In Washington, D.C., the argument isn’t just over crime; it’s over whose reality counts. Federal officials point to plunging homicide and carjacking numbers and call it proof their intervention worked. But residents remember the weeks of sirens, armored vehicles at intersections, and the sickening realization that anyone who looked like an outsider could vanish into the back of a federal SUV. Safety, they’re told, has a price. Many feel they never agreed to pay it.

For some, the new normal means walking home without checking over their shoulder every block. For others, it means a brother deported after a “routine” stop, or a neighbor who simply stopped opening the door. The city’s story is no longer just about crime going up or down; it’s about who gets protected, who gets policed, and whose fear is finally believed.