Monthly Crime and Policing Brief

Columbia Heights Crime and Policing Report, September 2026

192 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

192 incidents were reported in Columbia Heights in September 2026.
Theft (Other) was the most common offense (109 incidents, 57% of the month's total).
Total incidents were up 2% versus August 2026 and up 75% versus September 2025.
The biggest month-over-month change was Motor Vehicle Theft, which rose from 10 to 18.
This September was 13% above the 5-year historical average for the month (~170 incidents).

Monthly Crime Volume, Columbia Heights

Reported incidents per month, trailing 13 months through September 2026. Source: MPD reported incidents (nine Part I offenses) via DC Open Data; N = 1,775 incidents over 13 months. Y axis: incidents per month.

September Incidents by Year, Columbia Heights

September incidents across recent years: the seasonal view. Source: MPD reported incidents (nine Part I offenses) via DC Open Data; N = 1,042 incidents across 6 years of September. Y axis: incidents in the month.

Offense Breakdown, Columbia Heights

Offense breakdown for September 2026. Source: MPD reported incidents (nine Part I offenses) via DC Open Data; N = 192 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.

← August 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.