DOJ Finds D.C. Police Crime Data May Have Been Manipulated

 

The Justice Department has completed its investigation into whether the District of Columbia’s Metropolitan Police Department manipulated crime data to make crime rates appear lower, according to multiple law enforcement sources. Sources familiar with the matter said DOJ has notified MPD of the conclusion of the probe and is expected to release its findings as early as Monday, NBC Washington reported.

Continue reading…

A draft version of the report obtained by News4 describes a pattern of repeated downgrading and misclassification of crimes, allegedly driven by pressure within the department to show declining crime rates.

MPD’s “official crime statistical reporting mechanism is likely unreliable and inaccurate due to misclassifications, errors, and or purposefully downgraded classifications and reclassifications,” the draft report states. “A significant number of MPD reports are misclassified.”

Investigators interviewed more than 50 witnesses and reviewed thousands of police reports as part of the probe, according to the draft.

Continue reading…