In about three weeks since President Trump Posted The entire Washington, a CBS news analysis of federal soldiers and law enforcement agents across DC shows that about half of the violent crime in Washington is below in 2024 compared to the same 19 days.
Analysis, reviewing the incident of every crime, the metropolitan police department of Columbia from August 7 to August 25, it also shows that violent offenses are less than the average of five years for the same date.
Beyond violent crime, reported theft is also 48% below and car theft has fallen by 36%.
It is complex to identify specific causes of changes in criminal activity because it can be operated by several factors – and local police data was already showing that the crimes reported were trending downwards in Washington before the President’s action.
For example, violent crime, in two weeks before August 7, according to MPD data, was already about 20% before the same period in the previous years.
Where are federal soldiers and law enforcement deployed?
CBS News is also investigating where federal soldiers and law enforcement have been deployed in relation to the incidents of crime.
Whereas Some news reports And the pundits suggested that the deployment could be in low-prone areas, analyzing the CBS News of the locations of crimes reported in 2025 indicated that the federal government deployed soldiers and other federal law enforcement agents in most higher areas-and often compared to the average neighborhoods across the city.
The analysis examines the location of each offense of every crime within half a mile of places where CBS News verified that federal soldiers or law enforcement agents have been assigned. This was compared to incidents of crime within half a mile of hundreds of other points covering the district.
Compared to the citywide city within half a mile of 30 federal deployment places, the concentration of overall crime phenomena was about three times more than the average of the city.
Additionally, violent crime – including housewives, attacks with a weapon, sexual assault and robbery, as well as any crimes committed with an firearm – were more than twice, and almost doubled near the deployment areas deployed in gun -related crimes.
U Street, several federal deployment locations with NW, were in areas where the number of gun crimes within half a mile of those deployment was more than 90% of cities.
There are other areas of the city with high concentrations of crime where CBS News is not able to verify the philosophy of soldiers or federal law enforcement deployment – mainly in the southeast of the Annacostia River. The White House has reported arrest in those areas, but without issuing the specifics about the exact places.
In addition, every deployment is not the same. In the National Mall, the confirmation of the deployment verified by CBS News was mainly the National Guard, between monuments, museums and other federal grounds. But the guard was not just on and around the mall. The deployment of at least 10 guards was scattered at metro stations and other places across the city – mixed with the deployment of other federal law enforcement agents. You can see that various deployment CBS News has verified in this map so far.
Brian Nadeu is a member of the district of the Colombia Council that represents a community with a huge presence of federal agents. He said that they are scaring people.
“Some businesses are not even opening,” he said. “Either they do not have employees or they are worried about opening to their customers. We have Decres that are afraid of taking children out in the park because they are afraid that their employees will be picked up with snow. I mean, it is very quiet, and not just because it is heat.”
But Learoy Thorpe, who leads a Neberhood Crime Watch program in the Shaw neighborhood of Washington DC, has appreciated the deployment of the National Guard.
“Absolutely it helps,” Thorp told CBS News. “Metro law is a public safety issue for citizens who are going to work-or coming from work.”
What is the White House saying
A White House official says that since the operation started on August 7, more than 1,094 arrests have been made, including eight known gang members, including MS -13 or Train de Argu, and 115 firearms have been confiscated.
On the night of 25 August, a total of 87 arrests took place, out of which 39, according to the official, were non -residents with prior arrests from a simple attack to the robbery of hooliganism, and four illegal firearms were seized. To date, the harvesting of 49 homeless has been approved by multi-agency teams.
The official said arrests were made by multi-agency teams, including MPD and various federal agency officials, who were deployed to promote public safety as part of the President’s agenda to reduce crime.
In a meeting on 26 August, Mr. Trump, along with members of his cabinet, reiterated his view MPD’s crime data “Funny” is and Attorney General Palm Bondi “called to do something about it”.
“What they did they issue number – it is best in 30 years. Not the best. It’s worst. It’s the worst. It’s the worst. It’s very bad. And he gave the numbers,” said Mr. Trump. He did not provide any evidence to support his claim about numbers.
Avoiding the operation of the administration in the district, the President said that Washington, DC, “is still very safe.”
“Crime in DC was the worst in history,” said Mr. Trump. “And now, in the last 13 days, we have worked very hard, we have taken a lot of. There are many left, but we have taken a lot of criminals – more than 1,000.”
Mr. Trump has swimmed this idea Posting National Guard in ChicagoHowever, he has not decided to do so what to do.
For comparison, CBS News review of CBS News of District Police Arrest records for a single day in previous years shows a similar speed of arrest: District Police Data shows 1,071 arrests for the same period of days in 2024. The data document is arrested in 2023 during that period 800 in 2022, 755 in 2021 and 755 in 734.
Role of National Guard in DC
In addition to more than 900 members of DC National Guard Those who are posted in the district, six Republican Governors – West VirginiaSouth Carolina, Ohio, Mississippi, Louisiana and Tennessee – have sent 1,300 joint additional members of their states to the country’s capital.
The National Guard Footprint Thus has been limited to patrolling 10 metro stations in the district, along with protecting most federal buildings and parks, but in recent times, members of the service started assisting with “beautification” across the district, according to DC Spocoplers, a joint task force to assist in “Bahlai Projects” in DC’s federal parks.
A spokesman for the Joint Task Force also told CBS News on 24 August, The Defense Secretary had instructed the National Guard members posted in DC to take their assigned service weapons. A military officer said that there is a possibility of less than 50 Armed Starting that night. This was already a reversal in the month, when a defense department official told CBS News that the guard members deployed would not be armed at the request of local law enforcement partners. The officer also said that at that time their vehicles would not have weapons.
Local leaders including DC Mayor Murial Boseer have questioned the increase in members of the National Guard.
Boseer said at a press conference on August 18, “The number on the land in the district does not support a thousand people from other states coming to Washington, DC.”
The district is usually polished through local and federal law enforcement agencies.
According to the spokesperson of the department, the Department of Primary Law Enforcement Agency of the Department, Metropolitan Police Department, had 3,181 oath members on August 15. The department said that there are 482 police officers in the Metro Transit Police Department, which oversees security for transit systems of the district.
The US Capital Police is responsible for security in the capital complex and its ground, appointing around 2,300 oath officials and about 500 civil staff members, the agency said.
The US Park Police Officers cover federal parks including National Mall. Union president representing US Park Police told DC Radio Station WTOP There are 294 officers covering the DC area.
Ellenor Watson, Emma Lee, Julia Ingram,
And Taylor Johnson contributed to this report.
