President Donald Trump’s federal takeover of the D.C. police department and deployment of the National Guard was based on claims that crime is “getting worse, not getting better.”

But, journalists who have long been covering the region remember a much more dangerous time in the District.

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The crack cocaine epidemic swept across D.C. in the late 1980s and early 1990s, causing homicide rates to spike and a nickname to stick: “murder capital of the U.S.” In 1985, there were 157 homicides in D.C. By 1991, that number more than tripled, with 509 homicides plaguin

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