Trump put thousands of soldiers on Washington’s streets. They seldom stop crime

In the spring of 2023, President Donald Trump deployed thousands of National Guard soldiers to Washington, D.C., as part of a campaign to combat crime, particularly in cities led by Democrats. The soldiers patrolled tourist-heavy areas, including national monuments, subway stations, and the ballpark. However, their presence did not significantly impact crime rates, according to Reuters' investigation.

Out of nearly 3,000 criminal cases filed in the Superior Court of the District of Columbia since the soldiers' arrival, only about 1.3% mentioned the involvement of the National Guard. In many cases, the soldiers were victims rather than participants in the arrests. The roughly 4,500 soldiers deployed cost about $1.65 million per day, despite the city's police budget being around $1.5 million daily.

Reuters' analysis of court records revealed that the soldiers overwhelmingly responded to minor incidents in wealthier, whiter neighborhoods with lower crime rates. They rarely intervened in the neighborhoods where about 82% of the city's 859 murders occurred over the past five years.

The White House and the city's police department did not provide detailed information about the soldiers' work or the impact of their deployment. Some residents expressed skepticism about the effectiveness of the soldiers, noting that they often stopped minor incidents like minor altercations, theft, and subway fare evasion.

While the troops have occasionally broken up fights or assisted in arrests, many of the crimes they handled were relatively minor. For instance, they apprehended a man who stole two beef jerky sticks and another who drank a bottle of root beer without paying. The Rev. William Young, who lives near the Navy Yard where the soldiers frequently patrol, expressed mixed feelings about their presence, stating that they do not make him feel safer, describing their deployment as a way to maintain fear rather than genuinely protect the streets.