The Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) of Washington, D.C. is facing a storm of controversy after a federal investigation and a scathing congressional report alleged that police leadership, under outgoing Chief Pamela A. Smith, deliberately manipulated crime statistics to make the city appear safer than it actually was. The fallout has not only shaken public trust in the department, but has also sparked heated denials, emotional speeches, and a leadership shakeup at the top of D.C.’s police force.
The saga began in earnest on August 25, 2025, when the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform opened an inquiry into allegations that the MPD had been distorting public-facing crime data. According to a 22-page interim report from the Committee, the investigation included eight transcribed interviews with seven acting MPD district commanders and one suspended commander. The findings were damning: the commanders described a “toxic management culture” under Chief Smith, where officers were pressured to alter crime classifications and lower reported numbers, all to present a rosier picture to city officials and the public.
“The goal at the end of the year is to have the lowest crime possible to report out to the mayor and the city,” one district commander told Committee investigators, according to the report. The commander went on to allege that Smith’s leadership “incentivized the manipulation of crime numbers, which do not adequately account for the crime taking place in D.C.”
These manipulations, the report claims, included reclassifying serious offenses—such as assault with a dangerous weapon (ADW)—into less visible categories like “endangerment with a firearm,” which is not publicly reported in the Daily Crime Report (DCR). Similarly, incidents that “read like a burglary” were often classified as “unlawful entry and theft,” specifically to avoid the DCR’s burglary category. The DCR, it should be noted, is a public-facing dataset limited to nine felony categories, and it is the primary lens through which the public and policymakers view crime trends in the city.
District commanders also described an atmosphere of fear and unpredictability. According to the Committee’s report, those who failed to present favorable statistics or who questioned Chief Smith’s actions faced “retaliatory transfers and demotions.” The result was a department suffering from “frustration and exhaustion,” with morale, training, recruitment, and retention all taking significant hits.
Chief Smith’s management style was sharply contrasted with that of her predecessor, Robert J. Contee III. One commander explained that Contee’s weekly meetings were collaborative and analytical, while Smith’s insistence on daily updates “degraded communication, collaboration, and morale.” Her “closed-door policy” further isolated district commanders, who reported feeling unable to speak directly with her except in formal briefings.
The allegations against the MPD are not unprecedented in the world of American policing. According to the report, other departments—including the New York Police Department’s 81st Precinct, the New Orleans Police Department, the Milwaukee Police Department, and the Chicago Police Department—have all faced documented instances of crime data manipulation in the past decade. The motives are often the same: to control the public narrative, protect departmental reputations, and, in some cases, to bolster recruiting and retention by showing artificially improved crime trends.
Yet, as the Committee pointed out, these practices can have serious national consequences. The FBI’s Uniform Crime Reporting (UCR) Program relies on accurate local data to track crime trends nationwide. When local agencies game the system by downgrading or misclassifying offenses, the integrity of national crime statistics is compromised, affecting everything from policy decisions to federal funding.
Amid this growing controversy, Chief Pamela Smith announced on December 8, 2025, that she would step down at year’s end. The city held an emotional walkout ceremony for Smith on December 19, marking her departure after three years with the department—two of them as chief. In a fiery 13-minute farewell speech at police headquarters, Smith forcefully defended her record and integrity against the backdrop of two highly critical federal reports.
“Let’s be really clear about one thing: Never would I, never will I ever compromise my integrity for a few crime numbers,” Smith declared, her voice rising with conviction in front of her mother, D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser, and the MPD command staff. “Never would I compromise my love for God, the faith that I had in this city. Never would I compromise my integrity; never would I compromise 28 years in law enforcement for a few folk who couldn’t stand to be held accountable. And if I had to do it all over again, I’d do it again!”
Smith repeatedly denied the allegations that she pressured anyone to alter crime statistics. “Make no mistake—you can say what you want to say. But I live in this city and I felt it myself. I felt the shift. And I’m going to say it again. I never and never will and never would have encouraged, intimidated, retaliated or told anyone to change their numbers. Never would I have done that,” she said, according to Fox News reporting.
Her message to critics was blunt and emotional: “So, I’m going to the Bible when I say this to my haters: F you.” The remark drew gasps and chuckles from the crowd. Smith, undeterred, added, “No, it’s not a drop-the-mic moment. Watch me in this space. I forgive you.”
D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser, for her part, pushed back against the congressional report, calling it a “rush to judgement to serve a politically motivated timeline.” Bowser thanked Smith for her leadership, saying, “Thank you for your leadership over the last two years. I want to thank you for your spirit of accountability.”
Smith’s tenure was marked by both progress and controversy. Appointed in 2023 as the first Black woman to serve as D.C. police chief, she took over during a spike in violent crime—particularly homicides. Under her leadership, the department reported a dramatic drop in crime across many categories, though the accuracy of those numbers is now under federal scrutiny. The last several months of her tenure were further complicated by federal law enforcement surges, a temporary presidential takeover of the police department, community outrage over immigration enforcement participation, and the ongoing federal investigations into data manipulation.
With Smith’s departure, D.C. police veteran Jeffery Carroll was named interim chief. As of December 19, 2025, the federal investigation into the manipulation of crime data remains ongoing, leaving the department—and the city—waiting for answers and accountability.
The MPD’s current predicament is a stark reminder of the delicate balance between managing public perception and maintaining transparency. As the investigation continues, the city’s leadership and its residents are left to grapple with questions about trust, integrity, and the true state of public safety in the nation’s capital.