Mayor Muriel Bowser responded to the House Republican report. (Getty Images)
The committee’s 22-page report claims that outgoing Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) Chief Pamela Smith, who announced her resignation on Dec. 8, oversaw an unprecedented system of intervention in crime reporting.
It alleges that Smith, who is expected to remain in the position through the end of the year, pressured commanders on numerous occasions, and at times instructed them to downgrade offenses and avoid classifications that would appear on the city's daily crime report.
The findings, based on eight transcribed interviews with MPD district commanders, describe a toxic management environment in which accuracy was sacrificed for optics, and career officials faced public humiliation or demotion for presenting Smith with unfavorable crime statistics.
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District of Columbia Metropolitan Police Chief Pamela Smith attends a remembrance and reopening ceremony at the Lillian and Albert Small Capital Jewish Museum on May 29, 2025, in Washington, D.C. (Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)
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Bowser said the district is committed to publishing accurate, high-quality crime statistics.
"The pressure public leaders should all feel to reduce crime and the fear of crime in our communities will never be an acceptable excuse to intentionally alter and downgrade crime, and any police official who believes otherwise will be held accountable," she added.
Ashley Carnahan is a writer at Fox News Digital.
https://www.foxnews.com/politics/dc-mayor-fires-back-house-oversight-committee-over-politically-motivated-crime-statistics-report