Hard to admit the truth…
Washington, D.C., Mayor Muriel Bowser admitted on Wednesday that crime in the district has plummeted since President Donald Trump’s federal takeover.
The stark reversal comes after Trump initially announced his plans to deploy National Guard troops and assume oversight of the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) to tackle rising crime in Washington, D.C., Bowser strongly warned such a crackdown would be “unsettling and unprecedented.” (RELATED: DC Sues To Block Trump Crackdown On Local Police Autonomy)
However, the mayor admitted at a press conference on Wednesday that the federal surge has made a noticeable impact on one of America’s most famously dangerous cities.
At the briefing, Bowser displayed a chart crediting the influx of FBI, DEA, ATF, U.S. Park Police and Capitol Police with bolstering MPD’s efforts and declared, “We greatly appreciate the surge of officers that enhance what MPD has been able to do in this city.”
She pointed to one dramatic example, saying, “For carjackings, the difference between this period, this 20-day period of this federal surge and last year represents an 87% reduction in carjackings in Washington, D.C. We know that when carjackings go down, when use of gun goes down, when homicide or robbery go down, neighborhoods feel safer and are safer. So, this surge has been important to us for that reason.”
Bowser offered further examples of Trump’s new surge driving results.
“This is what we think in just a couple of weeks of experience has worked,” she said. “Having more federal law enforcement officers on the street — we think having more stops that got to illegal guns has helped. We think that there is more accountability in the system, or at least perceived accountability in the system, that is driving down illegal behavior. We know that we have had fewer gun crimes, fewer homicides, and we have experienced an extreme reduction in carjackings.”
However, Mayor Bowser criticized the surge for creating “a break in trust” between law enforcement and the local D.C. community. Bowser singled out the deployment of immigration officers as unnecessary and and a waste of resources to police the city.
Since Trump’s federal takeover, more than 1,000 people have been arrested. Hundreds of those arrested are illegal immigrants, and some have been identified as MS-13 or Tren de Aragua gang members.
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