The amount of crime reported in Washington, D.C., has dropped significantly since President Donald Trump unleashed a crackdown on crime in August, while total arrests have climbed slightly.

Statistics published by the Metropolitan Police Department indicate that crime incidents have steadily decreased from Aug. 7 to Sept. 30 this year, compared with the same period last summer.

However, testimony given this week by a senior federal law enforcement official before the Senate revealed that arrests have risen slightly, as authorities go after known criminals in the region.

In the 54 days between Aug. 7, 2024, and Sept. 30, 2024, MPD data show that 4,546 crime incidents were reported. In the 54 days leading up to Trump’s federalization of MPD and crackdown on crime in the nation’s capital, crime incidents were already down to 4,020.

Once federal police and the National Guard descended on Washington, incidents further declined to 3,592.

The White House said the decrease in crime during the 30-day emergency period is “an objective fact.”

“Not only does the data prove this, but Democrat Mayor Bowser even highlighted the significant reduction in crime,” White House spokeswoman Abigail Jackson wrote in an email to the Washington Examiner. “These are undeniable positive results that everyone can celebrate and the Trump Administration looks forward to continued cooperation with local leaders to Keep DC Safe!”

Peter Marketos, acting associate director for investigations at the U.S. Marshals Service, testified on Tuesday that crime was down, but shared a different statistic.

“Since the operation began on August 7, we have sharply reduced crime in the nation’s capital,” Marketos told lawmakers on the Senate Judiciary Committee on Capitol Hill on Tuesday. “As of today, federal law enforcement have made 3,496 arrests, averaging 65 per day.”

During the same period in 2024, 3,333 arrests of juveniles and adults were made. The difference between each year is 163 arrests, or 3.1 more arrests per day.

The MPD declined to provide context to the numbers.

“The stats speak for themselves about the reductions in crime we are seeing in the District of Columbia,” MPD supervisory public affairs specialist Tom Lynch wrote in an email.

Bill Johnson, executive director of the National Association of Police Organizations, suggested that it was possible that more cases were being resolved.

“If the number of reported incidents is down but arrests are up slightly, it may well be that more cases are being closed by arrest and also that law-enforcement are arresting the right people,” said Johnson, whose organization represents 241,000 law enforcement officers nationwide.

Marketos added that federal law enforcement assisting D.C. police have seen a 39% decrease in violent crime incidents and a 75% drop in carjackings.

In addition, federal police recovered 10 missing children and arrested 25 gang members, including at least one individual affiliated with Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua.

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The DOJ’s Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives, the FBI, and Drug Enforcement Administration have each assisted local police, as well as the Department of Homeland Security’s U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and U.S. Customs and Border Protection.

D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser, the D.C. Office of the Deputy Mayor for Public Safety and Justice, the D.C. Police Union, and the U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia’s office did not respond to requests for comment on the statistics.

, 2025-10-05 11:00:00, , Washington Examiner, %%https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/cropped-favicon.png?w=32, https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/feed/, Anna Giaritelli