WASHINGTON — The District of Columbia has gone 12 days without a single murder following President Trump’s federal takeover of DC police — a feat seen only one other time since the pandemic spike in bloody violence.
The current streak of no killings is uncommon in the nation’s capital, which has one of the highest murder rates among major US cities. There have already been more than 100 homicides so far this year.
In March, Washington went 16 days without a murder, which was the longest period in “at least six years,” an MPD spokesman told the Washington Post at the time.
But a bloodless streak in the heat of summer is even more impressive, because killings usually spike as more people spend more time mingling outside.
The last recorded murder in the US capital was Aug. 13, two days after Trump announced the department would be federalized and the National Guard would be deployed on city streets.
Some DC locals told The Post they felt the presence of agents helped keep would-be lawbreakers on their best behavior.
“With all these agents around, people are not gonna be stupid and just go out there and commit crimes, so I think that’s helped subside everything that’s going on,” Dion, a barber in downtown DC, said of the show of force.
Though he conceded the federal officers’ presence has overall been good for reducing crime, he questioned why the effort started in Washington instead of the president’s hometown.
“Trump is from New York, why didn’t he take this up in New York first?” he said. “It may be worse than DC.”
It is, in fact, worse in DC.
Washington’s murder rate was 26 per 100,000 residents in 2024 — though killings dropped by 30% from a year prior, according to an analysis from the Council on Criminal Justice.
By comparison, Chicago had a murder rate of 21.8 per 100,000. In New York City, it was 3.8 — one-seventh the rate for the nation’s capital.
Most categories of lawbreaking in Washington have declined from pandemic highs — though some crimes have skyrocketed when compared with pre-pandemic levels. Carjackings were up a whopping 241% between 2019 and 2024, according to the CCJ. Vehicle thefts were up 143%.
Murders rose 12% during that five-year period.
The DC Police Union has been posting regular updates about the significant drop in crime in the capital since Trump’s historic announcement.
In an X post Monday, the union said in the last 14 days total crime is down 11% citywide, with sharp reductions across the board including robberies (-42%), assaults with a deadly weapon (-13%), carjacking (-85%), car theft (-24%), violent crime (-25%) and property crime (-10%).
Trump warned he was seriously mulling the move following the vicious assault on former Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) staffer Edward “Big Balls” Coristine by a gang of teenagers in downtown DC earlier this month.
Less than a week after the attack, Trump announced he was moving forward with his threat.
“Our capital city has been overtaken by violent gangs and bloodthirsty criminals, roving mobs of wild youth, drugged-out maniacs and homeless people. And we’re not going to let it happen anymore. We’re not going to take it,” the president told reporters at the White House Aug. 11.
At an Oval Office press conference Monday, Vice President JD Vance said the federalization of the city’s police force has already saved lives.
“This town averaged 1 murder every other day for the last 20-30 years, which means in two short weeks the president and his team have saved six or seven lives, people who would have been killed on the streets of DC,” said Vance.
“[Those people] are now living, breathing, spending time with their families because the president had the willpower to say no more, we’re not going to give the streets of DC over to vagrants and robbers and murderers.”
Drug Enforcement Administration head Terry Cole, who was tapped by Trump to be the temporary leader of the MPD during the 30-day federal takeover dubbed “Liberation Day,” said there’s been an instant morale boost at the department since the president gave the order.
“The men and women of the Metropolitan Police Department are back. They enjoy doing their job again. They feel the ability to go out and be law enforcement officers,” he said from the Oval Office.
“They feel they’re connected to their communities again, they’re making a difference. Thanks to you, Mr. President, and our federal task force, you are making DC safe once again.”
Jeanine Pirro, the former judge, prosecutor and Fox News host who has served as the US attorney for the District of Columbia since May, touted the string of murder-free days as a direct result of the Trump administration’s new enforcement regime.
“The deterrent effect of all that’s going on as a result of the president’s move to make DC safe and beautiful is literally changing the safety landscape of Washington. This president is making a difference,” she said on X, pledging the suspects will be tried and convicted.
FBI Director Kash Patel took to social media to herald the results of the crackdown’s early days, announcing federal law enforcement partners have so far notched over 1,000 arrests under the federal takeover.
Trump next has his sights set on surging federal law enforcement resources to other crime-blighted US cities, including New York and Chicago.
“People in Chicago … are screaming for us to come. They’re wearing red hats,” Trump claimed in the Oval Office last week as he touted his DC crackdown.
“So I think Chicago will be our next [stop] and then we’ll help with New York.”
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