The surge in federal law enforcement in Washington, DC, has “enhanced” the capability of native police officers and led to fewer crimes, DC Mayor Muriel Bowser mentioned this week whereas including that it had additionally contributed to a “break in trust” between police and residents.
The mayor’s feedback – which come almost three weeks after President Donald Trump announced a federal takeover of the capital city’s police division – had been criticized by native politicians, and the mayor added a day later that her “north star” is protecting the city’s autonomy.
“Since the beginning of this federal surge of officers, it has always been my focus on – we didn’t ask for any federal officers, we’re driving crime down – but while they’re here, how can we most strategically use them to accelerate the work that MPD has done?” Bowser mentioned.
Earlier, Bowser highlighted that the rise in federal regulation enforcement contributed to “an extreme reduction in carjackings” and a lower in gun crimes and homicides.
“We think that there’s more accountability in the system, or at least perceived accountability in the system, that is driving down illegal behavior,” Bowser mentioned at a press convention Wednesday.
She continued, nevertheless, to criticize sure elements of the administration’s regulation enforcement surge and police takeover, saying that it led to a “break in trust” between police and the group. Bowser added that states sending their National Guard members to DC – like six Republican-led states have finished up to now – has “not been an efficient use of those resources.”
Experts have estimated, as NCS reported, that the continuing National Guard deployment is costing roughly $1 million per day.
Bowser additionally criticized the presence of masked Immigration and Customs Enforcement brokers in the district and famous the necessity for extra police officers, prosecutors and judges in addition to boosted investments in violence intervention applications, homeless companies applications, psychological well being companies and a “new residential youth treatment center.”
According to the city’s official database, there has been a 44% lower in violent crime in the course of the three weeks for the reason that federal surge in comparison with the identical three-week interval final 12 months, and a 28% lower in comparison with July 17 via August 6 of this 12 months – the three-week interval earlier than the surge began. That features a 44% decline in homicides in contrast the identical time interval final 12 months and a 38% lower relative to July 17 via August 6 of this 12 months.
NCS reported final week that in the primary week of the White House’s federal takeover of DC, the town noticed a average drop in reported crime and a bigger surge in the arrests of immigrants.
The mayor’s constructive assessment of the surge in regulation enforcement Wednesday got here below hearth by native politicians, with one DC councilmember, Zachary Parker, as an example, saying in a social media post on X that metropolis leaders needs to be “unequivocal” that the federal surge and National Guard deployment are incorrect.
Bowser added Thursday, “Our north star is protecting Home Rule and the district’s autonomy, in all things, especially during this last eight months where it has been clear our autonomy has kind of been in the crosshairs.”
The DC mayor has usually tried to communicate multiple messages at a time. Her preliminary response to Trump’s government order was to blast it as “unsettling and unprecedented,” whereas including that the rise in regulation enforcement “may be positive.”
Meanwhile, polling has proven that DC residents really feel much less protected after the federal takeover. A Washington Post-Scar School ballot launched final week discovered that 79% of DC residents opposed Trump’s actions, with 65% saying that they don’t assume the strikes will scale back the quantity of violent crime in the town.
A Reuters/Ipsos ballot launched Tuesday additionally discovered that just 36% of Americans support “federal officials bringing the Washington, DC local police under federal control citing a public safety emergency,” and solely 38% of Americans help “deploying National Guard troops from other states to Washington, DC, for law enforcement efforts.”