House Republicans Raise Red Flags Over D.C. Crime Numbers

The top police official in Washington, D.C., pressured commanders to downgrade crimes and retaliated against those who reported spikes, fueling a culture of fear and distorted public data, according to a new congressional report that casts fresh doubt on the city’s crime numbers.

An interim report released Sunday by the House Oversight Committee alleges outgoing Metropolitan Police Department Chief Pamela Smith ran an unprecedented operation to interfere with crime reporting. Smith announced her resignation on Dec. 8 and is expected to remain in the role through the end of the year.

The Republican-led committee says Smith repeatedly leaned on district commanders to lower crime classifications and, in some cases, directed them to avoid labeling offenses in ways that would appear on the city’s Daily Crime Report, effectively keeping ugly numbers out of public view.

“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.

The findings are based on eight transcribed interviews with MPD district commanders and describe an environment where protecting the narrative mattered more than reporting reality. Commanders told investigators they were publicly dressed down, sidelined or threatened with career consequences for presenting data that reflected rising crime.

MPD did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

“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 as “Commander E,” recalled being called out after a wave of robberies hit 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 said. “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.”

The commander said the blame stuck long after the meeting ended.

“I did feel like I did the robberies after I left. I literally was, like, I swear I did not commit them.”

The report comes as President Donald Trump’s administration has moved aggressively to confront violent crime in the capital. In August, Trump issued an executive order targeting what he called an “epidemic of crime” in Washington and deployed federal law enforcement resources, including National Guard troops, to back up local police.

Several commanders told investigators the federal presence helped shore up manpower and restore order in areas where MPD had been stretched thin.

Mayor Muriel Bowser has pointed to a reported drop in homicides, saying last week that killings are down 30% this year, a claim now likely to face renewed scrutiny in light of the Oversight Committee’s findings.

“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 in a statement. “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.

Republicans on the committee, however, argue the report raises serious questions about whether the public has been given an accurate picture of crime in the nation’s capital and whether political optics were prioritized over transparency and public safety.

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