A new congressional report is raising serious questions about the accuracy of the official crime statistics for Washington, D.C., accusing outgoing Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) Chief Pamela Smith of running a pressure campaign to downgrade offenses, suppress unfavorable data, and retaliate against commanders who reported rising violence.
The interim report, released Sunday by the House Oversight Committee, alleges Smith repeatedly pushed her commanders to reclassify crimes in ways that made the city’s Daily Crime Report look better than reality.
It’s practice investigators say distorted public understanding of the capital’s worsening crime problems.
Smith, who announced her resignation on December 8, is expected to remain in her role through year-end.
“By pressuring her command staff to alter classifications for the sole purpose of artificially reducing crime numbers reported out to the public, Chief Smith incentivized the manipulation of crime numbers, which do not adequately account for the crime taking place in D.C.,” the report states.
According to eight transcribed interviews with MPD district commanders, Smith created a climate where protecting political optics outweighed accurately reporting crime.
Multiple commanders described being berated or sidelined for presenting data that reflected negative trends.
“Briefings with Chief Smith involved public chastisement to the point commanders expressed feeling like they were being treated as if they had committed the crimes themselves,” the report says.
One commander, identified in the report as “Commander E,” detailed how he was publicly singled out after a robbery spike in his district.
“On two occasions I had… robbery sprees, and I think I had, like, 13 robberies in over a night period, a day period,” the commander recalled.
“And, yeah, I was usually you have, there’s an order of how you brief out, but at the very beginning of the crime briefing, the chief said, ‘I need to see [Commander E] up front to brief first.’
“So I got up there, and I was basically admonished.
“I was like, ‘How could I let these robberies happen?’
“It was embarrassing, but it happened.”
He added that the humiliation lingered:
“I did feel like I did the robberies after I left.
“I literally was, like, I swear I did not commit them.”
Trump Administration Tightened Federal Response to D.C. Crime
The Oversight Committee’s findings surface as President Donald Trump has taken an aggressive posture toward crime in the nation’s capital.
In August, Trump issued an executive order declaring an “epidemic of crime” in Washington and deployed federal law enforcement, including National Guard personnel, to reinforce the MPD.
Several commanders told investigators the additional federal presence helped stabilize manpower shortages and restore order in high-crime neighborhoods where local resources had been stretched thin.
Bowser Defends Smith, Cites Decline in Homicides
Mayor Muriel Bowser has maintained that crime is falling, arguing last week that homicides are down 30% this year, a claim now likely to face renewed skepticism.
“The men and women of the Metropolitan Police Department run towards danger every day to reduce homicides, carjackings, armed robberies, sexual assaults, and more,” Bowser said.
“The precipitous decline in crime in our city is attributable to their hard work and dedication, and Chief Smith’s leadership.”
“I thank Chief Smith for her commitment to the safety of DC residents and for holding the Metropolitan Police Department to an exacting standard, and I expect no less from our next Chief of Police,” she added.
GOP: Public May Have Been Misled
Republicans on the Oversight Committee say the testimony, combined with Smith’s abrupt resignation, casts doubt on whether D.C.’s crime data can be trusted and whether public safety was subordinated to political messaging.
The committee says its investigation is ongoing and expects additional witnesses and documents in the coming weeks.
READ MORE – Jasmine Crockett: ‘Law Enforcement Isn’t to Prevent Crime’
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