It’s complicated. The thing is just because all those big federal government buildings and monuments are there doesn’t mean they stop crime from happening. I think what a lot of non locals forget about DC is that it’s still a city of 500k+ people and has problems with crime just like any other big city in America.

That being said, I don’t think this sub paints an accurate picture. It’s kind of like watching a 24 hour news cycle for all information on the outside world. If 90% of the stuff you hear about is negative, it might seem like that negative stuff is all that’s going on. But I’ve been visiting DC my entire life and never once had to deal with anything worse than a few persistent beggars. I’m sure district residents on this sub would agree that most parts of the city feel safe, especially around the monuments and during daytime.

It's been getting worse, but being on this sub, much like following crime scanner twitter accounts or being on NextDoor is always going to amplify things. You're not seeing posts or hearing reports from the hundreds of thousands of people who go about their day in a completely uneventful, safe manner, so it's easy to warp that into a sense of dread for many.

Does it happen out there, and is it possible? Of course. But keep your wits about you and keep your head on a swivel and all that and you'll be fine.

Not that it makes them fine, but the vast majority of the shootings are targeted and stemming from beefs. Obviously innocent people can get caught, but its rare that people are randomly shot. But property crime like the jackets or carjacking can happen to anyone, just have to be smart.

Crime is absolutely getting worse right now and residents are rightfully concerned, but I remind anyone that when you’re being fed immediate updates about every crime in the city, it leaves a perception that crime is way worse than it is. A carjacking a day sounds like a lot (and is still unacceptable), but there are literally thousands of cars on the streets of DC at any given time. Same for robberies—thousands of people on these streets daily and we might hear about one or two a week. I pretty much never feel unsafe here, but I also adjust my behavior to lower my chances of becoming a victim, as anyone should even if your chances are already low.

It's a city of 700k, chances are a crime is happening somewhere at any given time. This sub is like Nextdoor, and a lot of people will post OMG CRIME HAPPENED SOMEWHERE. Don't trust it.

I have lived in DC for more than 12 years, in neighborhoods considered safe and unsafe, and walked everywhere. I lived on streets with shoes hanging from wires. I've never been mugged, shot, or attacked.

DC had a serious crime problem from the 80s to about 2000. Crack was endemic, Rayful Edmond was the biggest dealer on the East Coast. Lafayette Park was a big dealer hangout. DC meant Dodge City. It dropped after 2000 and been steadily dropping, it's ticked back up some post covid but statistically it isnt that bad.

To a lot of people things FEEL worse, not unjustly, but imo it's overblown. I saw someone call Eastern Market metro stop an open air drug market, so I'm just ¯_(ツ)_/¯.

All of DC is a 10 minute drive from the White House

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Because those buildings only stay in business if crime keeps happening.

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