Washington, D.C., is continuing to see a steady increase in crime, and the most recent data released on Thanksgiving shows that there have been over 900 carjackings in the district this year.
As of Friday, there have been 911 carjacking offenses in 2023, and 77% of the carjackings involved guns. Only 244 carjacking cases have been closed, and 159 carjacking arrests have been made. Of the arrests, 65% involved juveniles. For comparison, the number of carjacking incidents reached 485 in 2022.
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“The crime of ‘carjacking’ — which is stealing a car by force — captures headlines across the country,” the Metropolitan Police Department states on its website. “Statistically speaking, however, your chances of being a victim of carjacking are very slim, and taking preventive measures can reduce that risk even more.”
There have been several high-profile instances of carjackings or attempted carjackings within the last two months, with 6,372 cars stolen this year.
In October, Rep. Henry Cuellar (D-TX) was carjacked in Washington’s Navy Yard neighborhood. He was not injured, and his car was later recovered. He said the suspects appeared to be young men.
Secret Service agents who were on duty protecting President Joe Biden’s granddaughter Naomi Biden reacted to a carjacking attempt on Nov. 13 by opening fire on three suspects who attempted to break into their unmarked vehicle in Georgetown.
On Nov. 21, four armed suspects stole a car and high-priced jewelry in a carjacking. The suspects bumped their Lexus into a BMW, and when the victims pulled over to assess the damage, the suspects exited their vehicle with handguns and ordered the three victims to get out of the car. Among the things stolen from the car were two rings, one worth $2,000 and one worth $5,000.
Eight days later, an FBI agent reported to local police that armed suspects had stolen his vehicle. The car was recovered roughly a mile away about a half hour later.
The rise in juvenile criminals in Washington is partnered with a lack of strong policies to detain or prosecute them. Lindsey Appiah, deputy mayor for public safety, drew attention to Washington Attorney General Brian Schwalb’s opposition to increased pretrial detentions for juvenile offenders during a public hearing in February. Schwalb has been criticized for the lack of prosecution of repeat offenders, particularly juveniles.
“[We’ve seen] increases in categories like carjacking and otherwise. … We have not seen a corresponding increase in commitment,” Appiah said at the time.
In the district, all crime is up 27%. Among the increases in crimes for 2023 are violent crime by 40% and property crime by 25%. Within property crime, motor vehicle theft is up 92%.
Several national lawmakers have called on Washington leaders to crack down on crime. Cuellar called the over 900 carjackings an “incredible number” on Friday.
“Bottom line is what you’ve got to have is you got to have the resources. You got to support the police. You got to have the right laws to have repercussions,” Cuellar said. “That is, if somebody breaks the law, then you make sure you enforce that law. Otherwise, it’s going to continue going. I mean, how can you have, at the nation’s capital, over 900 carjackings in 11 months? That’s just something that has to change.”
Rep. Mike Collins (R-GA), who has been vocal about the rise in crime in the district, introduced a resolution condemning Mayor Muriel Bowser, D.C. Council Chairman Phil Mendelson, Councilman Charles Allen, and other Washington government leaders for their “failure” to stop the “crime epidemic plaguing their city.”
“Washington, D.C., continually elects politicians that put wokes before the folks, and those chickens have come to roost,” Collins said in a statement to the Washington Examiner in response to the recent carjackings and crimes in Washington.
Washington’s attempts to fight crime have been met with many roadblocks, which some lawmakers like Del. Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-DC) and members of the D.C. Council have blamed on the district’s lack of statehood. In February and March, the House and Senate voted to overturn an overhaul of the criminal code, marking the first time in 30 years that Congress has repealed a local law passed by the D.C. Council.
Starting on Nov. 7, Washington police began handing out free AirTags for residents living in carjacking hot spots as part of an initiative from the Metropolitan Police Department and Bowser to crack down on carjacking. The government allocated the tags to those living in Police Service Areas 106, 501, 502, 603, 605, and 606.
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“These tracking devices allow our officers and detectives to be better positioned to quickly locate stolen vehicles, recover property, and gather vital evidence for investigations,” acting Police Chief Pamela Smith said.
On Nov. 6, 840 carjackings had been reported, and that number grew to over 900 just three weeks later.
