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Welcome to The Logoff: As President Donald Trumps takeover of Washington, DC, continues, his Justice Department is launching an investigation into whether DC police falsified crime data.
What is Trump alleging? In a Monday evening Truth Social post, Trump wrote that D.C. gave Fake Crime numbers in order to create a false illusion of safety, referring to a decline in violent crime that runs counter to his attempts to paint the city as overtaken by violent gangs and bloodthirsty criminals.
What do DC crime numbers actually say? Recent data suggests violent crime in DC is significantly down after a spike in 2023. Last year, violent crime reached its lowest point in more than 30 years, and DC officials say it has continued to fall this year.
Are there actually issues with DC crime statistics? Trump is not the first one to allege issues with crime data but theres relatively little evidence of a systemic problem. In May, the city placed a police commander on leave to investigate whether he was manipulating crime data, and the head of DCs police union has cast doubt on official numbers.
Both of those should be taken with a grain of salt DC Mayor Muriel Bowser has since stated that we dont believe [the investigation] implicates many cases, and the decline in violent crime in DC tracks with a national trend.
