Former U.S. Capitol Police Chief Steven Sund says that despite recent claims from city officials about declining crime rates, the bigger picture reveals D.C. crime is still significantly higher than in previous years. His comments came during an interview on Breitbart News Daily, just days after President Donald Trump announced that the D.C. Metropolitan Police Department would be placed under direct federal control and that the National Guard would be activated to help restore order in the nation’s capital.
Federal Resources and Task Force Deployment
Sund explained that multiple agencies are now coordinating to secure Washington, D.C., and praised Trump’s attention to detail in identifying problems within the city.
“For him to see some of the crime that’s happening and some of the assaults that are occurring… it doesn’t surprise me that they’re now going to pull these federal resources together and form a task force,” Sund said.
He compared the current approach to past efforts, noting that in the early 1990s, similar federal and local cooperation successfully reduced homicide rates.
Rising Homicide Numbers
Sund challenged the narrative from Mayor Muriel Bowser and other officials who cite year-over-year declines in crime. While homicides have dropped from 2023 to 2024, Sund emphasized that current rates remain double those from the early 2010s.
“When Chief Lanier was chief, think about 2010 to 2014 — we had a homicide rate that was maybe around 100 to 170 a year. Now in 2023, you’ve got 274 homicides,” he said, calling it a “significant increase” over past decades.
Crime Spreading Beyond Historic Hotspots
In earlier years, Sund noted, crime tended to remain concentrated in certain neighborhoods. That’s no longer the case.
“It has now migrated throughout the city,” he said, explaining that the new federal task force will target high-crime areas and focus on the most violent and repeat offenders.
Juvenile Crime and Lenient Punishments
Sund also warned about the long-term effects of what he sees as overly lenient treatment of juvenile offenders in D.C.
“They’ve always, historically, been very soft on punishment on juvenile crime. And the concern with that is, if you don’t begin to address behavior at a young age, it’s just going to get worse,” he said.
A National Outlier
According to Sund, D.C.’s homicide rate is now five to six times higher than that of any other major U.S. city, underscoring the urgency of decisive action. He expressed hope that the renewed federal involvement will help curb violence, restore public safety, and rebuild community confidence.
With the National Guard deployed and a new multi-agency task force forming, officials aim to replicate past successes in crime reduction — but the scale and spread of today’s violence present challenges that will test even the most experienced law enforcement leaders.
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