DC promises a ‘very, very robust’ police presence to maintain public safety over July 4 holiday

By ASHRAF KHALIL
Associated Press

WASHINGTON (AP) — With a flood of visitors and tourists expected, officials in the nation’s capital are mobilizing additional police officers and dozens of teams of civilian peacekeepers in an attempt to keep rising violent crime rates from marring the holiday weekend. Mayor Muriel Bowser’s government has been struggling to handle steadily rising violent crime rates in recent years. Although police and city officials point out that overall crime rates have dropped, two particular crimes — murder and carjacking — have spiked, leading to an overall public perception that crime is getting worse.