Why Crime Rates in D.C. Went up 22% Since Last Year

In a recent Heritage Foundation event, “The District of Disorder: Crime and the District of Columbia” surging crime rates in the district were addressed.

Senator Bill Hagerty (R-TN) summed up the feelings of people living in D.C. and around the country when he noted: “ We all have an interest in this capital. We need to see it as a bacon of freedom and hope and liberty, not as an embarrassment to the nation.”

Indeed, the last thing one thinks about when talking about D.C.’s crime rates is hope.

Hagerty continued:

“America has had it with this whole defund the police movement, soft on crime, being critical of law enforcement, being non supportive of law enforcement. (…) In Tennessee, we want to support law enforcement, we want to enhance their capabilities, let them know that we appreciate them, not defund them, not make their jobs harder. I think that message is beginning to filter into the district [D.C.].”

Meanwhile, homicides in the city are up by at least 10%, sex abuse is up 111%, and motor vehicle theft is up 105%. Total crime is up by 22%.

Gregg Pemberton, Chairman of the D.C. Police Union discussed these rates. He commented on some of the issues leading to such tragic crime numbers:

“[There are] significant staffing shortages for the police department and significant changes legislatively to the criminal justice system which have prevented us from really holding criminals accountable, particularly in the violent crime categories. So, we’re losing police officers at a time when demand is going up. The number of 911 calls is going up, the number of reports that need to be taken is going up and the staff numbers (…) are going down.”

And it gets worse, as Pemberton further emphasized:

“At the same time we have a criminal justice system that is eroding through legislative action how we can hold criminals accountable. (…) What this is creating is less accountability for criminals. There’s a lot of recidivism. [There are] a lot of criminals that we’re catching five, ten, fifteen, twenty times for the same crime over and over again (…). We’re not seeing any significant sentence that is actually removing them from the community long enough to make an impact.”

Given the absurd legislative measures which have come into effect in the federal district, it is no surprise the results are  disastrous. Common sense dictates that incentivizing criminals and protecting them, while letting victims suffer the consequences, will only lead to more crime.

One must wonder why people put up with incompetent or malevolent leaders in this manner.

But the truth is that some are fooled by great sounding storylines, others do not get involved because they mistrust the political class completely, while those who do get involved to change things for the better are in the minority.

Indeed, the solution to the crisis of leadership faced by the U.S., and even the world today, is ensuring that the right people take control of the narrative and get the numbers they need to outvote the ones who would steer the country into ruin and misery.

After all, we must remember that one cannot relinquish all claims to political power or a healthy cultural environment and expect to still keep a good and normal way of life.

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