DOJ Launches Probe Into DC Crime Stats

The Department of Justice (DOJ) launched a probe into Washington, D.C.’s Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) to investigate whether or not the city’s crime data was manipulated, according to unspecified sources. The probe came after Trump federalized MPD in August to “stop violent crime.”

Trump’s Claims: Trump wrote on Truth Social Monday, “Until 4 days ago, Washington, D.C., was the most unsafe ‘city’ in the United States, and perhaps the World. Now, in just a short period of time, it is perhaps the safest, and getting better every single hour! People are flocking to D.C. again, and soon, the beautification will begin!” Although the word “unsafe” may be used subjectively, AllSides found no major statistic deeming D.C. as the most unsafe city in the world or the US. 

Statistic Slanting: News media across the political spectrum often framed statistics to align with their biases. CNN (Lean Left bias) reported, “MPD’s public statistics say that violent crime has dropped almost 30% from this time last year. And in January the DOJ said that in 2024, violent crime dropped 35% from the previous year, marking the lowest it had been in more than three decades.” The Hill (Center) similarly wrote that the probe “comes from the same office that earlier this year publicized that violent crime in Washington had reached a 30-year low.” Fox News (Right) alternatively reported, “While the current crime data published by the police department shows violent crimes are falling, a study published in July by the Council on Criminal Justice found the chances of a person dying during such a crime has skyrocketed… Washington, D.C., had the highest lethality level out of the group at a 38% increase in 2024 compared with 2018.”

Written by the AllSides staff (of humans). Learn more. Support our mission. Suggest an improvement to this summary.