes are smuggled into Mexico from the U.S.
The Source: Information for this story was provided by DC Police crime data, FOX 5 DC, the Associated Press, FOX News, and the 2025 Human Rights Watch report. This story was reported from Washington, D.C.