Research Shows National Guard Presence Did Not Make D.C. More Safe

July 1, 2026

A research study from the Niskanen Center found that President Trump's deployment of thousands of National Guard troops to Washington, D.C. under his "Make D.C. Safe and Beautiful" initiative failed to improve public safety beyond existing trends. The troops, stationed primarily in tourist areas and public spaces rather than high-crime neighborhoods, reduced only opportunistic property crimes while having no impact on violent offenses that were already declining due to local policing efforts. The deployment costs nearly $1.

Who is affected

Washington, D.C. residents and local community members
Advisory Neighborhood Commissioners (specifically Matthew Holden of ANC1B07)
Individual residents including John-Paul Perotta and Joy Masha
Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) officers
National Guard troops deployed to D.C.
U.S. taxpayers funding the deployment
Senate Democrats on the Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee
New Jersey Senator Andy Kim

What action is being taken

Thousands of National Guard soldiers are deployed across Washington, D.C. in tourist corridors, transit hubs, federal buildings, monuments, parks, and public spaces
National Guard personnel are patrolling streets, armed and able to detain individuals (but without arrest authority)
The deployment is costing nearly $1.65 million per day
The Niskanen Center has conducted and published research analyzing the deployment's effectiveness

Why it matters

This matters because the National Guard deployment represents a massively expensive federal intervention that costs more annually ($602 million) than the entire D.C. police department budget ($599 million), yet research shows it has not reduced violent crime and only accelerated property crime reductions that were already occurring through local policing. The deployment reflects a fundamental misalignment between visible military presence in public spaces and the actual geography and dynamics of violent crime, which is rooted in interpersonal conflicts and neighborhood conditions. Additionally, the militarized presence negatively impacts residents' quality of life, making them feel anxious and "under occupation" rather than safer, while the National Guard is diverted from its core military responsibilities without clear evidence of public safety benefits.

What's next

No explicit next steps stated in the article

Read full article from source: The Washington Informer