Monthly Crime and Policing Brief
Downtown Crime and Policing Report, May 2026
128 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 Downtown.
Key Takeaways
- 128 incidents were reported in Downtown in May 2026.
- Theft (Other) was the most common offense (100 incidents, 78% of the month's total).
- Total incidents were up 21% versus April 2026 and down 25% versus May 2025.
- The biggest month-over-month change was Theft (Other), which rose from 84 to 100.
- This May was 18% below the 5-year historical average for the month (~156 incidents).
Monthly Crime Volume, Downtown
May Incidents by Year, Downtown
Offense Breakdown, Downtown
How Policing Lands Here
- MPD District 2 covers about 52% of Downtown's reported incidents. 29,525 stops of persons were recorded there since 2023; Black people were stopped at 6.7x their share of the district's population; the district drew 0.7x the stops that its share of reported crime accounts for. Full District 2 analysis →
- MPD District 1 covers about 40% of Downtown's reported incidents. 31,770 stops of persons were recorded there since 2023; Black people were stopped at 3.1x their share of the district's population; the district drew 1.0x the stops that its share of reported crime accounts for. Full District 1 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.
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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.