An independent agency of the Washington, D.C., government on Monday determined that the city had made little progress in curbing the district’s crime spree. 2023 was the deadliest year on record in the city, with violent crime more generally reaching a 25-year high. The Jan. 29 report is an annual summary of gun violence in particular. While the national homicide rate has hovered at around five deaths annually per 100,000 residents, D.C.’s was over six times the national average in 2022, reaching 33.6 deaths. 

Despite being an arm of the D.C. government, even the Criminal Justice Coordinating Council highlights the most tried and true, effective means for cutting down on crime: prosecution and imprisonment. Its report states that “the vast majority of individuals … involved in homicides and shootings” had previously been “not just arrested, but also prosecuted.”