Justice Department Investigates Alleged Manipulation of DC Crime Statistics

The Department of Justice has launched an investigation into allegations that the Washington, D.C., police department manipulated crime data to present more favorable statistics, according to sources familiar with the matter. The probe follows President Donald Trump’s recent federalization of the city’s police department amid concerns over rising violence in the nation’s capital.

Two sources briefed on the situation confirmed to Fox News that federal investigators are examining whether crime statistics were deliberately altered to create a misleading impression of public safety improvements. The investigation comes just weeks after Trump took the unprecedented step of assuming emergency control of the Metropolitan Police Department.

“D.C. gave fake crime numbers in order to create a false illusion of safety,” Trump posted on Truth Social earlier this week. “This is a very bad and dangerous thing to do, and they are under serious investigation for so doing!”

On August 11, Trump federalized the District’s police force under section 740 of the District of Columbia Home Rule Act, a measure that allows the president to assume emergency control of the capital’s police force for 30 days. The action brought hundreds of National Guard members and various federal law enforcement agents to the city.

The allegations of data manipulation first surfaced in July when D.C. Police Union Chairman Gregg Pemberton told NBC Washington that officers were being directed to downgrade serious offenses. “When our members respond to the scene of a felony offense where there is a victim reporting that a felony occurred, inevitably there will be a lieutenant or a captain that will show up on that scene and direct those members to take a report for a lesser offense,” Pemberton said.

According to the union leader, officers were instructed to classify shootings, stabbings, and carjackings as lesser crimes such as thefts or “injured person to the hospital” reports, effectively reducing the number of violent crimes in official statistics.

These accusations gained further credibility following the mid-May suspension of Washington, D.C., Police Commander Michael Pulliam, who was accused of falsifying crime data in his district. Pulliam has denied the allegations and had filed an equal employment opportunity complaint against a superior just a week before his suspension.

The Metropolitan Police Department and Mayor Muriel Bowser’s office did not immediately respond to requests for comment on the DOJ investigation.

Crime trends in Washington have been at the center of a heated political debate. Democratic lawmakers have criticized Trump’s intervention, pointing to statistics showing a decline in violent crime. “Violent crime in Washington, D.C. is at a 30-year low,” House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries claimed after Trump’s action. Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton echoed this sentiment on social media.

Official data paint a more complex picture of crime in the District. Homicides in D.C. reached 274 in 2023, a 20-year high, following a troubling trend that began in 2020 when the city recorded 198 homicides – then a 16-year high. The Metropolitan Police Department reports homicides dropped by approximately 31% in 2024 compared to the previous year, with violent crime collectively falling by about 35%.

However, a July study by the Council on Criminal Justice revealed that while the number of violent crimes may have decreased, their lethality has increased dramatically. The study found Washington had the highest increase in lethality among 17 cities examined, with a 38% rise since 2018 and a staggering 341% increase compared to 2012 levels. Researchers defined lethality as “the number of homicides per aggravated assaults and robberies.”

During an Oval Office press conference on August 14, Trump reaffirmed his position on the alleged manipulation of crime data: “They are under investigation right now. They are giving this phony crime stats just like they gave other stats in the financial world.”

As the investigation unfolds, questions remain about the accuracy of the city’s crime reporting and the long-term implications for public safety policy in the District of Columbia. The outcome could significantly impact how crime data is collected and reported in Washington and potentially other major U.S. cities.