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DC saw ‘significant’ drop in crime in 2017

WASHINGTON — D.C. police are releasing the 2017 crime statistics, which show a drop in violent crime and a reduction in the type of crime the mayor said determines how safe the city feels.

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“In 2017, we experienced a reduction in every single crime category,” D.C. Police Chief Peter Newsham said Tuesday.

He touted his officers’ hard work and the community’s interest and willingness to take an active role in attributing the drop in crime.

“Our preliminary figures show a 22 percent reduction in reported violent crime and an 11 percent reduction in overall crime when compared to last year. These reductions are some of the lowest numbers of violent crime we’ve had in the city in a long time,” he said.

“These are very significant achievements, certainly, but none of us are satisfied with any level of violent crime in our city,” said D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser of the overall drop in crime citywide.

Since 2014, violent crime has decreased in D.C. by 28 percent, property crime has decreased by 11 percent, and total crime has decreased by 14 percent. Burglaries decreased 28 percent from 2016 which, along with robberies, Newsham and Bowser said contribute the most to how safe the city feels.

“Because those are the crimes that appear to be the most random. It could be anyone’s home that is broken into,” Newsham said.

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National Museum of the American Latino to be housed in historic Smithsonian building

The Smithsonian Institution has decided to put the National Museum of the American Latino into an existing, historic building, rather than constructing a new one. The Smithsonian Board of Regents on Monday designated the Arts and Industries Building, a 145-year-old redbrick Victorian structure located between the Smithsonian Castle and the Hirshhorn Museum, as the permanent site of the National Museum of the American Latino, which Congress authorized in 2020. In 2022, the Smithsonian narrowed its survey for permanent locations for the National Museum of the American Latino and the American Women's History Museum to four locations near the National Mall on land owned by the National Park Service. The Arts and Industries Building, located at 900 Jefferson St. SW, was one of the four sites. New construction on National Park Service land would require congressional approval. However, since the Smithsonian already owns the Arts and Industries Building, the institution can place the National Museum of the American Latino in the existing building without additional legislation.
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