DC data show spike in crime in 2023 with an 82% increase in motor vehicle theft

The year 2023 in Washington, D.C., was marked by a wave of crime that affected everyone from residents to federal lawmakers, and the year ended with a 26% increase in total crime.

District crime statistics found that violent crime increased 39% and property crime increased 24%. The most substantial increase was among motor vehicle thefts at 82%. In 2023, robberies increased 67% and homicide increased 35%. The numbers come after a year of Congress targeting the district over its handling of crime and criminals.

BIDEN LOSES GROUND WITH YOUNG VOTERS AND MINORITY VOTING GROUPS: POLL

Motor vehicle theft’s increase, while staggering, is no surprise. Vehicle theft crimes and property crimes were expected to soar in 2023 in the aftermath of the pandemic and as the wave of violent crime decreased.

Carjackings have become a popular crime in the nation’s capital, with 959 carjackings in 2023 and 77% of them involving guns. Of the 959 carjackings, 258 cases were closed. Metropolitan Police Department data showed 173 carjacking arrests were made in 2023, with 62% of arrests involving juveniles.

Juvenile crime has risen substantially in the district, and there is a lack of strong policies to detain or prosecute them. The district’s attorney general, Brian Schwalb, has come under fire for declining to prosecute several juvenile cases, leading to many of them becoming repeat offenders and escalating to more violent crimes.

2023 was marked by several crimes against federal lawmakers and their teams. Rep. Henry Cuellar (D-TX) was carjacked at gunpoint in October by three young men in the Navy Yard neighborhood in Washington near Capitol Hill. In February, Rep. Angie Craig (D-MN) was physically assaulted inside an elevator as she was leaving her apartment building in Washington. A member of Sen. Rand Paul’s (R-KY) staff was hospitalized in late March with a deep knife wound to the head after he was attacked and stabbed in broad daylight.

CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER

Crimes have already rocked the district for 2024 only two days into the new year. There has already been one homicide after 18-year-old Ashlei Hinds of Clinton, Maryland, was killed after attending a party at the Embassy Suites on Military Road in Friendship Heights. MPD is offering a $25,000 reward for information leading to the suspect’s arrest, whose photo has been circulated by police.

There have already been 19 motor vehicle thefts, 16 burglaries from vehicles, six robberies, and five burglaries. On Jan. 2, 2023, there were 57 total crimes reported, and on Jan. 2, 2024, there are already 88 crimes reported.