Policing for the Cameras
by u/MsAgentM
The Synopsis
On August 5th, Edward Coristine, an ex-DOGE employee nicknamed “Big Balls” was assaulted during an attempted carjacking in Washington DC. Shortly after the incident, Trump posted on Truth Social, “If DC doesn’t get its act together, and quickly, we will have no choice but to take federal control of the city, run this city how it should be run, and put criminals on notice that they’re not going to get away with it anymore.”
On August 7th, The White House announced plans to increase the presence of federal law enforcement in Washington DC in areas of high tourist activity, stating the president may consider using the National Guard.
Trump officially declared Washington DC in a state of emergency on August 11th, citing crime being out of control, specifically having “a higher violent crime, murder, and robbery rate than all 50 States, recording a homicide rate in 2024 of 27.54 per 100,000 residents” and “Nation’s highest vehicle theft rate with 842.4 thefts per 100,000 residents — over three times the national average of 250.2 thefts per 100,000 residents.”
The legal framing used to support this move is called Title 32. “Activation under Title 32 U.S.C. means that your state's governor has been authorized or directed by the president to mobilize or activate the National Guard in your state. You perform on active duty under state control, but with pay and benefits provided by the federal government.” Title 32 is used for domestic missions.
During the press conference, Trump described DC as, “overtaken by violent gangs and bloodthirsty criminals, roving mobs of wild youth, drugged out maniacs and homeless people, and we're not going to let it happen anymore.” His administration also advocated for removing the homeless encampments and stronger penalties for juveniles.
Critics responded with data that showed crime rates at a near 30 year low and that while DC does have some of the higher violent crime rates in the nation, there are cities, particularly in red states, that have higher rates. Mayor Bowser stated that the president’s actions are more about “politics than crime reduction and that troops have been deployed to some of the city’s safest areas frequented by tourists”.
Local law enforcement has been more open to the deployment, with the local police union supportive of the deployment. DC Police Chief Pamela Smith stated that the MPD has a long history of working with federal officers and welcomed the help since their department currently has 800 vacancies.
On August 20th, Secretary Hegseth authorized National Guard Troops to carry weapons during their patrols, but stressed they will still not be making arrests and still be only providing a supporting role to local law enforcement.
Academics report that there will likely be an immediate decline in crime rates but the long term impact will be negative. Increased patrols have immediate impacts but these are temporary and are not backed up with long term solutions, such as fixing up DC’s public spaces, training police officers in community oriented policing, and boosting community violence prevention groups, such as youth mentoring or substance abuse treatment. Senior law enforcement officials have stated that the surge will damage community relationships that will need to be mended in the future.
A Reuters/Ipsos poll showed just 38% of Americans supported Trump’s use of troops in DC. Among Republicans, support was 76%, 8% among Democrats, and 28% among those that don’t identify with either party.
The Trump administration has largely viewed the DC project as a success, calling DC “crime free” and considering this a template to expand to other cities. Trump has often discussed expanding to Chicago and New York, also citing high crime rates. Unlike DC, he must meet a higher threshold to be able to send the National Guard if the state governor does not request aid. A federal appeals court recently found the president acted illegally when he sent the National Guard to California, over Governor Newsom’s objections, to be illegal. He recently seems to have abandoned his goals of going to Chicago and has steered toward New Orleans, whose governor has welcomed the news of a potential deployment.
On September 4th, Washington DC, filed a lawsuit against the Trump administration, citing violation of the Home Rule Act, saying that the Trump Administration overreached when they sent the National Guard to police the city over crime rates. The Trump Administration stated that this is just an attempt to undermine the President’s successful operation to stop violent crime, accusing the MPD of manipulating crime data statistics.
The Media’s Take
Depending on the media bubble a person lives in, a person will get a very different story about the reason and perception of the troop deployment in DC.
