DOJ investigating whether DC officials falsified crime data

The Justice Department has launched an investigation into D.C. crime reporting data as President Trump clashes with city leaders over his takeover of local police.

The investigation, led by the Office of the U.S. Attorney for D.C., comes from the same office that earlier this year publicized that violent crime in Washington had reached a 30-year low.

Trump has claimed that crime in the nation's capital is worse than what the data shows, even as city officials release reams of data showing falling crime in a number of categories since a spike in 2023.

The president has used claims of widespread and violent crime to justify the takeover as well as a National Guard presence in the capital, even as D.C. residents overwhelmingly oppose the move and fewer describe crime as a serious problem in the city.

“D.C. gave Fake Crime numbers in order to create a false illusion of safety,” Trump wrote on social media earlier this week.

The investigation comes after the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) suspended a former commander of one district after he was accused of shifting data on violent crime, NBC Washington reported last month. That district comprises three neighborhoods in the city.

Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche confirmed the probe in a Monday night interview on Fox News but said he was unsure whether any shifts were broader than the one officer.

"Well, no. I can’t tell you for sure whether it goes further, but we are, as you just suggested, we are, of course, looking into this," he said. "Because the reality is that we know that D.C. has been an incredibly unsafe place to live for a very long time."

“And so in some ways, it’s not surprising that we hear about reports of this type of conduct that suggests that D.C. is safer than everybody that lives here knows to be true," Blanche continued. "So, we’re investigating it, and hopefully, we’ll get to the bottom of it at some point soon.”

The D.C. police union, which supported Trump’s takeover of the force, has said it doubts that crime is as low as the city reported.

Statistics released by the city show a 27 percent drop in violent crime and a 4 percent drop in property crime from 2024 to this year. The declines are even more significant for the full year comparisons of 2023 and 2024, with violent crime dropping 35 percent and property crime dropping 11 percent.

MPD did not immediately respond to request for comment nor did the U.S. Attorney's Office. D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser's office did not comment.