🌊 Is the National Guard Making DC Safer?

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“Two months ago, they stopped me and my 11-year-old nephew… told me to lift my shirt up… I felt the energy they would’ve locked me up.”

Down by Anacostia’s historic and rapidly gentrifying downtown, a 25-year-old Harris Teeter grocery store worker recalled his recent encounter with the National Guard. It was at the Anacostia metro station, where his nephew had ducked under the turnstile. “I thought that under 12 they didn’t have to pay,” he said. The troops stopped them and searched him (pictured below). 

Like many in the area, this young man was no stranger to difficult situations: “[I went] through programs, rehab, homeless shelters... even homeless, family leaving me. Like I said, I changed my life these last two years, and my family is there for me. I’m in therapy now, you know what I'm saying? Just to help my mental. But I’ve definitely been places I wasn't supposed to go.”

I asked, “What helped you get back onto the right track?” 

He answered, “I was tired. When you tired, you tired.”

I asked if he wanted the National Guard in DC. He responded, “No biggie for me. Maybe other people would say no. For me, I’m good. Point A to Point B. I mind my own business.” 

Most of the responses we got that day were like this one – casual, unconcerned, and nuanced. One young guy outside of a gas station told us, “It has its pros and cons.” Another said, “I ain’t got nothing to worry about.” One woman cautioned, “They be trying to restrain people who didn’t really do nothing.” This – alleged harassment of people minding their own business – was the biggest complaint. 

Another woman, a lifelong Anacostia resident who now works at a weed dispensary, told us, “In some places they may be needed, but normal people walking to work don’t want to be harassed.” 

Dr. Lillian Pitts, a native of Alabama who’s lived in Anacostia for decades, gave a different viewpoint.

“I think people are misunderstanding what is really going on,” she said. “We must take control over what's going on in the streets of our city. For the safety of our children, the safety of our elders, and the safety of each other. We have to show more concern and more love for one another. We have to.”

I asked, “Do you think the National Guard and more cops are good for that, bad for that?”

“I think they're good for that. Some of our youth who have fallen victim to not having a mother or father do not respect authority. So we as members of society have to pitch in and help our young people understand that when we do things wrong, there are penalties. And I've seen since the National Guard has been here for the best.”

Dr. Pitts’ viewpoint is supported by the data: A CBS News report found that violent crime dropped 49% from August 7 through August 25 – the initial phase of the deployment – compared to the same period in 2024. Shootings in DC also fell by two-thirds year-over-year, though an analysis by The Trace – an outlet that investigates gun violence – found that the trend predated the deployment of the National Guard by several months.

While we had an easy time hearing people talk about the National Guard, we had a harder time finding them. Throughout Anacostia, the National Guard was nowhere to be seen. But how could we write a piece on the National Guard in DC without seeing them?

But then we realized: That is the story. For all of the hype and partisan bickering over their deployment, the only time we saw them was in Union Station while we left our train. We spent an entire day in DC’s most dangerous neighborhood and didn’t see a single troop. Perhaps we caught them on an off day. Or, perhaps, their deployment to DC is more symbolic than the Right – and less tyrannical than the Left – would care to admit. 

Sure enough, after crossing the Anacostia River and returning to the DC of our eighth-grade field trips, we saw a military truck and the fatigues. Here, by the big pencil and the White House, the National Guard was, indeed, in town.