DC National Guard surge didn't reduce violent crime: Research |
DC National Guard surge didn’t reduce violent crime: Research
The nearly 10-month presence of National Guard troops in Washington, D.C. has not helped reduce violent crime in the nation’s capital, according to a new study from the Niskanen Center, a Washington policy shop.
While the Guard’s presence in Washington did help drive down some crime — including a 24 percent decline in opportunistic property crime — the report found it is not the correct tool for violent offenses and comes at a far higher cost than traditional police law enforcement.
“The National Guard deployment was not a waste. It produced a significant reduction in property crime, and it did so quickly, which matters when residents and businesses are demanding visible action,” according to the findings.
“But it was an expensive tool deployed in the wrong places for the wrong types of crime, at a daily cost per person 60 percent higher than an [Metropolitan Police Department] officer, with a hidden productivity cost to the civilian economy,” it adds.
National Guard troops have been deployed in Washington since late last summer, when the federal government........