Archived. This brief was last updated in September 2026 and no longer updates. Analyses of DC policing now live at Residents Count.

Monthly Crime and Policing Brief

Columbia Heights Crime and Policing Report, May 2026

145 reported incidents · Washington, DC · Source: DC MPD

Reported incidents measure what residents report to MPD, not how safe a place is. This brief pairs them with how enforcement lands in the police districts covering Columbia Heights.

Columbia Heights highlighted on a map of Washington, DC

Key Takeaways

145 incidents were reported in Columbia Heights in May 2026.
Theft (Other) was the most common offense (88 incidents, 61% of the month's total).
Total incidents were up 20% versus April 2026 and up 11% versus May 2025.
The biggest month-over-month change was Theft (Other), which rose from 63 to 88.
This May was 10% below the 5-year historical average for the month (~161 incidents).

Monthly Crime Volume, Columbia Heights

Reported incidents per month, trailing 13 months through May 2026. Source: MPD reported incidents (nine Part I offenses) via DC Open Data; N = 1,620 incidents over 13 months. Y axis: incidents per month.

May Incidents by Year, Columbia Heights

May incidents across recent years: the seasonal view. Source: MPD reported incidents (nine Part I offenses) via DC Open Data; N = 949 incidents across 6 years of May. Y axis: incidents in the month.

Offense Breakdown, Columbia Heights

Offense breakdown for May 2026. Source: MPD reported incidents (nine Part I offenses) via DC Open Data; N = 145 incidents; X axis: incidents in the month.

How Policing Lands Here

MPD District 3 covers about 73% of Columbia Heights's reported incidents. 35,174 stops of persons were recorded there since 2023; Black people were stopped at 3.3x their share of the district's population; the district drew 0.8x the stops that its share of reported crime accounts for. Full District 3 analysis →
MPD District 4 covers about 27% of Columbia Heights's reported incidents. 26,175 stops of persons were recorded there since 2023; Black people were stopped at 1.4x their share of the district's population; the district drew 0.9x the stops that its share of reported crime accounts for. Full District 4 analysis →

These figures come from the same MPD stop records and reported-crime data analyzed across this site. Reported crime is not occurred crime, and stop counts measure enforcement, not danger. Methodology: stops by district and enforcement vs reported crime.

← April 2026 · June 2026 →

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Incident counts reflect reported MPD crimes for the calendar month and are subject to revision. This report shows historical incident counts and trends only.