Left wing media | Right wing media |
Framing Bias | |
Left wing outlets often juxtapose Trump’s near apocalyptic description of DC with more peaceful scenery and reports of crime stats at a near 30 year low. | Right wing outlets maintain the administration's message that this is a crime reduction exercise and supported by local law enforcement. There are often reports from the Dept of Justice about the number of arrests and number of guns taken off the streets and the White House’s consistent message that the deployment has been a success. |
Omission Bias | |
Left wing outlets are unlikely to report support for Trump’s deployment by local law enforcement, due to the 800 vacancies in the Metro Police Department. | Right wing outlets will report the White House’s number of arrests or guns removed from the street, but rarely with any context, such as the numbers prior to the deployment so a baseline can be discerned. No right outlet seems to have reported on the Reuters/Ipsos poll showing only 38% of Americans support Trump’s DC deployment. |
Loaded Language | |
Some of the farther left wing media outlets are more likely to refer to Trump as the “fascist president” that is “essentially threatening marital law.” More moderate sites may still refer to Trump’s deployment as a “spree” and dismiss his intent of a “so-called” crime crackdown. | Loaded language from the right comes directly from Trump as calls DC a crime-infested wasteland. When he was informed that crime was at a 30 year high, he accused the Metro Police Department of manipulating the data. |
Authority Bias | |
Left wing outlets rely on academics that cited research supporting city beautifying measures, community policing, and community violence prevention groups for long term crime reduction methods. Activists are often reported on as being concerned about the impact that increased enforcement will have on marginalized groups. Mayor Bowser is often quoted as well speaking out against the deployment. | Right wing outlets are more likely to report on the perspectives of local law enforcement, that are much more supportive of the deployment. They are also likely to report directly from the administration, facts and figures, uncritically. There was an article about concerns from senior law enforcement officers acknowledging the community relationships are being damaged and questioning if the deployment results will have been worth the cost. |
The Democratic/leftwing side argues that overall crime is near historic lows, surges don’t build durable safety, and bringing in troops blurs the civilian–military line and risks civil liberties. The better path is sustained investment: fully staff and train MPD in procedural justice and community-oriented policing, improve public spaces, and fund violence-prevention and youth services. Short-term crackdowns look busy but don’t fix root causes.
The Republican/rightwing side argues that DC’s homicide and auto-theft rates are real problems now, the federal government has a duty to secure the nation’s capital, and MPD’s vacancies justify temporary federal support. Joint task forces have worked before; a time-limited surge—Guard in a supporting role, not making arrests—can deter offenders, seize illegal guns, reassure residents and tourists, and buy time while local hiring and training catch up.
My very biased take…
The DC chief is right, local and federal officers have a long history of working together and this can be productive. One example was Project Ceasefire, local law enforcement could use the threat of federal charges to deter gun violence while also offering social services to help deter crime. The program was credited with a huge drop in homicides in Boston in the early 90’s.
There are many examples of federal law enforcement providing tech and manpower to boost local law enforcement efforts, but these successful missions are done with scalpels, delicately working within the community’s trust. When federal officers come in throwing their weight around, they’re not allies, they’re invaders..
You cannot police a community that doesn’t trust you. And this is turning the public against the police.
Trump’s efforts to address crime reminds me of how he used tax cuts to handle the economy in 2017. The economy was already good, but instead of preparing for the future, he cut taxes and turbo shot the economy. When COVID came, the bill came due and inflation landed in Biden’s lap.
Crime is already low, so adding a bunch more officers and soldiers will lower crime in the short term, but not in a sustainable way. It may make things look good for him now, but when the next president inherits the public distrust, you best believe the Republicans will be quick to blame him, if it’s a Democrat.
The cause will be too far away from the effect for a lot of people to pick up on.
Also, the National Guard and other branches aren’t here to deal with normie domestic problems. We call them in as reinforcements to stabilize a crisis. Crime isn’t that thing. They don’t fill staffing shortages, train rookies, or deliver resources to underserved areas. That’s not what they are trained to do. Sending in a soldier to do a cop’s job is going to get a soldier’s response, and I don’t want to be on the other end of that fight when it happens. For all their faults cops are trained to work under the rule of law. Soldiers are trained for war.
In the short run, this is a photo op. In the long run, it poisons the very trust that makes policing possible. And once that trust is gone, no number of soldiers on the streets will bring it back.