WASHINGTON (AP) — In a swath of the nation’s capital that sits across the tracks, and the river, residents can see the Washington Monument…
In a swath of the nation’s capital that sits across the tracks, and the river, residents can see the Washington Monument, the Waldorf Astoria — formerly the Trump Hotel — and the U.S. Capitol dome.
What the people of Anacostia cannot see are the National Guard units patrolling those areas. And they don’t see them patrolling on this side of the Anacostia River, either.
In this storied region of Washington, home to Frederick Douglass, the crime that President Donald Trump has mobilized federal law enforcement to address is something residents would like to see more resources dedicated to. But it’s complicated.
“We do need protection here,” said Mable Carter, 82. “I have to come down on the bus. It’s horrifying.”
There might be military units patrolling Union Station and public spaces where tourists often come, she said, but “none of them over here. They are armed — on the Mall. Ain’t nobody doing nothing on the Mall. It’s for show.”
Carter wants to see more police in this area — the city’s own police, under the direction of Chief Pamela Smith. “I’d rather see them give her a chance. She has the structure in place.”
Over the course of two weekends east of the Anacostia River, in conversations with groups and individuals, including a senior’s gathering at Union Temple Baptist Church, a theme emerged.
Like Carter, people would like more law enforcement resources, but they distrust the motives behind the surge and how it has usurped the authority of the mayor and local officers. And while they acknowledge crime is more serious here than most other areas of the district, it is nowhere near the levels of three decades ago, when the D.C. National Guard worked with the Metropolitan Police to address the violence.
Homicides in the district this year so far are at 104, a 17% decrease from 2024 when the number was 126 at the same point. But, more than 60% of them are in the two wards that are almost exclusively east of the Anacostia River, including 38 in Ward 8, according to the Metropolitan Police Department crime mapping tool. That proportion is about the same as it was in 2024 when there were 187 homicides citywide for the year.
