No tramps now, but there's an air of crisis in Washington

Crime dips after Trump deploys troops in national capital, but not everyone is happy

- Bhagyashree Garekar

WASHINGTON - In the fading daylight of September, a youngish man bumped into me along a street off Pennsylvania Avenue, about a kilometre from the White House.

He excused himself, politely, and then asked, with an air of assumed gentility, if I could spare a few dollars. His wife, he said, was pregnant. And having had his wallet stolen, he had no money to buy a bottle of milk.

I suspected it was a tall tale, but it was getting dark and the street was fairly deserted. I handed over US$5 (S$6), hoping his story had some basis in truth.

That very week, I saw him again along the same stretch of the street. He had stopped another passer-by. Yes, it was about his wife and the bottle of milk.

As our eyes met, he had the grace to quickly look away, embarrassed perhaps. But not enough to drop his act.

That was about a year ago. Back in Washington for a short trip last week, I wondered if the hustler had been intimidated by President Donald Trump's Aug 11 decision to send troops to patrol the streets of the national capital.

I suspect not. Hustling is a DC sport.

That is, until the National Guard was moved into the city in early August. Mr Trump's controversial action - militarised policing - against what he has described as "crime, bloodshed, bedlam, squalor and worse" in the national capital has had some visible results.

Tramps and homeless people, all too common a sight on benches and bus stops, seem to have disappeared.

They have been chased out of the tree-lined avenues around Capitol Hill, the grassy squares around the White House and the parks surrounding the grand national monuments. Reportedly, they are being housed in shelters outside the city.

Mr Trump's contention is that his measures are succeeding spectacularly.