D.C. Police Department Faces Systemic Breakdown in Crime Data Collection, Inspector General Finds

Washington D.C.’s Metropolitan Police Department suffered from a “prolonged, systemic breakdown of its internal control system” in collecting crime statistics, according to a report released Tuesday by the city inspector general. The investigation, initiated in December by Mayor Muriel Bowser, examined MPD crime data spanning 2015 through 2025 following federal accusations that the department had manipulated figures.

While investigators found no evidence of intentional fraud in the data collection failures, they issued five recommendations aimed at strengthening accuracy and oversight procedures going forward. Among the key proposals was establishing a permanent, independent unit to review crime reports with authority to return submissions to officers for correction and additional training.

The report identified the 2013 dissolution of an independent statistics review unit as a critical turning point that contributed to classification errors and allowed incomplete documentation to advance through the approval process without scrutiny. Officials stressed that reliable crime data forms the foundation for operational decisions by police, resource allocation by the District government, and public assessment of community safety.

President Donald Trump’s administration launched a federal takeover of the D.C. police force last summer, citing rising violent crime, though local officials argued crime was already declining. A Republican-led House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform and a separate probe by U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro’s office both found significant misclassification of reports to make crime appear lower than actual levels.

In May, interim Police Chief Jeffery Carroll announced that 13 officers had been placed on administrative leave related to an internal investigation into crime statistics practices. Eleven remain on leave while two have separated from the department, officials confirmed in an email.

The MPD has announced it is implementing increased training and establishing a new Data Quality and Compliance Branch to enforce objective reporting and conduct systematic reviews of police reports. Neither the House Committee nor the U.S. Attorney’s investigation found sufficient grounds to bring criminal charges against any individual.