On August 12, 2025, U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro stood before reporters in Washington, DC, announcing a federal investigation that’s sending shockwaves through the nation’s capital. The Department of Justice (DOJ) is probing whether the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) manipulated crime data, a move that comes just days after President Donald Trump deployed National Guard troops and federalized the city’s police force under the banner of restoring law and order. The controversy, swirling at the intersection of politics, policing, and public trust, has sparked heated debate about the true state of crime in DC—and the motivations behind the numbers.
The investigation, led by Pirro’s office, follows a tumultuous period in the city. President Trump, never one to shy away from a fight, accused DC officials of providing 22Fake Crime numbers in order to create a false illusion of safety. This is a very bad and dangerous thing to do, and they are under serious investigation for so doing!22 he wrote on his Truth Social platform on August 19, 2025. Trump’s claim? That until just days prior, Washington, DC was the 22most unsafe 'city' in the United States, and perhaps the World,22 but now, thanks to his intervention, it’s rapidly becoming the safest.
Yet, the facts paint a more complicated picture. According to the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Uniform Crime Report data from 2024, DC’s violent crime rate was far from the nation’s highest—28 other cities actually surpassed the capital in that grim ranking. Despite this, Trump declared a crime emergency and brought in National Guard troops from five jurisdictions, asserting that only a federal takeover could restore order. The White House even issued a press release titled 22Yes, D.C. crime is out of control,22 highlighting recent media reports and allegations against the MPD.
The roots of the DOJ’s probe stretch back several years. Internal allegations of data manipulation within the MPD have simmered for some time. In 2020, former MPD Sergeant Charlotte Djossou filed a lawsuit alleging that senior department officials routinely misclassified serious crimes, artificially reducing the city’s reported crime rate. The DC Police Union, led by Chairman Gregg Pemberton, has repeatedly accused supervisors of downgrading violent crimes to lesser offenses to make the numbers look better on paper.
The most recent flashpoint came in July 2025, when MPD’s 3rd District Commander, Michael Pulliam, was placed on paid leave amid allegations he altered crime statistics in his district. Pulliam has denied any wrongdoing, but the case reignited suspicions and provided fresh ammunition for Trump’s claims. The Justice Department’s investigation, according to senior law enforcement officials cited by NBC News, is expected to examine not just Pulliam but other police and city officials for potential wrongdoing. The scope of any possible charges remains unclear.
Mayor Muriel Bowser, a Democrat, has found herself caught between dueling narratives. In a recent interview with MSNBC, Bowser insisted, 22We are not experiencing a spike in crime. In fact, we’re watching our crime numbers go down.22 She reiterated that MPD Chief Pamela Smith had launched an internal investigation across all seven police districts and found issues only in Pulliam’s jurisdiction. 22I think that what Paul's reporting revealed is that the chief of police had concerns about one commander, investigated all seven districts and verified that the concern was with one person. So, we are completing that investigation and we don't believe it implicates many cases,22 Bowser told News4’s Mark Segraves on August 11, 2025.
Chief Smith, for her part, has declined to comment directly on Pulliam’s case, calling it an internal matter. However, she stated last month, 22I do not condone any official reclassifying criminal offenses outside the guidelines set in MPD policy. Any allegation of this behavior will be dealt with through an internal process.22 MPD data, according to city officials, shows violent crime decreases across all seven police districts, a point Bowser and Smith have both emphasized in public statements.
Not everyone is convinced. DC Police Union Chairman Gregg Pemberton expressed deep skepticism about the city’s reported success in reducing crime. 22There’s, potentially, a drop from where we were in 2023. I think that there’s a possibility that crime has come down. But the department is reporting that in 2024, crime went down 35%—violent crime—and another 25% through August of this year. That is preposterous to suggest that cumulatively we’ve seen 60-plus percent drops in violent crime from where we were in ’23, because we’re out on the street. We know the calls we’re responding to,22 Pemberton told NBC News’ Garrett Haake.
His skepticism is not without context. In 2023, DC experienced a crime spike not seen in about two decades, with homicide and violent crime surging as the city emerged from the COVID-19 pandemic. But the capital isn’t alone in seeing crime rates change. Data from the Council on Criminal Justice, cited by NBC News, shows that crime is down across more than three dozen major U.S. cities since 2023—with homicide rates declining more sharply nationwide than in DC itself.
The DOJ’s investigation has put a spotlight on broader questions about public safety, political accountability, and the reliability of official data. While the Trump administration frames the probe as a necessary response to a city in crisis, critics argue it’s a political maneuver aimed at justifying the unprecedented federal occupation of the capital. Meanwhile, city officials and police leadership maintain that any data anomalies are isolated, not systemic, and that the overall trend is one of improvement.
As the investigation unfolds, city residents are left to navigate a landscape shaped by conflicting claims and mounting tension. Some see the federal intervention as heavy-handed and politically motivated, while others welcome the scrutiny, hoping it will bring greater transparency and accountability to the MPD. For police officers on the ground, the debate over numbers feels far removed from the daily realities of their work—where every call, every statistic, represents a real person’s experience.
For now, the only certainty is uncertainty. The DOJ, led by Jeanine Pirro, has signaled that the investigation will be thorough and impartial. Whether it uncovers widespread wrongdoing or vindicates the city’s leadership, the outcome will have lasting implications—not just for DC, but for how Americans everywhere understand the intersection of politics, policing, and public trust. The stakes, as always, are high, and the eyes of the nation remain fixed on the capital as the story continues to unfold.