My spouse and I moved from Shaw to Alexandria City recently and what a relief. Yes, there is crime here too but not as much and barely any in our immediate neighborhood.

It makes a huge difference when crime happens directly on your doorstep. In Shaw we had to stop ordering packages because in 2020 all of a sudden package theft went absolutely rampant. There were also stabbings murders and constant drug use/dealing within 1 block, the authorities did nothing to stop the constant dealing so the cycle continued to spiral. It really gets to your mental health when you know all of that is happening feet from your door. And every day there were kids loitering while armed, dealing drugs using drugs on the block and stealing packages and 99% of that activity is not reflected in formal crime stats.

We still go into DC about 3-4 times a month. I still love DC but we just couldn’t take the rampant lawlessness and got the sense it wouldn’t be addressed in the near future.

When schools went remote in 2020 many of the underprivileged kids had no supervision or structure so they went out across the city to mess around with their friends at rates much higher than normal. This coinciding with the movement to go ultra lax on enforcing laws created the situation DC is in now and it’s really hard to unwind these two forces.

Anonymous wrote:The people with money have departed DC or they are in process of moving away.

IA with this. My relatives, who have lived in DC for 20+ years, just bought a new place in VA. This came as a result of a break-in at their place, 2 stolen cars, and multiple muggings... all within an 18-month span. Both are very high earners with kids in privates in DC. One kid graduates this year and the other will be going into 9th grade this fall, so they are enrolling that one in the VA public school.

Anonymous wrote:One valuable point that the trolls have unintentionally surfaced is that very few of the trends that have contributed to crime decreasing and increasing over the years in D.C. — or to the influx of young professionals over the years and the recent slowdown/outmigration of them — have been limited to the D.C. area. These are all national trends reflecting national shifts in policy and demographics.

I don't say that to discount at all the increase in crime or the way it's affecting people here now. But a lot of conversations here seem to assume that what's happening in D.C. is happening in a vacuum and that we could, if only we made better choices as a city, fix them. It's sometimes helpful to remember that isn't the case — that we can, and should, make the best policy decisions here that we can, but that we're still going to be affected by bigger trends and policies outside our local control even if we do.

If these are national trends, why is homicide increasing in DC but decreasing (in a big way) in 63 percent of major U.S. cities?

https://twitter.com/dccrimefacts/status/1658826181142011904

Hear me out: We should look into what those cities are doing right.

One valuable point that the trolls have unintentionally surfaced is that very few of the trends that have contributed to crime decreasing and increasing over the years in D.C. — or to the influx of young professionals over the years and the recent slowdown/outmigration of them — have been limited to the D.C. area. These are all national trends reflecting national shifts in policy and demographics.

I don't say that to discount at all the increase in crime or the way it's affecting people here now. But a lot of conversations here seem to assume that what's happening in D.C. is happening in a vacuum and that we could, if only we made better choices as a city, fix them. It's sometimes helpful to remember that isn't the case — that we can, and should, make the best policy decisions here that we can, but that we're still going to be affected by bigger trends and policies outside our local control even if we do.

Just on the news tonight 48 children in DC have been shot this year. Twice as many as last year but keep telling us that crime is going down.

Last night, a woman walking in an alley between Rodman and Porter streets was grabbed and had a gun put to her head as the assailant tried to force her into a van. Thankfully she was able to escape and the perp was located and arrested. We need to get more of these violent criminals behind bars. Please write to your ANCs and councilmember and ask them to support the mayor's initiatives to combat crime.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Lol.
I’ll take rural whatever over south side Chicago, Baltimore, anacostia for $500 please.

Easier to bury the undesirables, am I right?

No, I believe they were citing the astronomical crime, drug use, obesity, unemployment, welfare, lack of HS grads, and delinquency rates in those broken communities and culture.

Anonymous wrote:The people with money have departed DC or they are in process of moving away.

Lol no

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This is OP. The person trying to argue that the city isn't seeing increased crime is ridiculous. We live here. We see it. There have been multiple armed car-jackings, a brazen mid-day burglary and several shootings within a few blocks from my house, all in the last two years. We never had serious crime in this neighborhood 5 years ago. Just this week, Mayor Bowser announced a bunch of measures to address rising crime. This isn't some imaginary problem.

I don't care if other cities or red states are seeing an increase in crime. So what? This thread is about trying to figure out if the District of Columbia is going to get its act together so folks can stop feeling unsafe.

Try to follow the thread.

- OP posted about crime
- Right wing trolls used it as a chance to argue about “leftists” causing the crime
- I posted data that refutes that narrative
- Republicans keep trolling without making any factual counterpoint

Here's the thing. "Leftists" (however you want to define that) are unquestionably in charge of DC. Therefore "leftists" need to address the rising crime problem. Which they are not doing.

I don't really think the solutions being offered are going to be particularly helpful at this point. DC already has an abundance of after school programming, city services, violence interrupters, etc. etc. etc.

The "trolls" that have pointed out that there's a general culture of lawlessness right now in the city are not incorrect. The question is, what is the city going to do about it?

Unfortunately, I don't think more wrap-around-services are going to stop people from ransacking CVS, or carjacking people. I think the answer (and I hate that I'm saying this because I don't like the police), is more cops and increased policing.

Ding ding ding! We need more police. Crack down on crime. Lock up violent felons. It's really not that hard to make DC safe and enjoyable again.

