Image source, Getty Images

Donald Whitehead, the executive director of the National Coalition for the Homeless, spoke to the BBC last night after Trump said homeless people “must” move out of Washington DC.

Whitehead says Trump is conflating homelessness and crime, adding that people who are unhoused are more likely to be victims of a crime than to perpetrate crimes themselves.

"Homelessness is not a crime - people are forced into homelessness. It is more likely a person experiencing homelessness will be a victim of crime rather than actually be involved a crime themselves," he says.

He adds that when encampments where unhoused people are staying are moved, crime actually goes up rather than going down. Whitehead says homelessness has increased across the country - and Washington DC is no exception.

“There are right now somewhere in the neighbourhood of 6,000 people experiencing homelessness in DC,” he tells the BBC.

He says homelessness has increased because of larger structural issues like the rising cost of housing.

“The president promised to address prices and inflation and we haven’t seen that,” Whitehead says. Whitehead says he is “very concerned” about where Trump will move people who are unhoused in DC as he has pledged to do.

For Trump, appearances are as important as statistics as president vows crackdown on crimepublished at 15:06 British Summer Time

15:06 BST

Anthony Zurcher
North America correspondent

Donald Trump is starting the week with a new push to address what he says is rampant violent crime and homelessness in Washington DC.

Federal crime statistics don’t provide much support for his claims, as they indicate that crime rates in the nation’s capital are at 30-year lows, down significantly from a post-pandemic spike in 2023. Washington’s numbers mirror a nationwide trend of declining crime over the past two years.

For Trump, however, appearances can be as important as statistics. Homeless encampments are visible in parts of Washington, as the president has documented with photographs shared on his social media site. A recent late-night attack on a prominent Department of Government Efficiency (Doge) staffer also appears to have caught Trump’s attention.

Democrats in America’s major cities also have grappled with how to address homelessness, and while crime is dropping in Washington, the city is dealing with high-profile instances of youth law-breaking, including by imposing curfews in popular entertainment districts.

“Law and order” issues have traditionally been a popular focus for conservatives – and Trump himself has campaigned on it for more than a decade. With a sagging poll numbers, a recent spate of discouraging economic news and criticism over his handling of questions surrounding Jeffrey Epstein’s underage prostitution case, the president may be searching for a way to move to more comfortable political ground.

Image source, Getty Images

US president Donald Trump is calling a press conference to outline his plans to end "crime, murder and death" in Washington DC - but are the numbers getting worse as he claims?

As of August 8, 2025, local police records show that there has been a 7% reduction in all crime year to date, external, with total violent crime numbers down by 26%. Homicide is down with a 12% drop in killings in the same time period.

Carjacking offenses are also down, this time by more than 1/3 with a 37% drop.

Trump also plans to turn his attention to the "cleanliness" of the capital, which he says is becoming, external , external"dirtier, external and less attractive" under DC's Democrat mayor, external, Muriel Bowser.

Washington DC mayor Muriel Bowser, a Democrat, has rejected Trump's claims that the capital is crime-riddled.

“We are not experiencing a crime spike,” Bowser told MSNBC on Sunday.

She admits there was a “terrible” spike in crime in 2023, but since then they have achieved a 30-year low for violent crime.

Bowser says violent crime is down 26% compared to 2024.

“The president is very aware of our efforts,” Bowser says.

When asked about White House deputy chief of staff Stephen Miller’s comment that Washington was more violent than Baghdad, Bowser replied “any comparison to a war-torn country is hyperbolic and false”.

Image source, Getty Images

US president Donald Trump has previewed Monday's presser on revamping the nation's capital, Washington DC, saying he plans to make the city, external , external"safer, external and more beautiful than it ever was before, external".

Writing on social media platform, Truth Social, Trump says he expects the homeless to leave Washington DC, "immediately" and that criminals will be put in jail.

In a second post on the platform, President Trump writes tha, externalt Monday’s press conference will cover ending , external"crime, murder and death" in Washington DC as well as the "physical renovation" of the city.

Trump also describes current Washington DC mayor, Muriel Bowser as "a good person who has tried" adding that despite her efforts crime continues to get "worse" and describes the city as "dirtier and less attractive".

The president says Washington DC was once "the most beautiful capital in the world" and that it will be again soon.

Sakshi Venkatraman
Live reporter

Welcome to our live coverage of what US President Donald Trump has called "liberation day" of the nation's capital, Washington DC.

In a series of posts on Truth Social, Trump announced what he described as plans to make DC cleaner and safer, including a possible deployment of military forces to the city.

He said he expects the homeless to leave "immediately" and that criminal "youths" will be jailed.

We're expecting to hear from the president at 10:00 EDT / 15:00 BST. Stick with us to read updates and analysis or click watch live above to stream the press conference.