I have do idea about DC but I don't trust crime rate stats - a lot might be unreported.
In NYC last year someone burnt someone else to death while they sat, relaxed and watched, and in a seperate incident a person died died and someone else had sex with them afterwards.
It could that be crime is lower or it could be that insane brutality has become normalized.
But do you have reason to believe that crime is reported less often now than in the past?
[dead]
Crimes stats famously get massaged. However murders are hard to downgrade.