The people with money have departed DC or they are in process of moving away.

Anonymous wrote:This is OP. The person trying to argue that the city isn't seeing increased crime is ridiculous. We live here. We see it. There have been multiple armed car-jackings, a brazen mid-day burglary and several shootings within a few blocks from my house, all in the last two years. We never had serious crime in this neighborhood 5 years ago. Just this week, Mayor Bowser announced a bunch of measures to address rising crime. This isn't some imaginary problem.

I don't care if other cities or red states are seeing an increase in crime. So what? This thread is about trying to figure out if the District of Columbia is going to get its act together so folks can stop feeling unsafe.

You will always get the following predictable responses on threads like this -
1) “I have lived in DC since the 90s and you should have seen the crime then”
2) “I’ve lived in DC since 1983 and have never been a victim of crime”
3) “Sure, crime is up but it’s up everywhere. Have you seen NYC or SF?”
4) “If you look at the stats crime across the city is decreasing”

OP asked about moving from a specific neighborhood. It doesn’t matter if crime overall is going down but crime in your immediate neighborhood is going up. FWIW, I lived the majority of my adult life in DC. In the mid to late 90s so many people were leaving DC that the city had to offer a tax incentive to bring people back. Young professionals returned kicking off a wave of gentrification that has lead to a limited supply of desirable housing. As long as there is a strong supply of buyers the tax base will not be affected so I don’t see much changing in terms of crime. The city won’t properly address crime until it hurts financially.

We moved from the city during the pandemic and have not looked back. We loved our community but the safety of our children was not something we were willing to compromise on. Good luck with your decision!

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This is OP. The person trying to argue that the city isn't seeing increased crime is ridiculous. We live here. We see it. There have been multiple armed car-jackings, a brazen mid-day burglary and several shootings within a few blocks from my house, all in the last two years. We never had serious crime in this neighborhood 5 years ago. Just this week, Mayor Bowser announced a bunch of measures to address rising crime. This isn't some imaginary problem.

I don't care if other cities or red states are seeing an increase in crime. So what? This thread is about trying to figure out if the District of Columbia is going to get its act together so folks can stop feeling unsafe.

Try to follow the thread.

- OP posted about crime
- Right wing trolls used it as a chance to argue about “leftists” causing the crime
- I posted data that refutes that narrative
- Republicans keep trolling without making any factual counterpoint

Here's the thing. "Leftists" (however you want to define that) are unquestionably in charge of DC. Therefore "leftists" need to address the rising crime problem. Which they are not doing.

I don't really think the solutions being offered are going to be particularly helpful at this point. DC already has an abundance of after school programming, city services, violence interrupters, etc. etc. etc.

The "trolls" that have pointed out that there's a general culture of lawlessness right now in the city are not incorrect. The question is, what is the city going to do about it?

Unfortunately, I don't think more wrap-around-services are going to stop people from ransacking CVS, or carjacking people. I think the answer (and I hate that I'm saying this because I don't like the police), is more cops and increased policing.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This is OP. The person trying to argue that the city isn't seeing increased crime is ridiculous. We live here. We see it. There have been multiple armed car-jackings, a brazen mid-day burglary and several shootings within a few blocks from my house, all in the last two years. We never had serious crime in this neighborhood 5 years ago. Just this week, Mayor Bowser announced a bunch of measures to address rising crime. This isn't some imaginary problem.

I don't care if other cities or red states are seeing an increase in crime. So what? This thread is about trying to figure out if the District of Columbia is going to get its act together so folks can stop feeling unsafe.

Try to follow the thread.

- OP posted about crime
- Right wing trolls used it as a chance to argue about “leftists” causing the crime
- I posted data that refutes that narrative
- Republicans keep trolling without making any factual counterpoint

So you're clogging up the thread by fighting with trolls? Thanks so much for your help!

Anonymous wrote:This is OP. The person trying to argue that the city isn't seeing increased crime is ridiculous. We live here. We see it. There have been multiple armed car-jackings, a brazen mid-day burglary and several shootings within a few blocks from my house, all in the last two years. We never had serious crime in this neighborhood 5 years ago. Just this week, Mayor Bowser announced a bunch of measures to address rising crime. This isn't some imaginary problem.

I don't care if other cities or red states are seeing an increase in crime. So what? This thread is about trying to figure out if the District of Columbia is going to get its act together so folks can stop feeling unsafe.

You should care, because these crime spikes and gun crimes are a national problem and need to be addressed at a strategic level. Perfect example with the gun crimes. What good is a gun ban in one area (DC) when criminals can get a gun just over the river in VA? Weapons trafficking is a huge problem in this nation.

Anonymous wrote:This is OP. The person trying to argue that the city isn't seeing increased crime is ridiculous. We live here. We see it. There have been multiple armed car-jackings, a brazen mid-day burglary and several shootings within a few blocks from my house, all in the last two years. We never had serious crime in this neighborhood 5 years ago. Just this week, Mayor Bowser announced a bunch of measures to address rising crime. This isn't some imaginary problem.

I don't care if other cities or red states are seeing an increase in crime. So what? This thread is about trying to figure out if the District of Columbia is going to get its act together so folks can stop feeling unsafe.

Try to follow the thread.

- OP posted about crime
- Right wing trolls used it as a chance to argue about “leftists” causing the crime
- I posted data that refutes that narrative
- Republicans keep trolling without making any factual counterpoint