U.S. Attorney: Washington, D.C.’s violent crime rate will drop 35% in 2024, reaching a 30-year low

The violent crime rate in Washington, D.C., has dropped to a 30-year low, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office.

Mathew M. Graves, the U.S. attorney for the District of Columbia, said Friday that violent crime in the district dropped 35 percent year over year. There have been 3,388 incidents so far in 2024, compared with 5,215 incidents in 2023.

Crime rates have dropped significantly this year, with homicides down 30%, sexual abuse down 22%, assaults with dangerous weapons down 27%, robberies down 8%, and burglaries down 8%.

“There’s no question in my mind that the most impactful thing we do when it comes to violent crime is actually targeting gun violence drivers,” Graves said, according to Fox 5 DC. “More importantly, is, figuring out who in our communities is really driving violence and holding them accountable for certain crimes so you can get them off the streets before they commit the next crime.

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Graves said data shows drivers of violent crime include “hundreds of people across the city.”

“Many of them are affiliated with … what we call ‘crews’ in the area; these groups are often located in the neighborhoods or neighborhoods where they grew up and engage in a range of different criminal activities,” he said.

“In some aspects, their activities directly participate in violence. In other cases, they engage in activities that contribute to open-air drug markets and are magnets for violence,” he added. “So going after those who are actually responsible for violent crime is a very effective strategy for reducing the number of violent crimes.”

Graves said prosecutions are not the only way to reduce crime.

Violent crime in the area is down 35% annually. (Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images)

“These problems tend to be deep-seated problems, driven by poverty, lack of services, health issues, education issues,” he said. “We can impact those numbers. We can eliminate violence in the streets. We can try to stop others from becoming gun-violent But if there are unresolved issues, mental health issues, lack of economic opportunity, there will be more drivers.”

Graves attributed the drop in violent crime to his office working with the Metropolitan Police Department to target a small number of people in the area who are driving violent crime.

“There are relatively few people in our community who are causing violence,” he told WTOP. “What we’ve been doing over the last two years is really targeting those individuals – those groups of individuals – who are inciting violence.”

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So far in 2024, there have been 3,388 violent crime incidents, compared to 5,215 in 2023. (WTTG)

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Local leaders also cited the D.C. Safety Omnibus Act and other factors such as increased officer visibility, technology upgrades and ensuring students are in class.

Still, Graves said more needs to be done to address the number of illegal guns in the area.

“There are many more illegal guns in our community now than there were 15 years ago,” he said. “You have to think of it like a virus. The more virus there is in the community, the more people are going to get sick.”