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By MICHAEL KUNZELMAN
WASHINGTON (AP) — The police chief within the nation’s capital pressured subordinates to govern division knowledge to artificially decrease town’s crime charges, in line with a report by a Republican-led congressional committee.
The report, launched Sunday by the Home Committee on Oversight and Authorities Reform, discovered that Metropolitan Police Division Chief Pamela Smith typically threatened, punished and retaliated in opposition to police commanders who introduced her with “spikes in crime.”
A separate investigation by U.S. Lawyer Jeanine Pirro’s workplace additionally discovered {that a} important variety of MPD stories had been misclassified to make crime charges seem decrease than they’re.
Pirro’s workplace started its investigation in August on the top of a political showdown between Republican President Donald Trump’s administration and town over management of the police division. Trump claimed violent crime in Washington was getting worse as he ordered a federal takeover of the police division,
Neither investigation discovered grounds for charging anyone with a criminal offense.
“Nonetheless, it’s as much as MPD to take steps to internally handle these underlying points,” Pirro mentioned in a press release Monday.
Smith, who’s stepping down on the finish of the yr after two years answerable for the division, has mentioned she doesn’t consider any crime numbers have been manipulated throughout her tenure.
“I’ve by no means and can by no means authorize and even help any thought processes or actions almost about crime numbers being manipulated,” she instructed Fox 5 throughout an interview earlier this month.
Washington Mayor Muriel Bowser on Monday defended Smith’s efficiency and accused the Home committee’s leaders of dashing to judgment “as a way to serve a politically motivated timeline.”
“It’s my expectation that the crime statistics we publish and depend on are correct and of the best high quality attainable,” Bowser, a Democrat, wrote in a letter addressed to the Home committee’s chair and rating member.
Homicides are down 31% this yr, from 181 in 2024 to 125 with two weeks left in 2025, in line with MPD crime knowledge. Bowser mentioned unbiased knowledge on hospital visits reveals a 33% drop in firearm accidents for the primary 10 months of 2025 in comparison with the identical interval of 2024. The mayor accused the committee of cherry-picking essential quotes from commanders with out interviewing Smith or any assistant chiefs.
“Even a cursory evaluate of the report reveals its prejudice: of the 22 block quotes introduced as complaining about Chief Smith’s administration fashion, 20 of them have been made by solely two command officers interviewed,” Bowser wrote.
The Home committee mentioned its findings are primarily based partly on interviews with the commanders of all seven D.C. patrol districts and a former commander who’s at the moment on depart. Commanders testified that Smith pushed for a extra frequent use of “intermediate” prison expenses that go unreported versus extra severe expenses that have to be publicly reported, in line with the committee.
“These mixed efforts, as defined by commanders, amounted to manipulating MPD crime statistics in an effort to indicate lowered charges of crime to the general public,” the report says.
Pirro, who was appointed by Trump, mentioned her workplace reviewed practically 6,000 police stories and interviewed greater than 50 witnesses in concluding {that a} “important variety of stories had been misclassified, making crime seem artificially decrease than it was.”
“The uncovering of those manipulated crime statistics makes clear that President Trump has lowered crime much more than initially thought, since crimes have been really increased than reported,” Pirro’s assertion says.
The committee’s Republican chairman, Rep. James Comer of Kentucky, mentioned Smith “cultivated a tradition of worry to realize her agenda.”
“Each single one who lives, works, or visits the District of Columbia deserves a secure metropolis, but it’s now clear the American individuals have been intentionally stored at nighttime in regards to the true crime charges in our nation’s capital,” Comer mentioned in a press release.
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