Posted on 07/27/2025 7:19:03 AM PDT by Twotone
The Metropolitan Police Department is embroiled in controversy over allegations related to its reported crime statistics.
The Washington, D.C., department placed Police Commander Michael Pulliam on paid administrative leave in May after a police union accused the MPD of deliberately manipulating crime data, several law enforcement sources told WRC-TV.
Pulliam, who is under investigation, denied the allegations.
Gregg Pemberton, the chairman of the D.C. Police Union, a branch of the Fraternal Order of Police, explained to WRC how the statistics are manipulated to make it appear that crime has declined. The union also warned about a larger trend of supervisors instructing employees to engage in such practices.
"When our members respond to the scene of a felony offense where there is a victim reporting that a felony occurred, inevitably there will be a lieutenant or a captain that will show up on that scene and direct those members to take a report for a lesser offense," Pemberton said. "So instead of taking a report for a shooting or a stabbing or a carjacking, they will order that officer to take a report for a theft or an injured person to the hospital or a felony assault, which is not the same type of classification."
Pemberton stated that crimes that should be reported as involving a suspect armed with a dangerous weapon have instead been documented as felony assaults.
"When management officials are directing officers to take reports for felony assault, or if they're going back into police databases and changing offenses to felony assault, felony assault is not a category of crime that's listed on the department's daily crime stats," he continued. "It's also not something that's a requirement of the FBI's uniform crime reporting program. So by changing criminal offenses from, for example, ADW bat or ADW gun to felony assault, that would avoid both the MPD and the FBI from reporting that as a part one or a felony offense."
Pemberton claimed that union members had reported that the directive came from command staff who want to ensure that the "classifications of these reports are adjusted over time to make sure that the overall crime stats stay down."
"This is deliberately done," he told WRC.
Pemberton called the MPD's reported severe drop in crime "preposterous," adding that there is "absolutely no way."
"Last year they suggested that it went down 34%," he said.
As of Thursday morning, the department's crime data stated that violent offenses are down 26% when compared to the same time last year. A breakdown of those violent offenses included a 47% decline in sexual abuse and a 28% decline in robberies.
Chief Pamela Smith told WRC that the department cannot comment on an ongoing investigation; however, she did address the union's allegations.
"The Metropolitan Police Department is committed to upholding the trust and the confidence of the public," Smith said. "Any irregularity in crime data brought to my attention will be addressed immediately. I 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 our internal processes, which will ensure those members are held accountable. I have the utmost confidence in the command staff leadership currently in place across the Metropolitan Police Department."
The union's allegations follow comments earlier this month from President Donald Trump, who stated that he was considering having his administration run Washington, D.C., due to the local leadership's inability to significantly reduce crime.
"We have tremendous power at the White House to run places when we have to," Trump stated. "We could run D.C."
He noted that White House chief of staff Susie Wiles is "working very closely" with Washington, D.C., Mayor Muriel Bowser (D) to reduce crime.
No way, man. They would never lie to us and make stuff up.
Really? LOL. I’m shocked.
“Gregg Pemberton, the chairman of the D.C. Police Union, a branch of the Fraternal Order of Police, explained to WRC how the statistics are manipulated to make it appear that crime has declined.”
It ain’t just DC doing this crap, which is why Conservatives pretty much have to now view ALL US cities as no-go zones.
It's good to see the matter getting attention, as the true information affects safety decisions as far as travel and home selection and also just might impact elections.
It’s a filthy, disgraceful ploy!
But, of course, you’re too stupid to see it.
It’s your exaggerated perception of crime, not actual crime, that you should be concerned with.
Without your lyin’ eyes, crime is really low!
> a police union accused the MPD of deliberately manipulating crime data <
Unions often get a bad rap. And deservedly so! Most of them are corrupt to one degree or another. But sometimes a union is the only organization willing to tell you the truth about a situation.
This is one example of that.
This practice of cooking crime stats is widespread and has been going on for decades. Even the FBI has been caught fudging the numbers. Remember some years back it was discovered that when hispanics commit crimes, the FBI counts them as white. When they’re victims, they’re counted as minorities / hispanic. Meanwhile, the SAT test has once again been rejiggered in an attempt to stall the ongoing drop in scores.
Are there any ethical democrats in power anywhere?
> It ain’t just DC doing this crap <
Yep. A big city near me announced a new policy. Police will not respond to most calls that are not in-progress crimes. So if someone is breaking into your home the cops will respond.
But if someone broke into your home, stole something, then left, the police will not respond. All you get is an incident number over the phone.
How long before people just quit reporting such crimes? After all, why bother?
Less reports = crime stats improve
Wouldn’t a review of crime-scene body-cam footage and the associated crime reports easily confirm this story?
Goose - gander
Ideally the District of Columbia Home Rule Act of 1973 needs to be repealed. But that would never get past he Senate. But, according to the Wikipedia article on the Act, Congressional action to invalidate laws passed by the District government is not subject to the filibuster. That’s a tool that should be readily used to rein in the lunatics that run the place
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/District_of_Columbia_Home_Rule_Act
So basically correctly report crime under Republican Presidents and go back to faking it otherwise.
How the hell do you get the numbers to go where you want them to go if you don’t damn well manipulate them? Geeez!
It would take a working time machine to go far enough into the past to find one.
As if the federal government doesn’t lie everyday, about everything. There must be a reason why this story was published.
Democrat mayors put pressure on democrat police departments in democrat hellhole cities to lie about crime BECAUSE they want to compete for companies and to do that they push the lie democrat cities are like other cities.
Companies have caught on to the lies and are doing their onw research. Moving companies and employees into hellholes is bad for the company and makes it difficult for them to attract top talent.
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