Democrat Rep. Adam Smith admits it—D.C. is a crime-ridden disaster
Aug 19, 2025, 5:02 AM
Rep. Adam Smith (D-WA) speaks during a House Armed Services Committee hearing on Sept. 29, 2021 in Washington, DC. (Photo: Rod Lamkey-Pool,, Getty Images)
(Photo: Rod Lamkey-Pool,, Getty Images)
Even Democrats can no longer deny it: Washington, D.C. is in a crime crisis, and their policies are to blame. Rep. Adam Smith (D-WA) admitted as much on NewsNation, acknowledging that his party’s soft-on-crime agenda has failed.
“Crime is too high. And I think Democrats make a mistake if we act like crime is not a policy problem worth worrying about,” Smith said. “It is both of my children live in Washington, D.C. You know, it’s not the safest place in the world. And also, some of the policies the Democrats advanced around crime over the course last 10 or 15 years, very clearly did not work. There was not enough transparency and not enough accountability. So we ought to be able to say that.”
Smith’s comments cut against the narrative Democrats have pushed for years—that concerns over crime are exaggerated or rooted in fearmongering. They come as Democrats claim the Trump administration is inventing a crisis to take control over the D.C. Metropolitan Police Department. While they’re busy smearing President Donald Trump as an “authoritarian,” anyone paying attention to D.C. knows the reality: homicides have spiked, carjackings are rampant, and everyday residents feel unsafe walking the streets.
Finally, an honest Democrat on crime
The roots of this crisis can be traced directly to the reforms championed by Democrats.
Cashless bail has ensured repeat offenders are cycled back onto the streets within hours of arrest. Efforts to “reimagine policing” gutted resources and morale within law enforcement. And prosecutors, especially when dealing with juveniles, have leaned heavily toward leniency rather than accountability.
The results have been predictable. Violent youth offenders cycle through the system with virtually no consequences, while career criminals exploit lax bail policies to keep terrorizing communities. D.C.’s own attorney general has admitted that the overwhelming majority of juveniles re-offend, yet lawmakers refuse to adjust course.
It’s telling that it takes a Democrat with children living in the District to finally say what Republicans have warned for years: crime is a policy problem, and progressive reforms have only made it worse.
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