When President Donald Trump announced his federal takeover of Washington, D.C ., he conjured images of a dystopia where “caravans of mass youth rampage through city streets” to justify his heavy-handed response.

But those who study and work on preventing youth crime in the district say the president is acting on a caricature of the city, and his decision to flood the streets with soldiers will do little to solve the issue.

Nick Wilson, senior director for Gun Violence Prevention at the Center for American Progress , called Trump’s crackdown “political theater that is disconnected from what we're seeing here in D.C.”

“We know it takes deep intelligence-led policing, deep community engagement, deep partnerships, bringing in hospitals and schools and the community to work together,

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