Archived snapshotMay 2026 · narrative + chart preserved as published · live data has moved on
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Washington DC · monthly briefing

Washington DC Crime Rate — May 2026

Walter Reed other larceny ran 367% above its multi-year baseline.

Walter Reed other larceny is the lead signal for May 2026 — an above-trend move strong enough to top the Washington DC rankings this month. Colonial Village shows the same pattern, making other larceny the category to watch across two distinct neighborhoods. No prior-month lead has carried over; this is a fresh combination at the top of the rankings.

Citywide volume is down 24.0% against the prior 12 months — 21,553 incidents against 28,354 the year before. The broader signal mix leans heavily toward sustained declines: 59 sustained-shift signals and 30 below-trend signals this month, against just 2 fresh spikes across 41 neighborhoods. Petworth theft-from-vehicle and Capitol View robbery both ran below trend, consistent with the citywide direction.

The structural story in Washington DC this month is a continuing broad-based decline, with the other-larceny move in Walter Reed and Colonial Village standing out as the exception. Two zero-event signals round out the month. Whether the other-larceny pattern in these two neighborhoods extends into June or stays isolated to this briefing is the primary thing to monitor in the next cycle.

FIG 1 · LEAD ANOMALYOTHER LARCENY · WALTER REED · 24-MO COUNT
037μ 2.3 · σ 1.5 · trailing 12-mo2024-062026-05ARCHIVED
Walter Reed other larceny, monthly count over 24 months ending in May 2026. The dashed line is the trailing-12-month mean for context. The final bar (highlighted) is May. Frozen view as published.

Sustained drops worth naming

Homicide ran below trend in the trailing 12 months — 48% down from the year before. Sustained shifts often precede a baseline reset; we surface them at the same prominence as spikes.

CITEPublic Analyst.ai, “May 2026Washington DC,” archived snapshot.Permanent URL: /dc/2026/may