DC Police Data Manipulation Exposed: U.S. Attorney Confirms Crime Rates Higher Than Reported Under Trump’s Policies

Washington, D.C. — U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro has determined that the Washington Metropolitan Police Department manipulated crime statistics but concluded the conduct does not warrant criminal charges.

The findings follow a House Oversight Committee report that accused MPD leadership of deliberately altering crime data to make public safety conditions appear better than they were. The committee’s interim report, based on interviews with eight senior MPD commanders, alleged that Police Chief Pamela Smith fostered what lawmakers described as a “toxic management culture” and oversaw the manipulation of crime statistics. Smith announced last week she would resign effective December 31.

In a statement released Monday, Pirro said the U.S. Attorney’s Office launched its own investigation into what it described as the department’s “deflation” of crime data. The review included nearly 6,000 police reports and interviews with more than 50 witnesses.

“After a thorough review, it is evident that a significant number of reports were misclassified, making crime appear artificially lower than it actually was,” Pirro said.

The U.S. Attorney added that the findings show crime in the nation’s capital had been higher than publicly reported, underscoring the effectiveness of President Donald Trump’s law-and-order policies. “The uncovering of these manipulated crime statistics makes clear that President Trump has reduced crime even more than originally thought,” she said. “Because crimes were actually higher than reported, his crime-fighting efforts have delivered even greater safety to the people of the District.”

Despite the scope of misreporting, Pirro’s office determined the conduct does not rise to the level of a prosecutable offense under federal law. “The conduct here does not rise to the level of a criminal charge,” she said, adding that responsibility now falls to department leaders to address the problem internally.