Is crime in Washington really out of control as Trump claims?

Violent crime is reported differently by the MPDC and the FBI – another major source of US crime statistics.

MPDC public data showed a 35% fall for 2024, while the FBI data showed a 9% drop.

So the figures agree that crime is falling in DC, but differ on the level of that decline.

The downward trend is “unmistakable and large”, according to Adam Gelb, the CEO of the Council on Criminal Justice (CCJ), a legal think tank.

“The numbers shift depending on what time period and what types of crime you examine,” said Mr Gelb.

“But overall there’s an unmistakable and large drop in violence since the summer of 2023, when there were peaks in homicide, gun assaults, robbery, and carjacking.”