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By Steve Holland
WASHINGTON (Reuters) -U.S. President Donald Trump signed an executive order on Thursday aimed at satisfying his long-held demand for increased law enforcement in Washington, D.C. and expediting applications by "law-abiding citizens" to carry concealed weapons.
Trump's order establishes a task force that he directed to surge law enforcement officers into the city, strengthen pre-trial detention of crime suspects and crack down on people who evade subway fares.
According to the D.C. Police Department, violent crime in 2024 was 35% lower than in 2023. For overall crime, it went down 15% in 2024 compared to 2023. For 2025, violent crime was as of this month 27% lower than in 2024 and overall crime was 9% lower than in 2024.
The Washington Post reported in early March that the city had seen 30 homicides so far in 2025, an 11% increase year-over-year.
Trump's aim, a White House fact sheet said, "is to make Washington, D.C. what it should be - the pride of every American to whom it belongs."
Trump has long complained about homeless encampments and crime in the capital. His order established a task force made up of officials from various government agencies to take his demands on board, including deporting illegal migrants.
It was unclear how he would go about expediting concealed gun permits. According to the U.S. Concealed Carry Association, residents and non-residents, who are at least 21 years old and take a firearms training course, can obtain concealed carry licenses.
The capital city's mayor, Muriel Bowser, told NPR recently that she has cleared many homeless encampments but that Trump "doesn't think there should be any homeless person in the nation's capital."
She also complained about the Trump-ordered layoffs at various federal departments headquartered in Washington
"How to make Washington D.C. the most beautiful city in the world? You don't make a city beautiful by gutting its workforce. You don't make a city beautiful by leaving buildings vacant. The actions of the federal government are working against our ability to invest in our city," she said.
(Reporting by Steve Holland, Kanishka Singh and Ismail Shakil; Editing by Ross Colvin and Stephen Coates)
