House Oversight panel report alleges DC Police chief manipulated crime statistics

A House oversight panel has released a report alleging the outgoing police chief for Washington, D.C., manipulated crime statistics, pressuring commanders to create the appearance that the situation in the nation's capital is better than the numbers in fact show. 

Metropolitan Police Department commanders testified that Chief Pamela A. Smith cultivated an environment of "fear, intimidation, threats, and retaliation," which "contributed directly to declining morale and the loss of experienced officers and commanders," the GOP-led House Oversight Committee said Sunday in announcing the release of the report.

“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," committee Chairman James Comer said in announcing the release.

"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.

“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.”

Last week, Smith announced her resignation after two and a half years in the role. The committee noted that her announcement followed the panel's interviews with the commanders.

According to testimony in the committee's interim staff report, Smith was more focused on lowering the publicly reported crime numbers than reducing actual crime, putting pressure on MPD commanders to produce low crime statistics by any means necessary.

Also, commanders testified that they "were berated for reporting rising crime," and that "Smith engaged in retribution in the form of retaliatory transfers and demotions against various MPD officials," according to the committee.

Smith told FOX 5 that she had not encouraged crime statistics manipulation and denied that there was an issue. She said that in any cases of manipulated data, “when it’s brought to my attention, we will hold those members accountable.”

Mayor Muriel Bowser praised Smith and the MPD's officers in a statement to The New York Times for a “precipitous decline in crime” and “their hard work and dedication.”

“I thank Chief Smith for her commitment to the safety of D.C. residents and for holding the Metropolitan Police Department to an exacting standard, and I expect no less from our next chief of police,” Bowser said.

The MPD did not respond to the Times' request for comment.

The committee's report comes after the Justice Department's investigation, according to a draft report, concluded that MPD crime statistics were “likely unreliable and inaccurate," and that Smith created a “coercive culture of fear.”