Safety index · Ward 2, Washington, D.C. · data through July 2026
Is Penn Quarter safe?
Penn Quarter records a high level of reported crime for Washington, D.C.. Its SafeRoute safety index is 30 out of 100 — 23 points below the citywide median of 53, ranking 114th of 132 D.C. neighborhoods — based on 580 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 79% 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 | 459 · 79% | |
| Vehicle crime | 64 · 11% | |
| Violent crime | 24 · 4% | |
| Robbery | 26 · 4% | |
| Burglary | 7 · 1% |
When it happens
Severity-weighted share of reported incidents by time of day, from police incident timestamps.
Walking in Penn Quarter 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
- Chinatown26/100 · Elevated
- Downtown East42/100 · Elevated
- Downtown24/100 · High risk
- Mount Vernon Triangle26/100 · Elevated
- Mount Vernon Square22/100 · High risk
Common questions
Is Penn Quarter safe at night?
Elevated overall (safety index 30/100). About 39% of severity-weighted incidents in Penn Quarter 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 Penn Quarter?
Other theft — 459 of 580 incidents (79%) reported within 1 km of the neighborhood center through July 2026.
How is the Penn Quarter 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.