crime data rates Washington police.

A congressional committee’s report says the police chief in Washington, D.C., pressured subordinates to manipulate department data to artificially lower the city’s crime rates. Sunday’s report from the Republican-led House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform accuses Metropolitan Police Department Chief Pamela Smith of threatening and punishing police commanders who presented her with spikes in crime. A separate investigation by U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro’s office also found that a significant number of MPD reports had been misclassified to make crime rates appear lower. Smith has said she doesn’t believe any crime numbers were manipulated during her tenure. Washington Mayor Muriel Bowser accused the House committee of rushing to judgment.