The Justice Department has announced its commitment to deploy additional resources to assist law enforcement efforts in Washington, D.C., responding to a concerning surge in crime that saw a 40% increase in violent incidents and a 35% rise in homicides throughout the previous year.
In a statement released on Friday, the department underscored its focus on tackling the alarming spike in carjackings, which witnessed an alarming 82% surge in Washington during 2023.
Attorney General Merrick Garland commented on the situation, stating, “Last year, we saw an encouraging decline in violent crime in many parts of the country, but there is much more work to do — including here in the District of Columbia.”
This development follows a recent report highlighting the troubling escalation in homicides in the nation’s capital, diverging from the downward trend observed in many other major cities across the United States. In 2023, Washington, D.C., recorded 274 homicides, marking the highest number since 1997. Despite the increase from 203 homicides in 2022, the local Metropolitan Police Department’s homicide clearance rate dropped by 10 percentage points to 52%.
While Justice Department spokesperson Peter Carr did not explicitly link the announcement to the recent surge in violent crime, he emphasized that the initiative is part of a broader departmental strategy launched in May 2021 to address the rise in violent crime during the pandemic. Similar initiatives have been implemented in Houston and Memphis, Tennessee.
Notably, the overall trend in homicides saw a decline in the five largest U.S. cities last year, with Houston experiencing a 20% reduction in homicides. However, Washington, D.C., and Memphis stood out as exceptions, with Memphis reporting a record 398 homicides in 2023.
The Metropolitan Police Department’s efforts to address the rise in crime included the recovery of 3,135 firearms in 2023, compared to 3,152 guns in 2022. This marked an increase over the previous three years, each of which saw around 2,300 guns recovered.
To combat the surge in violent crime and carjackings in Washington, the Justice Department plans to establish a Gun Violence Analytic Cell. This unit will utilize data analytics to pursue federal investigations and will be staffed by agents from the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Drug Enforcement Agency, and Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives.
As part of the comprehensive plan, federal prosecutors from the Justice Department’s Criminal Division will be redirected to handle cases in Washington. The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia will also allocate additional prosecutors from District of Columbia Superior Court to address carjacking and firearm-related cases.
U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia, Matthew M. Graves, faced criticism after internal reports revealed his office had pressed charges in only one-third of arrests in 2022. The prosecution rate increased to 44% in fiscal year 2023 following efforts to address concerns.
While Carr refrained from providing specific details on the number of agents and prosecutors to be diverted or the funding allocated to these initiatives, the Justice Department’s commitment signals a concerted effort to address the escalating crime rates in the nation’s capital.