In 2023, Washington, D.C. recorded 274 homicides, making it the deadliest year in more than two decades and the highest number since 1997. This wasn’t just a small uptick — it marked a major spike in violence.
Overall violent crime surged by roughly 39% from 2022 to 2023, according to the Metropolitan Police Department’s year-end statistics. That sharp increase reflected a breakdown in public safety across multiple categories.
Carjackings were one of the most alarming trends. Reports jumped from about 485 in 2022 to more than 950 in 2023, nearly doubling in just one year. This wave of brazen, often violent thefts made national headlines.
Even after declines in 2024 and 2025, D.C.’s homicide rate remains far above the national average and continues to rank among the highest compared to other major U.S. cities. The numbers may be down from 2023, but that’s only down from one of the worst crime years in decades — not from a level that anyone should consider safe.
Democrats on X want you to believe this is a “success story,” but all they’ve done is lower the bar so far that avoiding a total collapse counts as victory. They ignore that D.C. is still one of the most dangerous major cities in America — because admitting the truth would shatter their narrative.