President Donald Trump signed an government order on March 27 to create a activity drive to assist crack down on crime in Washington, D.C., along with guaranteeing that “quality-of-life laws” within the nation’s capital are enforced.
The D.C. Secure and Lovely Activity Power will encompass representatives from companies together with the Division of the Inside, the Division of Homeland Safety, the FBI, and the Division of Transportation. It is going to be in a position to request help from native regulation enforcement in duties comparable to monitoring the town’s sanctuary-city coverage.
The manager order will guarantee a federal function in sustaining order and security within the District of Columbia.
“America’s capital must be a place in which residents, commuters, and tourists feel safe at all hours, including on public transit. Its highways, boulevards, and parks should be clean, well-kept, and pleasant,” the manager order acknowledged.
“Its monuments, museums, and buildings should reflect and inspire awe and appreciation for our nation’s strength, greatness, and heritage,” it continued. “Our citizens deserve nothing less.”
In August, Trump pledged to fight crime and homelessness in Washington if elected.
“We will take over the horribly run capital of our nation in Washington, D.C., and clean it up, renovate it, rebuild our capital city, so there’s no longer a nightmare of murder and crime,” he stated at a marketing campaign rally in Georgia.
“We’re going to stop the murder and crime. You go down from your state, you end up getting mugged and murdered in our capital. It’ll be run tough and strong by our great police officers,” Trump added. “We will become the most beautiful capital, anywhere in the world.”
Washington’s crime and homelessness charges have been a supply of scrutiny for many years. The district’s 20-year murder charge peaked in 2023 earlier than falling by 32 p.c a 12 months later, whereas homicides in 2025 seem much like final 12 months, based on the Washington Metropolitan Police.
Cumulative violent crime, which incorporates robberies and sexual assaults, is down 27 p.c since final 12 months, with all crime dropping 9 p.c.
In the meantime, Washington’s homelessness charge elevated by 14 p.c between 2023 and 2024, regardless of being 12 p.c decrease than the district’s homeless peak in 2020.
In 2023, Washington had 73 out of each 10,000 residents dwelling in homelessness, based on a report from the U.S. Division of Housing and City Improvement. The district had a better charge of homelessness than the states of New York and California, which had 52 and 46 out of 10,000 residents dwelling in homelessness in 2023, respectively.
Washington ranked fifteenth on a 2025 record by U.S. Information and World Report of American cities with the best variety of homeless individuals.
Earlier this month, Trump referred to as for the town to filter out homeless encampments.
“We have notified the Mayor of Washington, D.C., that she must clean up all of the unsightly homeless encampments in the City, specifically including the ones outside of the State Department, and near the White House,” he posted on Reality Social.
In 2023, the GOP, which managed the Home, led the cost to dam a measure by the D.C. council from taking impact that will have decreased necessary minimums for some crimes, together with carjackings. Congress handed the disapproval decision, and President Joe Biden signed it.
In February, Sen. Mike Lee (R-Utah) and Rep. Andy Ogles (R-Tenn.) launched a invoice to finish D.C.’s Dwelling Rule, which supplies the town some autonomy in governing its native affairs despite the fact that the District of Columbia isn’t a state. Lee launched the identical invoice final 12 months.
Washington Mayor Muriel Bowser criticized the invoice.
“Home Rule is a limited self-government, but what we should be focused on is our pathway to becoming the 51st state,” she stated on Feb. 10.
On Dec. 30, Bowser met with Trump on the president’s Mar-a-Lago property in Florida. She stated it was a “great meeting.”
“We discussed areas for collaboration between local and federal government, especially around our federal workforce, underutilized federal buildings, parks and green spaces, and infrastructure,” she stated in an announcement.
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