Crime in Washington, D.C. is no longer just a local failure—it’s a national disgrace that demands federal muscle. Residents live with the constant threat of carjackings, robberies, and random assaults. Visitors to our nation’s capital, including families and school groups, face the same dangers. For years, local Democratic leadership has promised reform, yet the results are plain: more crime, less accountability, and fewer safe neighborhoods.
The federal government has both the authority and the responsibility to intervene when local government fails. Washington, D.C., has not shown the capability to fix itself. City leaders have spent years indulging in progressive experiments that prioritize ideology over results. The results are obvious: demoralized police, neglected communities, and empowered repeat offenders cycling through the justice system without consequence.
While D.C. leaders proudly tout the reduction of violent crime in recent years, it’s still double the national average – a predictable outcome of policies that reward criminals and undermine law enforcement. The result is a city that feels less like the capital of the United States and more like a cautionary tale of urban decline.
Washington, D.C., is not just another city. It is the face of America, home to the nation’s institutions, the seat of government, and a symbol to the world. Bringing in the Feds allows for tools and resources local agencies cannot match. The federal government is uniquely positioned to act where local officials lack either the will or the ability. To leave D.C. to its own devices is to abandon the very idea that America’s capital should stand as an example of stability and security.
The FBI itself must evolve to meet this moment. For too long, it has been centralized and bogged down in Washington bureaucracy. FBI agents are uniquely trained to handle complex, long-term investigations, but the Bureau has also shown it can adapt to the nation’s needs. In the 1940s, it pursued Nazi saboteurs. During the Cold War, it countered Soviet espionage. After 9/11, it dismantled terrorist networks. Each time, the Bureau adjusted to the threat. Today, the mission is clear: decentralize the FBI and put its resources where they are most needed domestically—into the communities suffering from violent crime and the drug trade that fuels it.
Federal agents should not be confined to Beltway offices while Americans endure a wave of lawlessness. The Bureau has proven it can adapt; now it must be allowed, and required, to adapt again.
The FBI on the streets of D.C. is not a new concept. The Bureau has traditionally partnered with the Metropolitan Police Department, the U.S. Marshals, and other agencies to keep order in the capital. At times, this has even included deploying the FBI’s elite Hostage Rescue Team to take down violent offenders in some of the most crime-ridden communities. What is different now is not the presence of federal agents, but the resolve of the current administration. For the first time in years, there is the courage to say “enough” and to use the full power of the federal government in ways local administrations lacked the political will—or the ideological clarity—to pursue. Too often, local leaders sympathized with criminals, turning offenders into victims and victims into afterthoughts. The public has been conditioned to accept mediocrity. The truth is different: the “forgotten people" who have suffered most from this lawlessness in D.C. welcome federal intervention. For many long-neglected neighborhoods in D.C., especially in communities hit hardest by crime, the presence of federal agents is seen as long overdue relief rather than an intrusion. They understand, better than anyone, the cost of failure.
Pushback will be fierce but predictable. We shouldn't be distracted by viral video clips showing federal agents doing the hard work of enforcing the law. The media will never side with this administration’s effort to keep Americans safe. Headlines will highlight isolated incidents while ignoring the bigger picture of restoring order. For too long, our system has coddled predators and non-citizens who exploit loopholes. Meanwhile, the previous administration looked away while 9 million illegals crossed our borders, flooding communities with additional burdens. Americans may have short-term memories, but the stakes are too high to forget what happens when law and order collapse. Federal enforcement is not about optics—it is about results.
The use of our federal law enforcement and national guard in D.C. is about restoring accountability. It sends a clear message: the United States will not tolerate lawlessness in its capital. When deployed effectively, Director Patel’s FBI will dismantle criminal networks, disrupt repeat offenders, and give residents back the confidence that has been eroded by years of local failure.
Federal intervention in Washington, D.C. is not political overreach—it is a national necessity. The capital city belongs to every American, not just those who live within its limits. If it is unsafe, it signals weakness not only across the country but across the world.
For decades, the FBI and other federal agencies have shown their ability to adapt to threats both foreign and domestic. Now the challenge is at home, in our own capital. America owes its people the most basic guarantee: that the streets of its capital are safe for those who live, work, and visit there. Anything less is unacceptable.
Richard F. Stout, Jr. is a retired FBI Special Agent and founder of Reform the Bureau, a national group of former and current agents advocating for integrity, oversight, and accountability in federal law enforcement.
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