DOJ Launches Investigation Into DC Police for Cooking the Books on Crime Rates

Townhall 

The Justice Department has launched an investigation into the Washington, DC, police over allegations that it manipulated crime data to make it appear as if crime rates are at lower levels. 

The investigation comes amid allegations that DC Police Commander Michael Pulliam doctored crime data in ways that made it seem as if the agency is successfully reducing illegal activity. He was placed on leave last month over the allegations.

From The Washington Post:

The launch of the criminal investigation — run out of the federal prosecutor’s office in D.C. — escalates the tense relationship between the Trump administration and local D.C. officials, who have repeatedly cited steep drops in violent crime to question the federal takeover of law enforcement in the nation’s capital.

“D.C. gave Fake Crime numbers in order to create a false illusion of safety,” President Donald Trump wrote in confirming the existence of the probe on social media Monday night.

“This is a very bad and dangerous thing to do, and they are under serious investigation for so doing!" Trump continued. "Until 4 days ago, Washington, D.C., was the most unsafe “city” in the United States, and perhaps the World. Now, in just a short period of time, it is perhaps the safest, and getting better every single hour!”

The probe will go beyond Pulliam and will include other local officials who may have been involved. DC Mayor Muriel Bowser claimed, “we’re watching our crime numbers go down” and referred to statistics showing a 27 percent drop in violent crime in the district.

DC Police Union Chairman Gregg Pemberton indicated that crime had declined, but doubts it dropped by 35 percent, as law enforcement claimed. “That is preposterous. …We’re out on the street. We know the calls we’re responding to.”

President Trump recently federalized the police in Washington, DC, amid heightened crime rates. News reports surfaced detailing the allegations against Pulliam. “When officers arrive at scenes involving felonies like shootings or carjackings, a lieutenant or captain frequently shows up and instructs them to write it up as something less serious—like a simple theft or an injury report,” Pemberton said.

The FBI reported last week that crime has dropped nationally, so it’s not hard to believe that the same could be true of Washington, DC. However, if the police department is massaging the numbers to make it appear as if it dropped lower than it actually did, then that’s a huge problem. It will be interesting to see what this investigation turns up. Perhaps similar investigations are warranted in other major cities as well.