The nation’s capital is simply an unsafe place to run a business or raise a family.
Thousands who live and work there know that it’s brimming with violent, criminal activity.
Now, a devastating new report has just detailed why Washington D.C. truly is a disaster.
Homicide rates have increased rapidly in the United States over the past few years.
That is especially true in America’s large, Democrat-run cities, but one city stands out among the rest.
An unsurprising but disappointing showing for the nation’s capital
Washington, D.C. had the highest homicide rate out of forty of the most populous cities in the country, according to information compiled by Wallethub.com.
This information comes after the same group found last year that the city was one of the “worst run” in the country.
Despite being #1 for the number of law enforcement officers per capita, the city ranks near the bottom of the list in terms of community safety.
The data also showed that overall, blue cities have higher homicide rate problems than red cities, with the designation of red or blue based on the mayor’s political affiliation.
Right on the heels of D.C.’s high homicide rates were Memphis, Tennessee, followed by Detroit, MI, Milwaukee, WI, and Atlanta, GA.
That Washington, D.C. is experiencing obscene homicide rates is hardly surprising, considering the way the local political winds have blown for the past several decades.
Radical leadership tried to worsen an already serious problem
The problem has gone from bad to worse recently.
Earlier this year, the City Council passed the Revised Criminal Code Act (RCCA), a law that was so radical even far-left mayor Muriel Bowser (D) was opposed to it.
This new law would have made things even worse in D.C. for law-abiding residents as it weakened mandatory-minimum sentencing and eliminated “three strikes” provisions, ensuring that repeat offenders would be back on the streets in record time.
Denise Krepp, an advisory neighborhood commissioner said in an interview with WUSA-TV at the time that she lamented the leniency that would be given to sex offenders because of the new law.
Krepp said, “I don’t think the D.C. Council should be helping rapists get out of prison early. It’s crazy.”
With signs of decline everywhere in the city already, D.C. Council actively trying to make things worse was a bridge too far.
D.C. City Council passed the RCCA over Bowser’s veto. However, Congress has veto authority over local laws passed in the District of Columbia.
In a rare bipartisan act Congress voted to block the local law this spring using the Congressional Review Act. While Joe Biden could have blocked Congress with his veto, ultimately D.C. City Council’s crime bill was so radical he was eventually forced to sign off on blocking it too.
D.C. City Council needs to reverse course hard on crime.
A few short years ago, Union Station was buzzing with commerce as shoppers made their way to and from high-end retail stores.
Now, the storefronts are vacant, and vagrants congregate around the shuttered shops.
Hopefully the political will develops to change the city’s fortunes, because failing that, Washington, D.C. will be sure to top this and similar lists for many years to come.
In contrast to Washington, D.C, the safest cities were found by Wallethub to be Chesapeake, VA, Lincoln, NE, Sacramento, CA, Tucson and Chandler, AZ.
Stay tuned to Blue State Blues for any updates to this ongoing story.
