Washington inspector general starts review of MPD crime data reporting

Washington’s inspector general has started an investigation into the Metropolitan Police Department’s crime data reporting system, according to an announcement Monday.

Inspector General Daniel Lucas said in a letter to interim police Chief Jeffery Carroll that his overall objective is “to assess the design, implementation, and operation of MPD’s internal control system for collecting, classifying and reporting crime data and statistics.”

The probe is the latest in a series of inquiries into how the department has collected its crime statistics, the Associated Press reported. The investigation drew attention in recent weeks as authorities examined whether MPD’s process for handling crime data was reliable and properly applied.

A House committee report released last month said then-police Chief Pamela Smith often threatened, punished and retaliated against police commanders who presented her with “spikes in crime,” according to the AP. The report also said Smith pressured subordinates to manipulate department data to artificially lower the city’s crime rates.

The AP said a separate investigation by U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro’s office also found that a significant number of MPD reports were misclassified in a way that made crime rates appear lower than they are. The AP reported that Pirro’s office began its investigation in August, in the context of a federal law enforcement surge in Washington that followed a monthlong emergency order issued last summer.

That emergency order, the AP said, federalized the police force and launched a federal law enforcement operation in the nation’s capital meant to fight crime. The AP reported that the order gave the president control of the local department for 30 days as part of that effort.

The AP said neither the House committee investigation nor Pirro’s office investigation found grounds for charging anyone with a crime. Pirro said at the time it was up to MPD to take steps to address “these underlying issues,” the AP reported.

A spokesperson for Mayor Muriel Bowser said Bowser requested the inspector general’s involvement after the earlier reports were released. The AP said local officials argued that crime fell during the federal operation, but also that it had been declining beforehand, and that the increased presence of law enforcement and National Guard members was especially effective.

MPD, according to the AP, said there were 127 homicides in the District of Columbia last year—about a 32% drop from the year before. The AP reported that Smith, who has stepped down, disputed findings that crime statistics were manipulated during her tenure.

Carroll said during a press conference that the department would focus on steps including improved training for officers in classifying crimes and the creation of an audit team to examine reports to ensure they are properly classified, the AP reported. At the same press conference, Bowser said she intended to call in the inspector general to examine questions raised by the reports, saying the “reports that have been issued leave a lot to be desired in terms of evidence and context and any back and forth with the affected agency.”