Did the murder rate in Washington DC peak in 2023?published at 12:25 British Summer Time
12:25 BST
Lucy Gilder
BBC Verify journalist
We’re continuing to fact-check claims President Trump has made about crime in the US capital, following a major announcement on Monday to take over Washington DC’s police department and deploy National Guard troops to the city.
During the press conference yesterday, Trump claimed that “murders in 2023 reached the highest rate probably ever” in Washington DC – adding that numbers “just go back 25 years”.
We started by asking the White House the source for the figures, which it said were “numbers provided by the FBI”.
But FBI data shows the 2023 homicide rate, which was at around 40 per 100,000 residents, was the highest in two decades – not the highest ever. The rate was significantly higher in the 1990s and early 2000s.
Since 2024 the homicide rate has fallen and this year it is down 12% on the same point last year, according to figures from DC’s police department., external
However, s, externaltudies have suggested, external that the capital’s homicide rate is higher than average when compared to other major US cities.