Crime and Policing Policy

U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia Jeanine Pirro says Washington, D.C., has gone three weeks without a homicide for the first time in decades, arguing the drop is driven by President Trump’s violent‑crime crackdown and an 'enhanced federal partnership' with local authorities. In a Fox News interview, Pirro cites roughly 9,500 arrests and the seizure of nearly 1,000 guns since the operation began, contending her office is now declining to prosecute only about 10% of cases, down from 60% under her predecessor, and that repeat violent offenders are being removed from the streets. She links the shift to more aggressive gun enforcement, expanded databases and National Guard deployment, noting that D.C. had the fourth‑highest homicide rate nationally in 2023 before violent crime 'fell' under the new approach. Pirro also emphasizes a now‑positive working relationship with initially skeptical D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser, framing cooperation between federal, city and National Guard forces as key to the turnaround. The claims align with a broader Trump‑era narrative that federal muscle is needed to rein in urban crime, though full crime‑trend data and independent analysis of causation are not presented in this segment and remain a focus of ongoing debate among criminologists and local advocates.