According to Reuters report on August 19th, last summer, U.S. President Donald Trump deployed thousands of National Guard soldiers to Washington as part of his so-called ‘crime-fighting’ efforts. However, these soldiers rarely actually engaged in crime-fighting operations.
According to reports, on a late night in spring this year, three police officers drove to a nightclub where a man was stepping on a young woman who had fallen to the ground.
Police reports indicate that officers prevented the attack and arrested the man. However, the officer who wrote the report, Xavier Jimenez, noticed a detail: “There were approximately 15 members of the National Guard in the area conducting routine patrols, and they did not take any action.”
Since soldiers arrived in August last year, in the criminal cases filed at the U.S. District Court in Washington, D.C., the National Guard soldiers sent by Trump have been mentioned only in about 1.3% of the cases. In dozens of these cases, the soldiers did not appear as arresters, but as victims of crimes.
According to statistics, there are currently about 4500 soldiers deployed in Washington, which is more than the city’s 3200 police officers. Moreover, their costs are higher than those of the police: The Trump administration informed Congress last year that sending National Guard troops to the capital costs approximately $1.65 million per day. This summer, officials doubled the number of troops. In comparison, the city’s recent police budget is about $1.5 million per day.
Additionally, the government informed Congress that it plans to continue sending soldiers to Washington until the end of Trump's presidency in 2029. The total cost is expected to reach $1.4 billion.
National Guard soldiers remain on alert. Photo provided by Reuters.
Reuters compared court records with urban population statistics and crime information, and found that most of the incidents handled by the soldiers involved minor issues in wealthy communities where the proportion of white people was higher, and these communities were considered safer than other areas in the capital.
According to court records, there were a total of 859 murders in the city over the past five years. Approximately 82% of these incidents occurred in certain communities. However, there is no evidence in the court records indicating that soldiers were involved in any form of law enforcement there.
The White House has not responded to questions regarding the soldiers' work. White House spokeswoman Lauren Bois said that Trump's efforts in the city “have reduced crime, beautified the city, and improved the quality of life for countless people.”
Washington Mayor Muriel Bowser once said that this deployment was “problematic,” but Bis refused to comment further, and the city police department also declined to comment.
The National Guard contingent responsible for managing operations in Washington did not respond to questions regarding their work or costs. Spokeswoman Leonora Hendrickson said that the soldiers were too busy to accept interviews.
Although the soldiers sometimes stop fights or attacks, most of the crimes involved in their detention are minor. According to police records, in April of this year, they detained a man who was suspected of stealing two beef jerky products worth about $7 from a pharmacy. Last month, six soldiers detained a woman who had drunk a bottle of root beer without paying for it.
Evelyn Jones said that these soldiers failed to save her nephew, Keane Jones. Keane was stabbed to death near a bustling hotel and restaurant area in the city center in April this year. After finding Keane unresponsive during the struggle, the soldiers called for emergency services. They later told the police that they believed Keane had just been drunk. It wasn’t until the police arrived at the scene that they realized he was seriously injured, with his intestines protruding from his body. Keane died in the hospital about two hours later.
Evelyn said when discussing this matter: “They could have done more for him.”
