By John R. Lott Jr., The Federalist - D.C.’s murder rate ... an astonishing 523 percent higher than that of the average state... The evidence makes clear that Washington, D.C., faces one of the worst crime problems in the nation. This is true even if one ignores the claims that D.C. is manipulating its crime numbers and that the large gap between reported and total crime is likely larger for D.C... Democrats may downplay the crisis, but the data show that the district outpaces every state and nearly every major city in violent and property crime, murder, and robbery. Until Democrats confront reality instead of dismissing concerns, residents and businesses will continue to pay the price.