If Democrats want a governing majority again, they must meet voters where they are, not where they wish they were. That means facing hard truths, like the one playing out in our nation’s capital: Even as crime rates fall, many Washingtonians do not feel safe walking through Union Station, shopping on U Street or living in Navy Yard. Folks are tired of seeing deodorant locked up behind plexiglass at CVS. They’re frustrated at finding their car windows smashed and seeing a teenager speed off on a rented e-bike.
If officials in the district don’t do something, they may give the president and Congress reason to try to take over even more than they already have.
To be clear: Trump’s moves to take over the Metropolitan Police Department and activate the D.C. National Guard are unnecessary, wrong and unwarranted, but if officials in the district don’t do something fast, they may give the president and Congress more reason to try to take over even more than they already have.
The Washington Post recently found that 50% of D.C. residents — and the overwhelming majority of D.C. residents are Democrats — view crime as an “extremely serious” or “very serious” problem, noting “stark divides along lines of race and income.”
“Black residents and lower-income residents [were] significantly more worried about crime than White residents and those with higher incomes,” the Post found in May. “As they were last year, Black women are among the most concerned, with 65 percent saying crime is a very or extremely serious issue, compared with 82 percent who said the same last year.”
The good news is that crime is falling and Washingtonians see notable progress. In the spring of 2024, 65% of D.C. residents said crime was “extremely serious” or “very serious.” But the data shows a real gap between the statistics and how unsafe many citizens, especially Black women, feel in our nation’s capital.
While juvenile gangs appear to be responsible for many recent crimes, juvenile arrests continue to lag other major cities. Baltimore police made 1,377 juvenile arrests last year, a 47% increase from the year prior, according to the FBI. Juvenile arrests in New York City were up almost 11% in 2024 compared with 2023. In D.C., juvenile arrests are actually down compared to last year.
The number of cops on the beat may have something to do with it.
As of June, there were 3,187 officers in the Metropolitan Police Department, one the lowest levels in nearly 50 years, The Washington Post reported. Of course, if Congress had allowed the District of Columbia to spend its own money, it could put more cops on the beat, which would enable more stops and arrests. But Congress has instead declined to restore more than $1 billion in funding to the district that it blocked earlier this year.
To further address the issue, the Republican-controlled Congress could allocate more funding for prosecutors and additional court capacity. Biden-appointee Matthew Graves, the past U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia, noted that for violent crimes like homicide and sexual assaults, it generally takes between 18 and 24 months between indictment and trial.
The D.C. Council bears some responsibility too. Despite pleas from Mayor Muriel Bowser and Graves, it has refused to tweak existing laws like the Second Look Act and Incarceration Reduction Amendment Act (IRAA), which allowed some convicted felons to return to the streets and re-offend. Toughening these laws, among others, would also help send a clear message of deterrence to would-be felons. In a letter Graves sent the D.C. Council in January 2024, he said the Second Look Act “discourages courts from considering the brutality, cold-blooded and long-planned nature of the crime in assessing whether their commission of the crime was motivated by immaturity, impetuosity, and failure to appreciate risks and consequences. Instead, the fight will likely focus on how they have done while incarcerated. This focus on behavior while incarcerated is particularly odd because most would agree that how one performs while incarcerated is not predictive of what will happen when released.” The D.C. Council should look past Trump’s bluster and fix the problem — now. That is certainly the case with the IRAA. Though most felons released through this Council-passed law have not re-offended, we’ve still seen too many be released and then arrested and convicted of crimes that include unlawful possession of ammunition and unlawful possession with intent to distribute fentanyl; as well as murder less than nine months after early release. Trump-appointed U.S. Attorney Jeanne Pirro cited these laws, among others, in her letter to the D.C. Council last week. Her inflammatory rhetoric and the inflammatory rhetoric of her boss, President Trump, are unwarranted. They’re exploiting people’s fears and insecurities for political benefit. But the D.C. Council should look past Trump’s bluster and fix the problem — now. Suspend the summer recess, convene in special session and change the laws needed to improve public safety and head off a full GOP takeover. Only then can they start to earn back the trust of D.C. voters.
Anthony Coley
Anthony Coley is a legal analyst for NBC News, MSNBC and CNBC. He was director of the Justice Department’s office of public affairs from February 2021 until January 2023. 
