Discussion on Crime in Washington, DC

ABC News anchor Kyra Phillips shared on Monday that he had “jumped” from the Washington, DC studio “within the last two years.” Reports indicate that violent crime in the capital may have decreased since 2023, according to data from the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) highlighted by the Washington Post. Nonetheless, Phillips pointed out that various crimes have still occurred near the ABC News department, including incidents involving two employees.

“We’ve been discussing a lot of numbers lately. Sure, that’s how you play the devil’s advocate—statistics indicate crime is down. But, you know, just walking around downtown DC, where we’ve been based for the past six months, it feels different. Just two blocks from here, someone was killed,” she said.

“Recently, I walked just a couple of blocks and—well, just this morning, one of my colleagues mentioned her car was stolen just a block away from the station. So, while we can talk about declining numbers, we’re living it every day. Crime is happening.”

President Donald Trump announced plans on Monday to tackle violent crime in the district, which includes deploying the National Guard and appointing Attorney General Pam Bondy to oversee the federal involvement with MPD.

During the meeting with his top officials, the president unveiled a collective effort to crack down on violent criminals in the nation’s capital.

Reportedly, violent crime dropped by 26% compared to 2024, but there were still 99 murders recorded in 2025, according to MPD data.

However, questions arose concerning the integrity of crime data, as DC police commander Michael Puliam is currently under investigation, as reported by NBC4 Washington. Puliam has denied the claims against him.

“Our officers will typically have a captain responding to the scene of a felony when a victim reports it. Instead of a report for a shooting, stabbing, or carjacking, they might end up filing a report for a theft or someone injured—this creates a mismatch in classification,” he explained.

Recent months have witnessed several high-profile violent crime cases throughout the district. For instance, Edward Colistine, a former government staff member, was violently attacked while trying to intervene in a carjacking on August 5th around 3 a.m.

Additionally, a gang-related shooting on June 30 claimed the life of 21-year-old council intern Eric Tarpinian Yachim near a metro station when a suspect allegedly fired into a crowd. In May, it’s reported that Elias Rodriguez fatally shot two staff members from the Israeli embassy outside a prominent Jewish museum in the capital.