Around America, the spike in murder rates that began in the summer of 2020 when radical politicians encouraged America’s criminals with a campaign against its police has slowly subsided. That is, except in Washington, D.C., where murder rates are up 38% so far this year compared to the last. Scott Calvert reports in The Wall Street Journal:
Surging violent crime this year has spread fear and frustration across the District of Columbia, as police here struggle to curb the bloodshed at a time when many U.S. cities are seeing double-digit declines in homicides.
The district has had 216 homicides this year, 38% more than at this point in 2022—and more than any full year from 2004 to 2020, police data show. By contrast, killings are down this year in big cities from coast to coast: by 24% in Los Angeles, 19% in Houston, 18% in Philadelphia, 12% in Chicago, and 11% in New York City.
“I definitely think public safety has been and continues to be the No. 1 concern for district residents,” said Lindsey Appiah, D.C.’s deputy mayor for public safety. She said other types of crime drive fear, too. Robberies are up 70%, and car thefts have more than doubled.
Surging violent crime this year has spread fear and frustration across the District of Columbia, as police here struggle to curb the bloodshed at a time when many U.S. cities are seeing double-digit declines in homicides.
The district has had 216 homicides this year, 38% more than at this point in 2022—and more than any full year from 2004 to 2020, police data show. By contrast, killings are down this year in big cities from coast to coast: by 24% in Los Angeles, 19% in Houston, 18% in Philadelphia, 12% in Chicago, and 11% in New York City.
“I definitely think public safety has been and continues to be the No. 1 concern for district residents,” said Lindsey Appiah, D.C.’s deputy mayor for public safety. She said other types of crime drive fear, too. Robberies are up 70%, and car thefts have more than doubled.
Action Line: Washington, D.C., has some of the strictest gun control laws in the nation. Law-abiding citizens are stripped of their rights to defend themselves, yet criminals still have guns, and the weak D.C. officials allow crime to fester. Get your gun and your training now. Even in D.C., after the results of Palmer v. District of Columbia, residents can obtain concealed carry permits. It may not be easy, but it may be worth it. Click here to subscribe to my free monthly Survive & Thrive letter.
