Last month, President Donald Trump made headlines by announcing a sweeping federal intervention in the nation’s capital, deploying the National Guard across Washington, D.C., and taking temporary control of the Metropolitan Police Department. The move, he said, is aimed at driving down crime rates — despite the city’s mayor noting that crime has been trending downward in recent months.
D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser acknowledged she lacked the legal authority to block the president’s plan and suggested the additional federal presence could potentially help. “The fact that we have more law enforcement and presence in neighborhoods — that may be positive,” Bowser told reporters. Trump didn’t stop at D.C. In his remarks, he pointed to other cities plagued by long-term crime issues: “We have other cities also that are bad, very bad. And of course, Baltimore and Oakland — you don’t even mention those anymore, they’re so far gone.”
Trump’s plan has drawn strong support from the D.C. Police Union, which represents more than 3,000 MPD officers. Union Chairman Gregg Pemberton issued a statement fully backing the president’s intervention: “We completely agree with the president that crime in the District of Columbia is out of control and something needs to be done with it.” In an official release, the union emphasized that federal involvement should be temporary but agreed immediate action was needed: “The D.C. Police Union acknowledges and supports the president’s announcement to assume temporary control of the MPD in response to the escalating crime crisis in Washington, D.C. The Union agrees that crime is spiraling out of control, and immediate action is necessary to restore public safety.
While Trump and the union have sounded alarms, the data paints a nuanced picture. According to MPD reports, D.C. saw a 35% drop in violent crime and a 15% drop in overall crime between 2023 and 2024. In Baltimore, the story has been similar but still challenging. The city suffered through eight consecutive years of over 300 homicides annually. That trend began to shift after Ivan Bates became Baltimore’s state’s attorney in January 2023, leading to a significant reduction in homicides. Baltimore Mayor Brandon Scott pushed back against Trump’s assertion that the city is “so far gone.” This year, Scott reported homicides are down 28%, marking the lowest level of any year on record. Local police data also shows violent crime is down 17% from this time last year, and property crime has dropped 13%.
Despite these declines, Baltimore still ranks as the fourth most dangerous city in America.