Washington, D.C
DC police chief marks one year on the job by highlighting dropping crime rate – WTOP News
WTOP sat down with D.C. Police Chief Pamela Smith, who’s marking her first year by touting crime data that shows significant drops in crime so far this year.
Marking her first year as the District’s police chief, Pamela Smith is touting crime data that shows drops in crime so far this year, compared to the same period last year, including declines in the number of homicides, carjackings and robberies.
The chief, who took the helm of the Metropolitan Police Department after 25 years with U.S. Park Police in 2023, said tougher laws, stronger prosecutions and improved police tactics have helped reduce crime.
“When you talk about the numbers — we’re at a 33% reduction in violent crime, we’re at a 38% reduction in robberies, we’re at a 48% reduction in carjackings,” Chief Smith told WTOP.
When the chief joined the department last year, D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser and the D.C. Council were in the midst of rolling back some criminal justice reforms instituted in 2020, following the murder of George Floyd by a police officer in Minneapolis.
Smith said she’s not sure what to attribute to the rapid increase in crime in the city after 2020
“What I will say is that one of the things that I think has been instrumental is the legislation that’s been passed. … The emergency legislation that was passed, ‘Safer Stronger DC,’ ‘ACT Now,’ and all of those culminated into, what I believe, legislation that helped us drive down crime in the District,” Smith explained.
Holding criminals accountable
Recent laws like “Secure DC” and “Safer, Stronger DC” have, among other things, enhanced penalties for violent crimes and increased the number of people charged with a violent crime that D.C. Superior Court judges are encouraged to keep jailed before trial.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office for D.C. also stepped up the number of Title 16 charges, in which some juveniles charged with violent crimes are charged as adults.
D.C. crime data, as of July 17, shows that there have been 98 homicides so far this year, compared to 134 at this time last year — a 26% reduction. Assault with a dangerous weapon is down 27% and motor vehicle thefts are down 34%.
Total crime in D.C. is down 18% compared to the same period last year.
“I think what we’re seeing is a combination of a lot of different things. Individuals are being held accountable, they’re being held in the jails, as opposed to being released to go back out into their community. We’re seeing judges, we’re seeing the U.S. Attorney’s Office, Office of Attorney General leveraging prosecution that helps us when it comes to the same individuals committing the same crimes,” she said.
Staffing deficiencies and asking for the public’s help
The Metropolitan Police Department remains understaffed — as do police agencies throughout the region and across the nation — but Smith said D.C. is doing well in comparison to some other agencies.
“We’ve not taken a significant decrease. As a matter of fact, we’ve seen a 30% reduction in our attrition rate. We’ve not seen many people leaving the job or retiring from the job at a rate where we thought it would outpace that. And so that’s a good sign for us. That lets me know that we have members that still want to stay in this profession,” said Smith.
She said one major step residents, business owners and institutions can take to help reduce crime is to join the CameraConnect D.C. program.
Under the program, video cameras such as Ring cameras, doorbell cameras and private security system cameras are registered with the city so that police know the locations of video cameras that can assist during a public safety threat or after a crime has occurred. The city also offers rebates to residents, businesses, nonprofits and religious institutions for security cameras.
“That is exactly what we need because that really helps us to drive down crime,” Smith said.
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WASHINGTON (7News) — A man was stabbed to death in Northwest D.C. early Saturday morning, according to D.C. police.
SEE ALSO | Police shoot knife-wielding individual at Fairfax Wawa
Officers responded to the 2900 block of 14th Street NW shortly before 1:00 a.m., where the victim was pronounced dead at the scene.
SEE ALSO | Teen hospitalized following Friday night shooting in northeast D.C.
Anyone with information about the incident is urged to contact the police at (202) 727-9099 or text a tip to 50411.
Additional details were not immediately available.
4 things to know about the weather:
- Beneficial rain
- Muggy, warm temperatures to start the weekend
- Scattered afternoon showers & a few storms again Saturday
- Drier and nice for Sunday
There’s a 40% chance of showers and a few storms in the afternoon and evening Saturday.
Sunday looks like it will bring the best weather of the weekend. We’ll start to see some cooler, drier air come in.
Big-time heat may be coming right back to the D.C. area by Wednesday of next week.
Weather radar
Download the NBC Washington app on iOS and Android to check the weather radar on the go.
