Crime has fallen since federal agents started policing the streets of Washington in large numbers. Court records show that they have been involved in about a third of arrests that resulted in prosecution, many of them for minor offenses.
Many of the arrests in Washington, D.C., involving federal agents have been for low-level offenses. A man was taken into custody in the Columbia Heights neighborhood Aug. 22 on a charge of smoking marijuana in public.
Gov. Patrick Morrisey of West Virginia said his state would send 300 to 400 troops to Washington, while Gov. Henry McMaster of South Carolina pledged 200 members. Gov. Mike DeWine said he would send another 150.
Concerns came to a head during the pandemic, when carjackings surged and many of those arrested were children. Carjackings and other crimes have declined considerably.
The chief will remain after a lawsuit challenged the Justice Department’s attempt to install a new leader as part of an effort to put the agency under federal control.
It was unclear how widespread or effective the raids were, after district officials and advocates had spent much of the day trying to clear the camps, urging people to go to shelters ahead of the raids.
Metropolitan Police Department personnel stood by as a shelter hotline van arrived near the Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Library in Washington on Thursday.
Federal law gives presidents the power to take over Washington’s police force after declaring an emergency, but Donald Trump is the first president to do so.
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