President Donald Trump intensified his focus on public safety in the nation’s capital, asserting in recent remarks that Washington, D.C.’s murder rate is "higher than that of Bogotá, Colombia and Mexico City" and claiming that car thefts in the District have doubled while carjackings have more than tripled during the past five years. He added that the city “has become one of the most dangerous anywhere in the world.” Local and federal statistics tell a different story. Metropolitan Police Department figures show violent crime is down 26% so far this year, including a 12% drop in homicides and a 37% decline in carjackings compared with the same period in 2024. FBI data released in August put Washington’s 2024 homicide rate at 27.3 per 100,000 residents—well below the levels recorded in the Latin American cities cited by the president and down from the spike seen in 2023. The president has already ordered an increased deployment of federal law-enforcement personnel to the District and is scheduled to outline additional measures at a White House press conference on Monday. City officials, including Mayor Muriel Bowser, acknowledge last year’s crime surge but argue recent trends demonstrate that existing local and federal partnerships are working.