SAFEROUTE

Safety index · Ward 7, Washington, D.C. · data through July 2026

Is Central NE safe?

Central NE records more reported crime than most Washington, D.C. neighborhoods. Its SafeRoute safety index is 40 out of 100 — 13 points below the citywide median of 53, ranking 101st of 132 D.C. neighborhoods — based on 306 incidents reported to the DC Metropolitan Police within 1 km of the neighborhood center (data through July 2026).

40/100
Elevated
SafeRoute safety index for the area within 1 km of the center of Central NE — higher is safer. 101st of 132 D.C. neighborhoods.

Most of what's reported here is property-related — other theft alone is 47% of reports — rather than violence against strangers, though the full mix below is worth a look.

Incidents spread across the day here — roughly 30% of severity-weighted reports come in the evening (6 p.m.–midnight) and 17% overnight.

Where incidents cluster

Kenilworth Avenue FreewayBenning Road Northeast neighborhood center 1 dot = 1 report · darker = more severe 500 m N ↑
306 incidents reported within 1 km of the Central NE center · DC Police data through July 2026 · basemap © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Open Central NE on the live interactive map →

What's reported here

Other theft
143 · 47%
Violent crime
35 · 11%
Vehicle crime
79 · 26%
Robbery
34 · 11%
Burglary
11 · 4%
Sexual offences
3 · 1%

When it happens

6a–6p6p–12a12a–6aMON–FRI6a–6p6p–12a12a–6aSAT–SUN

Severity-weighted share of reported incidents by time of day, from police incident timestamps.

Walking in Central NE at night?

SafeRoute scores every walking route against the same live crime data on this page — and shows how much of each route runs on lit streets. Pick the safer way, share your walk, and check in when you arrive. Free, no account.

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Nearby areas

Common questions

Is Central NE safe at night?

Elevated overall (safety index 40/100). About 47% of severity-weighted incidents in Central NE are reported between 6 p.m. and 6 a.m. At night, prefer lit, busier streets — a block or two of detour often avoids the clusters on the map above.

What is the most common crime in Central NE?

Other theft — 143 of 306 incidents (47%) reported within 1 km of the neighborhood center through July 2026.

How is the Central NE safety index calculated?

SafeRoute weights each incident reported to the DC Metropolitan Police by severity (violence weighs more than shoplifting), sums the last available period within 1 km of the neighborhood center, and normalizes against citywide crime rates onto a 0–100 scale — higher is safer. It describes reported crime only; it is not a guarantee of safety.