The investigation arrives as the accuracy of MPD’s crime statistics has become a politically charged question following a summer emergency order in which President Donald Trump temporarily federalized the department, and subsequent findings that supervisors had pressured officers to underreport crime.
Washington’s inspector general announced Monday that his office has opened an investigation into the Metropolitan Police Department’s crime data reporting system, adding a third layer of official scrutiny to questions about whether the force has accurately counted and classified crime in the nation’s capital.
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 adds to two earlier investigations that found evidence of data misclassification but stopped short of recommending criminal charges, leaving open questions about the reliability of the department’s publicly reported crime figures.
Background: Prior findings and the federal intervention
The inspector general’s announcement follows months of intensifying scrutiny of MPD’s statistics. Last summer, President Donald Trump issued a monthlong emergency order that temporarily federalized the department and directed a surge of federal law enforcement officers into Washington, which the administration said was aimed at reducing what it described as out-of-control crime.
U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro’s office opened an investigation in August and subsequently found that a significant number of MPD reports had been misclassified to make crime rates appear lower than they are. Pirro said at the time that it was up to the MPD to take steps to address “these underlying issues.” Her office did not find grounds for charging anyone with a crime.
A separate report released last month by the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, led by Republicans, found that then-police Chief Pamela Smith often threatened, punished, and retaliated against police commanders who presented her with spikes in crime. The committee concluded that Smith pressured subordinates to manipulate department data to artificially lower reported crime rates. That investigation also found no basis for criminal charges.
Smith, who has since stepped down, disputed the findings that crime statistics were manipulated during her tenure.
City’s response and contested claims
A spokesperson for Mayor Muriel Bowser said that Bowser requested the inspector general’s involvement after the earlier reports were released. In announcing that step, Bowser said the prior reports “leave a lot to be desired in terms of evidence and context and any back and forth with the affected agency.”
Local officials have argued throughout the period of federal involvement that while crime declined during the surge operation, it was declining beforehand as well. Investigators in the prior probes argued that the increased presence of law enforcement and National Guard personnel was more effective than the pre-surge trajectory and that the errant statistics had been understating that progress.
According to the MPD, there were 127 homicides in the District of Columbia last year, a 32% drop from the year before.
Steps under new leadership
Interim Chief Carroll acknowledged the controversy when he was named to the role. He said the department would focus on several corrective steps, including improved training for officers in classifying crimes and the creation of an audit team to examine reports and verify they are properly categorized.