Safety index · Ward 2, Washington, D.C. · data through September 2026
Is Downtown safe?
Downtown records a high level of reported crime for Washington, D.C.. Its SafeRoute safety index is 28 out of 100 — 30 points below the citywide median of 58, ranking 124th of 132 D.C. neighborhoods — based on 943 incidents reported to the DC Metropolitan Police within 1 km of the neighborhood center over the 8 months to September 2026.
DATA THROUGH SEPTEMBER 2026 · 8 MONTHS OF DATA
The 0–100 scale is calibrated to Washington, D.C. — a typical Washington, D.C. neighborhood sits near 58. It ranks Downtown against other neighborhoods here, and cannot be read against a score in another city.
Most of what's reported here is property-related — other theft alone is 75% 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 15% of severity-weighted reports fall overnight (midnight–6 a.m.).
Where incidents cluster
What's reported here
| Other theft | 706 · 75% | |
| Vehicle crime | 155 · 16% | |
| Violent crime | 35 · 4% | |
| Robbery | 38 · 4% | |
| Burglary | 9 · 1% |
When it happens
Severity-weighted share of reported incidents by time of day, from police incident timestamps.
Walking in Downtown 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
- Mount Vernon Square25/100 · Elevated
- Chinatown30/100 · Elevated
- Penn Quarter33/100 · Elevated
- Connecticut Avenue/K Street32/100 · Elevated
- Mount Vernon Triangle28/100 · Elevated
Common questions
Is Downtown safe at night?
Elevated overall (safety index 28/100). About 42% of severity-weighted incidents in Downtown 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 Downtown?
Other theft — 706 of 943 incidents (75%) reported within 1 km of the neighborhood center over the 8 months to September 2026.
How is the Downtown 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. The scale is calibrated within Washington, D.C., so scores compare neighborhoods to each other and cannot be read against another city's.