DOJ Report Exposes DC Police Crime Stats Manipulation: A Culture of Fear and Falsified Data

A Justice Department investigation has exposed systemic manipulation of crime statistics by the Washington, D.C. Metropolitan Police Department (MPD), revealing a “coercive culture of fear” under former Police Chief Pamela A. Smith that rendered official crime data unreliable and inaccurate.[Washington Post]

DOJ Report Key Findings

The draft report, dated December 10, 2025, and obtained by The Washington Post, stems from a review of thousands of police reports and interviews with over 50 witnesses. It concludes that MPD officers routinely misclassified serious offenses, such as aggravated assaults, robberies, and other felonies, as lesser misdemeanors or non-crimes to artificially lower reported crime rates. In a sample of 191 aggravated assault reports, approximately 33% were improperly downgraded. More alarmingly, over two-thirds of cases marked as “pending investigation” involved misclassifications, obscuring the true extent of violent crime across all seven patrol districts.[1][2]

Witnesses described a pressurized environment during Smith’s 2.5-year tenure, where officers faced public humiliation, peer denigration, and personal accountability for crimes in their districts. This coercive atmosphere intensified efforts to manipulate data, though patterns of misclassification predated her 2023 appointment as the department’s first Black female chief.[3]

Chief Smith’s Resignation

Smith announced her resignation on December 8, 2025, effective December 31, citing personal reasons and a desire to spend time with family. She denied any connection to the impending DOJ findings, but the timing—just days before the report’s circulation—drew skepticism from the police union and whistleblowers. Her exit follows years of complaints, including a 2020 lawsuit by retired Sgt. Charlotte Djossou alleging routine felony downgrades; the city settled that case earlier in 2025. One stark example involved a woman with a deep facial wound classified as a “sick person to the hospital” rather than assault with a dangerous weapon.[7][4]

Federal Probe Origins

President Trump ordered the federal investigation in August 2025, accusing D.C. leadership of creating an “illusion of safety” through falsified statistics amid rising violence. The Trump administration federalized the MPD and deployed National Guard troops for 30 days to bolster security. The DOJ probe, led by Assistant U.S. Attorney Steven Vandervelden, built on prior whistleblower alerts and a House Oversight Committee inquiry that demanded documents from Smith and district commanders.[8][12]

Mayor Muriel Bowser, who recently announced she will not seek a fourth term, and the DOJ declined comment on the report, expected for formal release soon after December 13, 2025.[5]

Implications for Public Trust

These revelations undermine confidence in urban crime reporting and highlight tensions between federal oversight and local policing in the nation’s capital. As D.C. searches for a new chief, calls intensify for reforms to ensure transparent, accurate data that truly reflects public safety realities.[6]

Published: December 13, 2025 | Word Count: 478 | Tags: DC Police, DOJ Report, Crime Statistics, Pamela Smith, Federal Investigation