A sweeping review of court records found the National Guard mentioned in only a sliver of Washington criminal prosecutions—even as the deployment grew larger than the city’s police force.
President Donald Trump put thousands of National Guard soldiers on Washington’s streets with a promise to restore order. One year later, a new investigation has put a striking number at the center of the debate: about 1.3%.
That is the share of criminal cases filed in D.C. Superior Court since the deployment began in which charging documents mentioned the Guard, according to a Reuters review published August 19, 2026. The finding does not measure every crime troops may have deterred—but it offers one of the clearest public looks yet at what soldiers have actually done on the ground.
What Reuters counted
Reuters said it examined every publicly available charging document in D.C. Superior Court from the start of the deployment through its review period. The Guard appeared in 217 criminal cases. In 62, soldiers stopped suspects themselves; in another 43, they helped police make arrests.
Many of the documented encounters involved relatively minor allegations, including shoplifting, fare evasion and low-value theft. In 62 cases, Guard members were identified as victims of pushing, punching or threats. The investigation also noted that one Guard member was killed in a separate shooting.
Those figures should be read carefully. A court filing is evidence of documented involvement, not a complete scorecard of deterrence. A visible patrol can affect behavior without producing an arrest, and crimes that never occur do not generate charging papers.
4,500 soldiers and a $1.4 billion plan
Roughly 4,500 Guard personnel are now deployed in the capital, Reuters reported—more than the approximately 3,200 officers in the Metropolitan Police Department. The administration had previously placed the mission’s cost at about $1.65 million a day before troop strength doubled.
Keeping the operation running through 2029 is projected to cost about $1.4 billion, according to the report. That price tag sharpens the central question: Is the deployment delivering enough public-safety value to justify its scale?
The Pentagon describes the work as “presence patrols.” Although troops were deputized as U.S. Marshals, their powers remain limited. They can detain a person, but police generally must carry out the arrest.
Where the Guard showed up—and where it did not
The investigation found that soldiers were most visible around tourist corridors and neighborhoods that were generally wealthier and whiter. Reuters said it found no court-record reference to Guard law-enforcement involvement in neighborhoods where 82% of Washington’s 859 murders during the previous five years occurred.
That does not prove troops were never present in those communities. It does show that their involvement did not surface in the charging records Reuters examined, raising questions about whether the deployment’s footprint matches the areas facing the greatest violence.
Crime fell, but the picture is mixed
Washington’s homicide count has fallen for a third year. The city’s own daily crime dashboard, updated through August 18, showed homicides down 31% from the same point in 2025, robberies down 13% and motor-vehicle theft down 52%.
Yet the same official figures showed assaults with a dangerous weapon up 40%, leaving total violent crime about 4% higher year over year. Total crime was down 20%.
Similar declines in homicide and vehicle theft have occurred in other cities, making it difficult to isolate the Guard’s effect. A Niskanen Center analysis cited by Reuters associated the deployment with fewer stolen vehicles but found no measurable effect on violent crime.
The White House says deterrence matters
The White House defended the operation, saying Trump’s policies reduced crime, improved the city’s appearance and raised residents’ quality of life. Supporters argue that arrest totals miss the psychological effect of a large, visible security presence.
Critics counter that soldiers are an expensive and poorly targeted substitute for civilian policing and community investment. The Reuters findings do not settle that argument. They do, however, make the tradeoff harder to ignore: thousands of troops, a potential billion-dollar bill and relatively little documented participation in criminal prosecutions.
For Washington residents, the debate is no longer just about whether the streets feel different. It is about whether an extraordinary military presence can demonstrate extraordinary results.
Featured image: an original illustrative editorial scene. The model is not a real official, soldier, victim, witness or participant.