10-day forecast
QuickCast
SATURDAY:
Partly sunny
Muggy
Scattered showers & storms (40% chance)
Highs: middle 80s
SUNDAY:
Decreasing clouds
Lower humidity
Highs: mid 80s
MONDAY:
Mostly sunny
Highs: upper 80s
SUNSET: 8:35 p.m.
AVERAGE HIGH: 89° // AVERAGE low: 72°
Stay with Storm Team4 for the latest forecast. Download the NBC Washington app on iOS and Android to get severe weather alerts on your phone.
Washington, D.C., has been a popular spot this summer, especially since it’s the nation’s 250th anniversary. And it’s where many Grand Canyon University students have traveled, including the campus’s student body leaders.
Associated Students of GCU President Judah Floyd and Vice President Gracie Zimbardi traveled to Washington, D.C., to participate in the Campus Victory Forum conference and celebrate the country’s 250th anniversary of signing the Declaration of Independence.
“It was a humbling opportunity to be able to represent GCU and be poured into by so many admirable Christian leaders,” Floyd said. “It reminds me of the leader I want to be as a Christ follower and as someone who’s been put in a position to have influence on the students of GCU.”
The three-day conference was organized by Campus Victory, an organization empowering collegiate leaders to step into civic engagement. It featured workshops, sessions and activities that equipped students with practical tools to step into their leadership roles.
Roughly 250 student leaders from universities all around the country traveled to the nation’s capital for the conference, where they met and heard from politicians and community leaders, including U.S. Rep. Eli Crane of Arizona.
He addressed the young crowd with a personal testimony about his experience in public leadership and gave an empowering message from 1 Timothy 4:12, which reads, “Don’t let anyone look down on you because you are young, but set an example for the believers in speech, in conduct, in love, in faith and in purity.”
He encouraged students to boldly press on in their positions despite their young age.
Sharing a home state with Crane was made extra special to Floyd and Zimbardi when Crane invited all Arizona students backstage to meet and have conversations with him.
“He was phenomenal,” Zimbardi said. “He talked about how being firm in our faith is so important in this time, and though we are young leaders, we do have the knowledge, experience and people to look up to, so use it. It was so inspiring to hear from him.”
When sessions concluded, students explored significant landmarks, including memorials, museums, and federal and local government buildings.
Everything was decked out in red, white and blue, with flags and banners hanging everywhere to commemorate the milestone anniversary.
Celebratory events unfolded one after another on Independence Day, finishing with the largest fireworks show in history. Some 850,000 pyrotechnic effects were detonated over 40 minutes, with thousands gathered for the once-in-a-lifetime event.
Floyd waited five hours in line to attend Salute to America 250, which concluded yearlong celebratory festivities. The six-hour event on the National Mall featured presidential remarks, musical performances and military flyovers.
“President Donald Trump talked about how America is really a land of people of faith and people who overcome challenges time after time,” Floyd said. “It really rekindled in us the spirit of liberty that we all carry as Americans and the importance of defending that liberty for generations to come.”
Military veterans were brought onstage and honored for their commitment to serving the country. Flags from every generation of America were displayed, and singer Lee Greenwood led the crowd in singing “God Bless the U.S.A.”
The World Cup was happening at the same time. While Floyd and Zimbardi were in Washington, D.C., they witnessed another level of patriotism when a Team USA vs. Bosnia and Herzegovina watch party, complete with a projector screen, was organized in front of the U.S. Congress.
“Thousands of people all wearing U.S.A. jerseys were shouting and screaming and spraying water in the sky when we scored a goal. It was deafening,” Floyd said.
As the start of academic year approaches, Floyd and Zimbardi’s tenure as student body president and vice president will soon commence.
The duo said that participating in the Campus Victory Forum conference, networking with student body presidents and vice presidents from other universities, and witnessing everyone’s patriotism prepared them to lead with passion and boldness.
“It means a lot to me that someone in this organization thought of us, GCU, and said, ‘We need them there.’ Zimbardi said. “It was really unique hearing from other students about how they do things at other universities.
“We got to sit down and spitball back and forth. We talked about things like, ‘Wow, that’s what works for you? We are struggling in that area, do you mind if we try it?’ Having conversations like that is extremely helpful, and it is cool how unified we can all become.”
***
Related content:
GCU News: Ingram Honors students visit nation’s capital in honor of its 250th anniversary
GCU News: Critical Mass in harmony with national jubilee of prayer in Washington, D.C.
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