Did D.C. Police Manipulate Crime Data? Internal Probe Points to Downgrades; 13 Officers Face Investigation

Washington, D.C.’s Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) is facing a major shakeup following accusations that officers falsified crime statistics to make the city appear safer. On May 5, Interim Police Chief Jeffery Carroll announced that 13 officers had been placed on administrative leave and could face termination.

Following the accusations, the MPD has been investigated by four agencies. The department’s internal affairs division has already concluded the probe, which led to action against 13 officers. Meanwhile, the Republican-led House Oversight Committee (HOC), the D.C. Office of the Inspector General, and the U.S. Attorney’s Office have launched independent investigations into the matter.

In December 2025, the HOC published a report accusing former Police Chief Pamela A. Smith of pressuring her subordinates to alter crime statistics. The report also alleged that Smith urged officers to downgrade serious crimes to lesser offenses. According to the HOC, Smith developed the scheme after the crime rate peaked in the capital in 2023.

According to official data, the number of crimes in the city has dwindled since 2023, but Republicans and President Donald Trump have consistently said that the data is manipulated, and declared a crime emergency in the capital in August 2025. As a result, hundreds of National Guard troops were deployed in the city.

Meanwhile, HOC Chairman James Comer said interviews with commanders from all seven D.C. patrol districts suggest that Smith asked officers to manipulate data. “It’s now clear the American people were deliberately kept in the dark about the true crime rates in our nation’s capital,” Commer said in an official statement.

“Testimony from experienced and courageous MPD commanders has exposed the truth: Chief Pamela Smith coerced staff to report artificially low crime data and cultivated a culture of fear to achieve her agenda,” the Kentucky representative added.

According to the report, commanders alleged they were forced to reclassify crimes, including downgrading an assault with a dangerous weapon to endangerment with a firearm and changing a burglary to unlawful entry. One of the officers, Tatjana Savoy, was accused of reclassifying 390 thefts as misdemeanor offenses of ‘taking property without a right.’

On the other hand, Smith has maintained that these claims are baseless, and she never asked anyone to alter crime records. The former chief, who resigned in December 2025, said during her farewell speech, “Let’s be really clear about one thing - never would I, never will I ever compromise my integrity for a few crime numbers.”

Democrats have also sided with Smith and alleged that Republicans are using data manipulation as a false excuse to deploy troops in Washington, D.C. “The Trump Administration lied about crime in D.C. to justify illegally deploying troops and attempting to take control of MPD. Commanders uniformly testified that crime in D.C. has significantly decreased since 2023,” they said in a statement.

As investigations continue, Carroll asserted that the crime rate has indeed decreased. “Let me be clear. We have made meaningful progress over the last three years in reducing crime. Homicides, shootings, and carjackings have fallen steadily since 2023,” he said.