Stats Show Crime Overall In DC Is Falling Despite Violent Assaults Being Up
In Washington, D.C., the number of assaults with a dangerous weapon charges has risen since last year, but the office of U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro says crime is going down overall.
The 2026 Year-to-Date Crime Comparison, released by the Metropolitan Police Department on Aug 10, shows almost every major crime category trending downward over the past year. However, there were 767 “assault with a deadly weapon” (ADW) charges in 2026, up from 545 in 2025, an increase of more than 40 percent.
“We are prosecuting 67 percent more violent crime, including ADWs, than the prior administration,” a spokesperson for the U.S. Attorney’s Office told the Daily Caller. “Our approach has resulted in almost every major crime category trending downward, other than those that were not accurately reported in recent years.”
U.S. Attorney for Washington, D.C. Jeanine Pirro told DC News Now in May that “They actually took categories of crime like assault with a dangerous weapon and reduced it to reckless endangerment. They took burglary and reduced it to unlawful entry.” Pirro was responding to MPD terminating 13 officers following reports that they were manipulating crime data.
Monday’s numbers came out exactly one year after the Make D.C. Safe and Beautiful Task Force was implemented at the direction of President Donald Trump. U.S. Attorney General Todd Blanche posted to X, “The Department of Justice and our law and our law enforcement partners have made more than 16,000 arrests, taken thousands of illegal drugs and firearms off the streets, and have brought dangerous violent offenders to justice. In just one year, D.C. is safer than it has been in years, and we’re not done yet.”
One year ago today, the Make D.C. Safe and Beautiful Task Force surge began in our nation’s capital at the direction of @POTUS.
Since then, @TheJusticeDept and our law enforcement partners have made more than 16,000 arrests, taken thousands of illegal drugs and firearms off the…
— Attorney General Todd Blanche (@AGToddBlanche) August 10, 2026
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Photo credit: Gage Skidmore via Flickr
