While some enjoy declining crime, DC has a long way to go

Last week’s Super Tuesday presidential primary elections overshadowed a critical piece of legislation being voted on in our nation’s capital. The Washington, D.C., council approved a sweeping anti-crime bill known as Secure DC intended to crack down on rising crime in the city. The bill attempts to send a message to the community that crime will not be tolerated, but to make this a reality, city leaders must go much further than this bill alone.

The continuation of violence in Washington stands in harrowing contrast to largely positive crime trends of late. Most of the country has thankfully begun to see a slow decline in violent crime rates. In fact, the FBI has reported that violent crime rates are overall trending back down to pre-pandemic levels. Yet, Washington experienced a 39% increase in this statistic last year, prompting the Department of Justice to commit to giving more resources directly to the city.

Washington lawmakers, empowered with more funding to address this problem, must proceed with caution. As the chairman of the D.C. Council correctly said, “There is, unfortunately, when it comes to crime, the tendency to demagogue … and to say, ‘I have the solution to crime. We’re going to have longer sentences. We’re going to make everything a felony’ — the research is clear that is not actually what decreases crime.” 

Moving forward, Washington can learn from models that have actually been proven effective across the country to address elevated levels of crime. This includes community policing initiatives and training that helps to improve case closure rates, as well as alternate response models for nonviolent calls that help to refocus police resources on addressing violent crime. 

There is already unyielding pressure on law enforcement to deter criminal behavior and investigate and close committed crimes, but of even greater concern is how it leaves law-abiding citizens constantly on high alert. The violent crimes that Washington is still experiencing include those that threaten the public’s immediate sense of safety, such as carjackings and armed robberies, even in affluent areas of the city. 

Solving this problem begins and ends with supporting and empowering law enforcement to employ community policing practices, righting the misallocation of resources in the criminal justice system, and ensuring that the concerns of constituents are not ignored.

Policymakers must not overlook citizens’ perceptions of crime, which often play a more significant role than the facts do in shaping public policy. This is particularly true as it pertains to collective efficacy or the public’s belief that shared actions in their communities will respond effectively to any threats. One can reasonably speculate this belief is currently quite low among Washington residents.

Overall confidence in police dropped dramatically to its lowest ever in 2020, 2021, and 2022, hovering near or below 50% having a “great deal” or “quite a lot” of confidence in the police. A lack of confidence severely affects the belief that the systems in place to respond to crime are working well, which makes sense in the context of citizens’ immediate access to news, often negative, on sites such as X and Facebook or on neighborhood blogs. 

Exacerbating this problem is the fact that more than half of all crimes committed are not even reported to law enforcement. Through innovative policies such as community violence intervention programs, Washington authorities can begin to unpack and address this “dark figure of crime” that leaves communities less safe than they should be.

Washington can address its crime problem by following the examples of other cities around the nation. Utilizing evidence-based community policing strategies, especially encouraging law enforcement to collaborate with residents and businesses, is the most effective way to reduce citizens’ fear of crime and crime itself. With this approach, the nation’s capital can see the same reductions in crime that others are thankful for today.