House Report Exposes Manipulated D.C. Crime Data

I know you will be shocked, but the police chief in Washington falsified crime data to make it look as if the city was addressing its rampant crime crisis.

Democrats always drive up crime in their cities, but every once in a while, when Republicans call them out, they feel the urge to pretend that they are addressing the problem. Usually, that involves some sort of deception, or, as in the case of Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) Chief Pamela A. Smith, outright tampering with data.

The House Oversight Committee report “Leadership Breakdown: How D.C.’s Police Chief Undermined Crime Data Accuracy” confirmed what many of us believed — D.C. crime data wasn’t accurate. The committee released a press release on Dec. 14 stating that Smith pressured commanders and sometimes even specifically ordered them to manipulate the crime data to hide the true extent of the crisis.

Smith habitually ruled the roost through threats, fear, intimidation, and retaliation, according to evidence the committee uncovered. Ironically, Democrat D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser praised Smith for bringing down homicides and cutting violent crime when announcing the police chief’s resignation.

Chairman James Comer (R-Ky.) declared, “Every single person who lives, works, or visits the District of Columbia deserves a safe city, yet it’s now clear the American people were deliberately kept in the dark about the true crime rates in our nation’s capital. 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 press release highlighted some key findings:

Testimony revealed that Chief Smith prioritized lowering publicly reported crime numbers over reducing actual crime, placing intense pressure on district commanders to produce low crime statistics by any means necessary. Commanders also testified that Chief Smith pushed for more frequent use of lesser, intermediate charges—which are not publicly reported—and required certain crimes to be reviewed by her office, actions that together amounted to manipulating crime data to present the illusion of lower crime in the District… Chief Smith Punished and Removed Officers for Reporting Accurate Crime Numbers and Fostered a Toxic Culture.

The committee can confirm that Donald Trump’s federalization of the D.C. Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) and use of the National Guard in the Capital were effective at reducing crime. Unfortunately, the risk of data manipulation remains, hence the need for a less corrupt replacement to Smith.

Comer noted that the data corruption isn’t just a local issue: “Chief Smith’s decision to mislead the public by manipulating crime statistics is dangerous and undermines trust in both local leadership and law enforcement. Her planned resignation at the end of the month should not be seen as a voluntary choice, but as an inevitable consequence that should have occurred much earlier. Chief Smith should resign today. The House Oversight Committee is delivering on its responsibility to conduct robust oversight over D.C. and will continue its work to ensure crime data is accurately reported to the public.”

The question is: How many other cities have grossly manipulated their crime data? Because, if we’re being honest, that manipulation is probably happening to a greater or lesser extent in a considerable number of Democrat cities.

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