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| Republican doesn’t wear seatbelt in DC ‘because of carjacking’ despite data showing decline | Republican doesn’t wear seatbelt in DC ‘because of carjacking’ despite data showing decline |
| (about 8 hours later) | |
| Senator echoes Trump’s claims about crime in Washington DC, disputing statistics showing a drop in car thefts and other violations | Senator echoes Trump’s claims about crime in Washington DC, disputing statistics showing a drop in car thefts and other violations |
| A Republican senator said that he doesn’t wear a seatbelt when he’s driving in Washington DC so he can act more swiftly if he gets carjacked, adding further fuel to repeated rhetoric by the Trump administration that crime is on the rise in the US – despite statistics indicating otherwise. | A Republican senator said that he doesn’t wear a seatbelt when he’s driving in Washington DC so he can act more swiftly if he gets carjacked, adding further fuel to repeated rhetoric by the Trump administration that crime is on the rise in the US – despite statistics indicating otherwise. |
| Markwayne Mullin told Fox News on Wednesday that he avoids buckling up, violating local traffic ordinances, so he can “exit in a hurry”. | Markwayne Mullin told Fox News on Wednesday that he avoids buckling up, violating local traffic ordinances, so he can “exit in a hurry”. |
| “I’m not joking when I say this. I drive around in Washington DC in my Jeep and, yes, I do drive myself. And I don’t buckle up. And the reason why I don’t buckle up, and people can say whatever they want to, they can raise their eyebrows at me, again, is because of carjacking,” he said. | “I’m not joking when I say this. I drive around in Washington DC in my Jeep and, yes, I do drive myself. And I don’t buckle up. And the reason why I don’t buckle up, and people can say whatever they want to, they can raise their eyebrows at me, again, is because of carjacking,” he said. |
| While praising Donald Trump’s controversial deployment of national guard troops to the US capital and a federal takeover of the Metropolitan police department, Mullin said he wouldn’t wear a seatbelt in other cities controlled by Democrats. But he said he did wear a seatbelt in other jurisdictions. | While praising Donald Trump’s controversial deployment of national guard troops to the US capital and a federal takeover of the Metropolitan police department, Mullin said he wouldn’t wear a seatbelt in other cities controlled by Democrats. But he said he did wear a seatbelt in other jurisdictions. |
| “If you look at car theft only, if Washington DC was a state, Washington DC would be three times higher than any other state,” Mullin said. “And we’re talking about a city. And we’re comparing it to full states.” | “If you look at car theft only, if Washington DC was a state, Washington DC would be three times higher than any other state,” Mullin said. “And we’re talking about a city. And we’re comparing it to full states.” |
| Mullin’s comments come as a war of words over Washington DC’s crime rate continues between supporters and opponents of Trump’s order, which he casts as an effort to combat record-breaking levels of violent crime. | Mullin’s comments come as a war of words over Washington DC’s crime rate continues between supporters and opponents of Trump’s order, which he casts as an effort to combat record-breaking levels of violent crime. |
| “Murders in 2023 reached the highest rate probably ever,” Trump said on Monday. “They say 25 years, but they don’t know what that means because it just goes back 25 years.” | “Murders in 2023 reached the highest rate probably ever,” Trump said on Monday. “They say 25 years, but they don’t know what that means because it just goes back 25 years.” |
| Trump also said: “The murder rate in Washington today is higher than that of Bogotá, Colombia; Mexico City; or some of the places that you hear about as being the worst places on Earth. It’s much higher.” | Trump also said: “The murder rate in Washington today is higher than that of Bogotá, Colombia; Mexico City; or some of the places that you hear about as being the worst places on Earth. It’s much higher.” |
| Those stats align with a White House-provided graph unpacking 2024 homicides, revealing a homicide rate of 27.5 per 100,000 inhabitants in Washington – which puts the capital above cities like Bogotá, Colombia (15); Panama City, Panama (15); San José, Costa Rica (13); Mexico City, Mexico (10); Lima, Peru (7.7); and Brasília, Brazil (6.8). | Those stats align with a White House-provided graph unpacking 2024 homicides, revealing a homicide rate of 27.5 per 100,000 inhabitants in Washington – which puts the capital above cities like Bogotá, Colombia (15); Panama City, Panama (15); San José, Costa Rica (13); Mexico City, Mexico (10); Lima, Peru (7.7); and Brasília, Brazil (6.8). |
| But official statistics tell a different story. Homicides dropped to 187 in 2024 from 274 a year earlier – the highest number since 1997. This year, there have been 100 homicides to 12 August, according to the New York Times, a slight decline from 112 at the same date last year. | But official statistics tell a different story. Homicides dropped to 187 in 2024 from 274 a year earlier – the highest number since 1997. This year, there have been 100 homicides to 12 August, according to the New York Times, a slight decline from 112 at the same date last year. |
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| Compared with other capitals around the world, as also noted by the New York Times, Washington’s homicide rate is much lower, including in places such as Port-au-Prince, Haiti, with a rate of 67.2 per 100,000 people; Cape Town, South Africa, with 66.8; and Kingston, Jamaica, with 64.2. All have higher homicide rates, according to data compiled by the Igarapé Institute, a Brazilian thinktank, in 2023. | Compared with other capitals around the world, as also noted by the New York Times, Washington’s homicide rate is much lower, including in places such as Port-au-Prince, Haiti, with a rate of 67.2 per 100,000 people; Cape Town, South Africa, with 66.8; and Kingston, Jamaica, with 64.2. All have higher homicide rates, according to data compiled by the Igarapé Institute, a Brazilian thinktank, in 2023. |
| Trump has claimed that “the number of car thefts has doubled over the past five years, and the number of carjackings has more than tripled”. The city’s dashboard shows carjackings rose for three years, from 2020, before declining in 2024. | Trump has claimed that “the number of car thefts has doubled over the past five years, and the number of carjackings has more than tripled”. The city’s dashboard shows carjackings rose for three years, from 2020, before declining in 2024. |
| This year, through 9 August, there were 188 carjackings, compared with 299 during the same time period in 2024, and compared with 607 in 2023, a police spokesperson told PolitiFact. Car theft also dropped 25% from 2023 to 2024. | This year, through 9 August, there were 188 carjackings, compared with 299 during the same time period in 2024, and compared with 607 in 2023, a police spokesperson told PolitiFact. Car theft also dropped 25% from 2023 to 2024. |
| An analysis by the Washington Metropolitan police department, as reported by CNN, has also shown that overall crime in Washington has also decreased in 2025 – in line with the decline seen in other major US cities, such as New York, Los Angeles and Chicago. | An analysis by the Washington Metropolitan police department, as reported by CNN, has also shown that overall crime in Washington has also decreased in 2025 – in line with the decline seen in other major US cities, such as New York, Los Angeles and Chicago. |