The House Oversight and Government Reform Committee in a report published Sunday alleged that the Metropolitan Police Department manipulated and lowered publicly reported crime statistics in the District of Columbia under the leadership of outgoing police Chief Pamela Smith.
"The Committee's ongoing investigation has heard testimonies from commanders that there are clear pressures placed on MPD personnel to lower the classifications of crime to present to the public the perception of low crime in the District," the panel said in its report, titled "How D.C.'s Police Chief Undermined Crime Data Accuracy."
"Specifically, there was an emphasis on the daily crime report (DCR), a public-facing dataset that only includes nine categories of felony offenses, above all other crimes discussed within the highest levels of the MPD," it added.
"Chief Smith, the commanders testified, was so preoccupied with the statistics of the select crimes that were made public that she incentivized her subordinates to lower those crimes by whatever means necessary."
The panel interviewed seven acting commanders and one suspended commander during its probe.
A separate investigation by U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro's office also found that a significant number of MPD reports had been misclassified to make crime rates appear lower than they are.
Smith has said she doesn't believe any crime numbers were manipulated during her tenure.
"I have never and will never authorize or even support any thought processes or activities with regards to crime numbers being manipulated," Smith told Fox 5 during an interview earlier this month.
Washington Mayor Muriel Bowser on Monday defended Smith's performance and accused the House committee's leaders of rushing to judgment "in order to serve a politically motivated timeline."
"It is my expectation that the crime statistics we publish and rely on are accurate and of the highest quality possible," Bowser, a Democrat, wrote in a letter addressed to the House committee's chair and ranking member.
"Even a cursory review of the report reveals its prejudice: Of the 22 block quotes presented as complaining about Chief Smith's management style, 20 of them were made by only two command officials interviewed," she added.
MPD crime data show that homicides are down 31% this year, from 181 in 2024 to 125 with just two weeks left in 2025.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Solange Reyner ✉
Solange Reyner is a writer and editor for Newsmax. She has more than 15 years in the journalism industry reporting and covering news, sports and politics.
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