❓WHAT HAPPENED: The House Oversight Committee is investigating claims that Washington, D.C.’s Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) leadership is manipulating crime data to downplay violent crime in the city.

👤WHO WAS INVOLVED: MPD leadership, D.C. government officials, responding officers, and U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia Matthew Graves.

📍WHEN & WHERE: Ongoing investigation with allegations spanning recent years, primarily in Washington, D.C.

💬KEY QUOTE: “They make you call an official, like a sergeant and the lieutenant on the scene to make that decision. Basically, to put people who have skin in the game with the crime stats in the business of deciding whether we should record the stat or not,” said a reserve officer with MPD.

🎯IMPACT: The alleged manipulation of crime data may mislead the public, create a false sense of security, and hinder accurate assessments of public safety in D.C.

The House Oversight Committee is conducting an inquiry into allegations that Washington, D.C.’s Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) leadership is deliberately manipulating crime statistics. Sources familiar with the process claim that city officials routinely minimize violent crime by downgrading charges, a practice they allege starts at the crime scene and continues through the court system.

A reserve officer with MPD disclosed that responding officers are not allowed to classify violent crimes independently, leaving those decisions to higher-ranking officials like sergeants or lieutenants. “They make you call an official, like a sergeant and the lieutenant on the scene to make that decision. Basically, to put people who have skin in the game with the crime stats in the business of deciding whether we should record the stat or not,” the officer explained. This process, the officer noted, disincentivizes officers from reporting violent crimes accurately.

The National Pulse reported in July that Michael Pulliam, a Washington, D.C. police commander, is under investigation for allegedly doctoring crime statistics. The investigation began after the Fraternal Order of Police complained that the department was deliberately falsifying crime data.

Further, the officer noted that a legal change in September 2023, driven by D.C. Council Democrats, introduced a new charge of “endangerment with a firearm” as a substitute for assault with a dangerous weapon. While both are felonies, only the latter is classified as a violent crime in MPD’s data. The officer claimed this distinction is often abused to artificially lower violent crime statistics.

A review of the data found 25 instances of “endangerment with a firearm” being used in arrests between September 2023 and late 2024, though the true number may be higher. This reclassification, alongside MPD’s selective use of crime categories, has raised questions about the city’s reported 35 percent decrease in violent crime from 2023 to 2024.

Additionally, the former U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia, Matthew Graves, has faced criticism for declining to prosecute a significant number of cases, including assaults against police officers. In 2023, Graves’ office reportedly did not prosecute 42 percent of cases. After President Donald J. Trump was inaugurated for his second term in January 2025, Graves was removed from office and eventually replaced by Jeanine Pirro as U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia.

Image by Elvert Barnes.

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