By Associated Press’ Terry Tang
Several mayors exchanged notes after President Donald Trump said last week that Washington, D.C., is a crime-ridden wasteland that requires federal action and threatened similar federal interventions in other Black-led towns.
The president’s description of their communities runs counter to what they started observing last year, which was a decline in violent crime following a spike during the pandemic. Due in major part to increased student engagement, gun buyback programs, and community alliances, there were several instances when the drops were enormous.
African American Mayors Association members are now committed to preventing Trump from obscuring achievements that they already believe were underappreciated. They are also taking advantage of the administration’s extraordinary takeover of law enforcement in the nation’s capital to refute his claims about some of the best urban enclaves in the country.
It provides us with a chance to argue that we must raise our voices in order to counter the narrative that crime is simply rife in the largest cities in the United States. Van Johnson, the head of the African American Mayors Association and the mayor of Savannah, Georgia, stated that it is simply untrue. There is absolutely no statistics or evidence to back it.
The Republican president is targeting other cities, such as Baltimore, Chicago, Los Angeles, and Oakland, California, accusing them of being terribly governed and plagued by crime, after sending the first of 800 National Guard men to Washington. They all share the trait of being led by Black mayors.
According to Johnson, none of our members were unaware that the mayors were either Black or thought to be Democrats. And that’s a shame. We play with whoever is on the field for mayors.
Some mayors are more eager to support the tactics being employed to assist make their communities safer as a result of the federal government’s efforts.
Some places are seeing dramatic drops in crime rates
Trump contended that after a high-profile DOGE employee was assaulted during an attempted carjacking, federal law enforcement had to intervene. He also cited potholes, graffiti, and homeless camps as proof that Washington is becoming worse.
The president is contradicted by data released by the Metropolitan Police Department of Washington, which indicates that violent crime has decreased in the area since a post-pandemic peak in 2023.
Trump’s comments were dismissed by Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson, who praised the city’s unprecedented success in reducing shootings by nearly 40% and homicides by over 30% in the past year alone.
Karen Bass, the mayor of Los Angeles, where homicides decreased by 14% between 2023 and 2024, described the federal takeover as a mere power grab.
According to the city’s public safety data dashboard, Baltimore officials report that this year has experienced historically low rates of killings and nonfatal shootings, which have been declining since 2022. Other serious crimes decreased in 2024, and carjackings decreased by 20% in 2023. The only modest increase is in burglaries.
According to local officials, addressing violence through a public health strategy is responsible for the decreased crime rates. Under Mayor Brandon Scott’s leadership, Baltimore developed a Comprehensive Violence Prevention Plan in 2021 that included additional funding for community violence intervention, increased assistance for victims of crime, and other measures.
Scott said Trump doesn’t care about reducing violence; instead, he uses crime as a dog whistle and wedge issue.
“In favor of militarized policing of Black communities, he has deliberately undermined efforts that are saving lives in cities across the nation,” Scott wrote in an email.
The Justice Department has cut more than $1 million in funding this year that would have been used for neighborhood anti-violence initiatives, the Democratic mayor noted. Regardless, he promised to continue making progress.
“Despite the obstacles this administration tries to put in place, we will keep working closely with our regional federal law enforcement agencies, who have been excellent partners, and we will do everything in our power to continue the progress,” Scott added.
Community organizations help curb violence
According to the Major Cities Chiefs Association’s midyear report, Oakland officials only last week praised notable drops in crime during the first half of this year compared to the same period in 2024, including a 29% decline in total violent crime and a 21% drop in homicides. Officials gave credit to partnerships with crisis response services and community organizations via the city’s Department of Violence Prevention, which was founded in 2017.
At a press conference, Mayor Barbara Lee stated, “These results show that we’re on the right track.” We will continue to build on this progress using the same all-encompassing strategy that brought us this far.
She dismissed Trump’s appraisal of Oakland this week as being alarmist.
Proponents of social justice concur that crime has decreased and accuse Trump of sustaining inflated stereotypes that have long dogged Oakland.
According to Nicole Lee, executive director of Urban Peace Movement, an Oakland-based organization that works to empower youth and communities of color through programs like leadership development and aid for victims of gun violence, community organizations deserve a large portion of the credit for the reduction in crime rates.
In order to truly establish community safety, we would like to recognize the tremendous amount of effort that our network of community partners and community groups has been putting forward in the years after the pandemic ended, Lee stated. The actions we are doing are effective.
She fears that military involvement would sabotage that advancement.
According to Lee, it fosters a climate of dread in our community.
Patrols and youth curfews
Agents from several government agencies, members of the National Guard, and even the US Park Police have been spotted in Washington carrying out law enforcement tasks, such as policing the National Mall and interrogating those who are parked unlawfully.
The guard personnel will not be armed, according to Pentagon press secretary Kingsley Wilson, but he would not go into detail about their roles in safety patrols and beautification initiatives.
Johnson of Savannah stated that while he is all for working with the federal government, he did not envision military on municipal streets. Rather, cities require federal support for issues like cybercrime and gun trafficking, as well as for multistate investigations.
I used to be a police officer. According to Johnson, local law enforcement organizations employ a distinct set of skills than the military.
Additionally, there have been rumors that curfews for youth could be part of federal intervention.
However, Nicole Lee claimed that doing so would do more harm since it would disproportionately affect young people of color and make the incorrect assumption that young people are the primary perpetrators of violence.
According to Lee, if you’re a young kid, you may essentially be ticketed or even criminalized for just being outside after specific hours. That not only doesn’t address the issues of crime and violence, but it also places young people at the center of the criminal justice system.
According to Johnson, the mayors are currently keenly observing Muriel Bowser, their counterpart in Washington, to see how she handles the unprecedented government intervention. Since Trump’s takeover, she has been balancing criticism and cooperation, but on Friday, things became more intense when officials filed a lawsuit to try to stop the takeover.
Bowser continued with grace and dignity, which Johnson commended.
Mayors of color are tough. According to Johnson, we are inherently the offspring of hardship. We swiftly adapt, and I think we will and already are.
