Majority of DC’s homicides in 2023 remain unsolved

D.C. leaders are feeling pressure to stop the violence as the city’s murder rate continues to climb at a staggering pace.

A double homicide in Brentwood Wednesday night brings the number of homicides in D.C. to 212 so far this year, far outpacing previous years. More than 70% of those cases remain unsolved.

At her confirmation hearing Wednesday, acting Chief Pamela Smith testified that due to low staffing levels, her department is stretched beyond its maximum capacity.

At Wednesday night’s homicide scene, she was asked if she has enough staff to investigate the growing number of violent crimes.

“It is a very extensive caseload,” she said. “As more crime is happening and as a lot of homicides are occurring, it is certainly extensive, but we’re always evaluating the caseload for our officers and our detectives.”

Despite the increase in homicides this year, Smith said violent crime went down over the past 30 days compared to the previous 30 days.

“Over the last 30 to 60 days, we’ve come down in a lot of those areas where some of these violent crime activities have been occurring,” she said. “We will continue to do what we’re doing in this space with our law enforcement partners.”

According to police, between Aug. 26 and Sept. 24, homicides were down 37%, robberies were down 23% and carjackings were down 27% compared to the previous 30 days.