Safety index · Ward 2, Washington, D.C. · data through July 2026
Is Chinatown safe?
Chinatown records a high level of reported crime for Washington, D.C.. Its SafeRoute safety index is 26 out of 100 — 27 points below the citywide median of 53, ranking 118th of 132 D.C. neighborhoods — based on 687 incidents reported to the DC Metropolitan Police within 1 km of the neighborhood center (data through July 2026).
Most of what's reported here is property-related — other theft alone is 74% of reports — rather than violence against strangers, though the full mix below is worth a look.
Reported incidents here skew to daytime and evening hours — only about 13% of severity-weighted reports fall overnight (midnight–6 a.m.).
Where incidents cluster
What's reported here
| Other theft | 509 · 74% | |
| Vehicle crime | 101 · 15% | |
| Violent crime | 33 · 5% | |
| Robbery | 34 · 5% | |
| Burglary | 9 · 1% | |
| Sexual offences | 1 · 0% |
When it happens
Severity-weighted share of reported incidents by time of day, from police incident timestamps.
Walking in Chinatown 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.
Get SafeRoute on the App StoreNearby areas
- Penn Quarter30/100 · Elevated
- Mount Vernon Triangle26/100 · Elevated
- Mount Vernon Square22/100 · High risk
- Downtown East42/100 · Elevated
- Downtown24/100 · High risk
Common questions
Is Chinatown safe at night?
Elevated overall (safety index 26/100). About 41% of severity-weighted incidents in Chinatown 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 Chinatown?
Other theft — 509 of 687 incidents (74%) reported within 1 km of the neighborhood center through July 2026.
How is the Chinatown 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.