Key facts
- Thousands of National Guard troops were deployed to Washington D.C. by President Donald Trump.
- Reuters found that these soldiers were mentioned in only about 1.3% of criminal cases in the District of Columbia's Superior Court.
- The deployment costs approximately $1.65 million per day and is planned to continue until the end of Trump's presidency.
- Soldiers primarily engage in 'presence patrols' and have limited law-enforcement powers, often responding to minor incidents.
- In some cases, soldiers have been victims of crime or witnesses to incidents.
- The White House claims the deployment has reduced crime and improved quality of life.
President Donald Trump deployed thousands of National Guard troops to Washington D.C. starting last August as a key initiative to combat crime, particularly in cities led by Democrats. However, a Reuters review of court records and interviews with various individuals suggests the soldiers' impact on fighting crime is minimal.
Reuters found that the National Guard soldiers have been mentioned in only about 1.3% of criminal cases filed in the District of Columbia's Superior Court. The roughly 4,500 soldiers deployed outnumber the city's 3,200 police officers and cost approximately $1.65 million per day, with plans to continue the deployment until the end of Trump's presidency at an estimated cost of $1.4 billion.
Analysis of court records indicates that the soldiers mostly respond to minor incidents in safer neighborhoods and have been involved in few significant law enforcement actions. In many cases, soldiers appear as victims of crime or witnesses. While they have sometimes broken up fights or assaults, many detentions have been for minor offenses like shoplifting or fare evasion. The Defense Department has described their role as "presence patrols" intended to deter crime rather than actively respond to it, and they have limited law-enforcement powers, requiring police for formal arrests.
Some residents and clergy expressed skepticism about the effectiveness and necessity of the deployment, with one reverend stating it felt like a way of "keeping fear in all of us." The aunt of a stabbing victim near a patrol area questioned whether the soldiers could have done more to save her nephew. Conversely, a White House spokeswoman asserted that Trump's efforts have "driven down crime, beautified the city, and improved quality of life."