Niskanen Study Finds 2,800 Guard Troops Cut D.C. Property Crime 24% but Miss Violent Crime
Updated
Updated · The Virginian-Pilot · Jun 24
Niskanen Study Finds 2,800 Guard Troops Cut D.C. Property Crime 24% but Miss Violent Crime
2 articles · Updated · The Virginian-Pilot · Jun 24
Summary
$1.5 million a day in National Guard spending cut vehicle break-ins and other property crime by 24% in Washington, but showed no overall effect on violent crime, a Niskanen Center study found.
The review covered 2,800 troops deployed from D.C. and roughly a dozen Republican-led states last summer, with Guard members largely stationed in low-crime tourist areas and unable to make arrests beyond detaining suspects.
$607 per Guard member per day compares with $384 for a D.C. police officer, and the study said the five-month deployment cost could have funded more than 3,100 MPD officers or annual salaries for over 1,300.
Trump officials are preparing a summer deployment surge ahead of the U.S. 250th anniversary, even as 26 states have backed a court ruling blocking the troop use and Trump says he has no plans to withdraw them.