District of Columbia Mayor Muriel Bowser, right, speaks as Delano Hunter, director of the DC Department of General Services, left, listens during the opening of the newly renovated outdoor pool at the Rosedale Recreation Center, Thursday, July 23, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo\/Mariam Zuhaib)<\/small><\/p>\n
2026-07-28T20:51:25Z<\/p>\n
WASHINGTON (AP) \u2014 The Washington, D.C. Metropolitan Police Department\u2019s crime statistics collection experienced a \u201cprolonged, systemic breakdown of its internal control system,\u201d according to a report released Tuesday by the city\u2019s inspector general, which reviewed the department\u2019s process after accusations by the federal government that figures were manipulated.<\/p>\n
The investigation, requested in December by Mayor Muriel Bowser<\/a><\/span>, reviewed MPD crime data from 2015 through 2025. While the report did not indicate any fraud or intentionality in the flaws in the crime stats collection, it recommended a series of steps meant to ensure accuracy in the data gathering going forward.<\/p>\n \u201cWe found that MPD\u2019s crime reporting controls broke down significantly during the period we examined,\u201d it said. <\/p>\n The police force\u2019s crime statistics collection faced increasing scrutiny after President Donald Trump issued a monthlong emergency order<\/a><\/span> last summer that federalized the police force and launched a law enforcement operation<\/a><\/span> in the nation\u2019s capital that his Republican administration said was meant to fight crime<\/a><\/span>. <\/p>\n Local officials maintained that crime was already dropping when Trump took the action. Critics said the problematic statistics erroneously downplayed the true impact of Trump\u2019s initiative. <\/p>\n The report made five recommendations to the department, including establishing a permanent, independent crime report review function with personnel who are appropriately trained with the authority to return reports to officers for correction. <\/p>\n It highlighted the 2013 dissolution of an independent unit that reviewed the statistics gathering process, which the report said led to crime classification errors and meant that incomplete explanations could pass through the approval process, uncorrected.<\/p>\n