The Justice Department is investigating whether the Washington, DC police department manipulated crime statistics to make the district seem more safe than it actually is.
“We’re of course looking into this because the reality is that we know that DC has been an incredibly unsafe place to live, for a very long time,” Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche said in an interview Tuesday with Fox News host Laura Ingraham.
The investigation into the allegations that DC’s Metropolitan Police Department fudged data to make crime rates appear lower is reportedly being led by the office of DC US Attorney Jeanine Pirro, according to multiple outlets.
Any officials found to have been manipulating federal data could face fraud, obstruction or making false statements charges, according to the Washington Post.
Allegations of fake crime stats in DC predate President Trump’s sweeping interventions in the nation’s capital aimed at cracking down on crime.
Michael Pulliam, an MPD commander, was put on paid leave in mid-May amid an internal investigation into changes he allegedly made to the district’s crime data, NBC Washington reported last month.
Pulliam allegedly falsified violent crime statistics to make them appear more favorable for the city, an accusation he denies.
Pulliam’s police union has defended him and accused MPD leadership of ordering subordinates to falsify violent crime data.
“In some ways, it’s not surprising that we hear about reports of this type of conduct that suggests that DC is safer than everybody that lives here knows to be true,” Blanche said on “The Ingraham Angle.”
“So, we’re investigating it, and hopefully we’ll get to the bottom of it at some point soon,” he added.
Trump appeared to confirm the investigation Monday night in a Truth Social post.
“D.C. gave Fake Crime numbers in order to create a false illusion of safety,” Trump wrote.
“This is a very bad and dangerous thing to do, and they are under serious investigation for so doing!” the president added.
The DC US Attorney’s Office and MPD did not immediately respond to The Post’s requests for comment.
