Is There a Resurgence in District Crime?
There's been plenty of grist for the sensationalist local news mill this year, between the robbery scare and subsequent police crackdown in Adams Morgan and the budding crime wave in Georgetown. Regardless, many Washingtonians are quick to disregard the breathless news segments as more of the same from the 11 o'clock doomsayers. As actual crime numbers for the year to date pile up, however, it does appear that the District might be struggling to continue recent trends toward increased safety.
Through yesterday, homicides in the city are up slightly over the same period last year, at 19 from 2005's 17. While disappointing, that jump isn't unusual, particularly considering the warm weather we've experienced so far this year; with more people out and about more hours of the day, the opportunities for criminal activity increase. Of greater concern, potentially, are jumps in the incidence of assaults with a deadly weapon and burglaries, particularly in the growing center of the city.
In the First, Third, and Fifth Police Districts, which stretch from Brookland over to the heart of Columbia Heights and Adams Morgan down to near Southeast and Capitol Hill, robberies, assaults, and burglaries have been well above last year's numbers through this date. The Third District (Columbia Heights and environs south to L Street) has experienced a jump in crime of 16 percent, with nearly 50 percent increases in assaults and burglaries. The First District (Downtown, the Hill, and near Southeast) has experienced a 14 percent jump in overall crime, with robberies, assaults, and burglaries all up a quarter over last year's numbers. By contrast, the Fifth District (Greater Brookland), only saw a four percent increase in overall crime, and the Fourth and Second Districts (Upper Northwest and Georgetown, respectively), saw overall decreases in their numbers, though Georgetown and surrounding neighborhoods have seen 40 percent more burglaries this year to date compared to last year.
It's difficult to ignore the changes east of the Anacostia River, however. The Sixth Police District, which corresponds to Ward 7, has so far experienced a 25 percent drop in overall crime. The Seventh District, corresponding to Ward 8, has experienced a seven percent drop in overall crime. And both the Sixth and Seventh District experienced fewer crimes than any Police District west of the river (as of 2002, all District Wards had roughly the same number of people, so the per capita crime numbers should be generally comparable).
The increases in crime in the District's heart, and especially jumps in assaults with a deadly weapon, have us concerned. We are nonetheless pleasantly surprised to see the progress that has been made in the eastern neighborhoods of the city.