A new House committee report is criticizing Metropolitan Police Department Chief Pamela Smith’s leadership and accuses her of, at times, directing commanders to manipulate crime data.
The interim report by the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform says the chief was trying to make it appear that crime is low in the Nation’s capital.
The chief has been under pressure about crime statistics for months. This is the second federal report in just two days to call out the chief for allegedly manipulating stats to make the city appear safer. It also accuses her of creating a culture of toxicity.
While the chief has denied these allegations, last week, she announced she’s leaving the department.
The report, labeled “Leadership Breakdown: How DC’s Police Chief Undermined Crime Data Accuracy,” specifically highlights a story from News4’s Paul Wagner who reported in August about allegations of crime data manipulation.
The report is based on interviews with D.C. police commanders who claimed there are pressures on personnel to lower the classifications of crimes to create the impression that crime is low.
It says, in part, that testimony from commanders “[…] paints a troubling picture of department leadership placing a higher priority on suppressing public reporting of crime statistics than stopping crime itself.”
The report says there was an emphasis on what’s called the daily crime report, which has nine categories of felony offenses and the chief “[…] was so preoccupied with the statistics of the select crimes that were made public that she incentivized her subordinates to lower those crimes by whatever means necessary.”
Commanders told the committee that they were pressured and at times directed to lower crime stats to lesser offenses so they would not be included in the public reporting.
It says there are concerning accounts about a toxic management culture created by the chief — a “culture of fear, intimidation, threats, and retaliation by Chief Smith” and that Smith “[…] regularly took action against her subordinates who failed to aid in the preservation of her public image.”
On Monday, the chief announced she was stepping down at the end of the year after just two years on the job.
On Friday, News4 was first to obtain a draft report from the U.S. Attorney’s office, which also criticized the chief and said it found evidence of crime data manipulation. An official report could be released as soon as Monday.
The chief has said her resignation had nothing to do with the investigations.
“My decision was not factored into anything with respect other than the fact that it’s time,” Smith said. “I’ve had 20 years in law enforcement. I’ve had some time to think with my family. This has really been a fast-paced role because it is in a major city.”
House Oversight Committee Chair James Comer said the chief should resign today.
“Chief Smith’s decision to mislead the public by manipulating crime statistics is dangerous and undermines trust in both local leadership and law enforcement,” he said.
Sunday afternoon, the mayor didn’t specifically address the report but did say the decline in crime is attributed to the hard work of D.C. police and the chief’s leadership.
News4 reached out to the police department for comment but has not yet heard back.
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