Letter to the editor: In DC, crime prevention or power grab?

The recent decree to send the National Guard into the streets of Washington, D.C., because of crime is based on a false narrative. In fact, crime in the city is at a 30-year low.

According to data from the FBI’s own Uniform Crime Reporting program, crime is down throughout the United States. On Aug. 5, the FBI released a detailed report for 2024. The report shows all categories of crime have dropped nationally. Compared to 2023, murders are down 14.9%, rape down 5.2%, aggravated assault down 3.3%, robbery down 8.9%. Preliminary reporting shows this has continued in 2025. This is good news!

There are already hundreds of federal law enforcement officers in the D.C. area. Is there really a need for the deployment of 800 National Guard troops? As we have observed recently during our own local annual National Night Out, town, city and county law enforcement are the best equipped to work at crime prevention.

Seems to me that it’s just another opportunity for the federal government to grab power and produce more clickbait, sound bites and made-for-TV videos to fit their narrative.

Audra Shenk

Scottdale