SAFEROUTE

Safety index · Ward 6, Washington, D.C. · data through November 2026

Is Southwest/Waterfront safe?

Southwest/Waterfront records more reported crime than most Washington, D.C. neighborhoods. Its SafeRoute safety index is 47 out of 100 — 9 points below the citywide median of 56, ranking 87th of 132 D.C. neighborhoods — based on 461 incidents reported to the DC Metropolitan Police within 1 km of the neighborhood center over the 9 months to November 2026.

47/100
Elevated
SafeRoute safety index for the area within 1 km of the center of Southwest/Waterfront — higher is safer. 87th of 132 D.C. neighborhoods.

DATA THROUGH NOVEMBER 2026 · 9 MONTHS OF DATA

The 0–100 scale is calibrated to Washington, D.C. — a typical Washington, D.C. neighborhood sits near 56. It ranks Southwest/Waterfront 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 56% 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

Southeast Freeway3rd Street Tunnel neighborhood center 500 m N ↑
1 dot = 1 report · darker = more severe · rings every 250 m from the neighborhood center461 incidents reported within 1 km of the Southwest/Waterfront center · DC Police data through November 2026 · basemap © OpenStreetMap contributors. Reports cluster toward the east of the map — the area immediately around the neighborhood center is comparatively quiet.
Open Southwest/Waterfront on the live interactive map →

What's reported here

Other theft
260 · 56%
Vehicle crime
112 · 24%
Robbery
47 · 10%
Violent crime
31 · 7%
Burglary
8 · 2%
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.

Is Washington, D.C. safe at night? See which neighborhoods see the most reported crime after dark →

Walking in Southwest/Waterfront at night?

SafeRoute scores every walking route against the same official crime data on this page — and shows how much of each route runs on lit streets. Compare the routes and share your walk. Free, no account.

Get SafeRoute on the App Store

Nearby areas

Common questions

Is Southwest/Waterfront safe at night?

Elevated overall (safety index 47/100). About 51% of severity-weighted incidents in Southwest/Waterfront 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 Southwest/Waterfront?

Other theft — 260 of 461 incidents (56%) reported within 1 km of the neighborhood center over the 9 months to November 2026.

How is the Southwest/Waterfront 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.