The number of D.C. residents who do not feel safe from the threat of crime has risen dramatically in recent years, a Washington Post poll finds.
According to the poll, three in 10 D.C. residents do not feel safe from crime in their neighborhoods. The number of District residents who say they are not safe from crime rose to 30% this year from 22% in Nov. 2019.
When it comes to location, those in Ward 7 and Ward 8 reported they felt more unsafe than in other parts of the city. More than four out of 10 people in those areas said they felt unsafe from the recent increase in crime.
The poll also found that one in six residents report someone in their household has been a victim of violent crime in the past five years.
And the data varies by race.
The poll results show that 23% of Black residents, 8% of White residents and 21% of those who are Hispanic, Asian or of other backgrounds say they have been a victim of recent crime.
Compared to 74% in 2017, only 54% of District residents rate D.C. police as “good” or “excellent.”
The Washington Post poll was conducted between Feb. 2 to Feb. 14 among a random sample of 904 adult D.C. residents over landlines and cellphones. The overall margin of error is plus or minus four percentage points.
