People familiar with the crime statistics in Washington immediately challenged President Donald Trump’s assertion that crime in the capital was “out of control” and thus warranted him sending in the National Guard. So the president responded on social media that “D.C. gave Fake Crime numbers in order to create a false illusion of safety. This is a very bad and dangerous thing to do, and they are under serious investigation for so doing!” Sure enough, Trump’s Department of Justice is now investigating whether the district’s Metropolitan Police Department manipulated crime data to make rates appear lower than reality.
It is unlikely that manipulation explains the district’s reported drop in crime. Because violent crime is down in big cities across the country.
It is true that a police commander, Michael Pulliam, was placed on paid administrative leave in May after allegations that he wrongly altered crime statistics in his district, and it’s true that the police union there has claimed that supervisors regularly direct arresting officers to “take a report for a lesser offense” instead of felonies. Trump-aligned legal groups have filed FOIA requests citing alleged manipulation and a settlement with a former police sergeant who sued over “misclassifying offenses.” But it is highly unlikely that manipulation explains the district’s reported drop in crime. Because violent crime is down in big cities across the country.
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