Justice Department investigates whether D.C. police manipulated crime data

The Justice Department is investigating whether Washington, D.C.’s Metropolitan Police Department falsified crime statistics to make crime appear lower than it was, according to NBC News.

Two senior law enforcement officials told NBC News on Tuesday that the Justice Department has launched the investigation, which is being led by U.S. Attorney for D.C. Jeanine Pirro’s office.

The probe comes about a week after President Donald Trump deployed National Guard troops in the capital and declared a crime emergency.

Trump invoked Section 740 of the District of Columbia Home Rule Act to place the Metropolitan Police Department under federal control. He additionally deployed the National Guard to the capital, calling it part of a “historic action” to address what he described as “complete and total lawlessness” fueled by crime.

Local officials disputed Trump’s claims, noting that violent crime had reached a 30-year low after a temporary rise in 2023.

D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser and congressional Democrats argued the deployment was unnecessary, politically motivated, and raised legal concerns over federal forces enforcing local law.

During a White House event announcing the measure, Trump said, “This is Liberation Day in D.C., and we’re going to take our capital back,” adding that federal control of the police and National Guard presence would restore “law, order and public safety.”

National Guard troops from West Virginia, South Carolina, Mississippi, and Louisiana, all Republican-led states, have begun arriving in D.C. to support the operation, according to the Associated Press.