Highlights
This article is available as a YouTube podcast.
A list of cities focusing on current and past charges of downgrading crime statistics.
Do mayors insist that their chiefs of police bring down crime totals? Yes. Does that result in supervisors telling officers to downgrade crimes? We simply do not know if these are isolated or systemic issues.
Everything within the criminal justice system is downgraded (dropped charges, plea bargaining, time served in prison). It’s not just an issue with crime statistics.
Allegations of downgrading crimes are different from routine differences in classification, reporting standards, or officer or prosecutorial discretion.
Crime statistics are not a direct measure of crime. They are a measure of what gets reported, recorded, and classified as crime.
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A comprehensive overview of crime for recent years is available at Violent and Property Crime Rates In The U.S.
Questions
If five large males surround you in a park and tell you you need to donate $50.00 for a charity, is the event a solicitation or robbery (using force or the threat of force)?
If someone shows you a bulge in their clothing that may or may not be a pistol and demands money, is it an armed robbery?
You invite a friend over to your apartment for drinks. You’ve had sex previously. He demands sex now, regardless of your protests. Is that rape or attempted rape?
Where I know the answers to my questions, if reported, it’s up to the responding police officer to categorize these crimes in the official record based on a variety of factors (e.g., the victim’s willingness to prosecute). When this happens, it can have a dramatic effect on crime counts.
The examples above illustrate decisions police officers make thousands of times throughout the year, and the impact of those choices on crime counts. There are additional factors to consider, like the possibility of supervisors downgrading crimes or eliminating them. Most violent crime victims know their offenders, which can lead to confusion as to the details of a crime.
Yes, the FBI and state crime repositories offer definitions of crime that discuss unique circumstances.
The question of counting crimes is more complex than most realize. Categorizing crimes can be a judgment call, not necessarily an effort to deceive.
Article
When police officers respond to my articles about crime, the pushback is often immediate and consistent:
“The numbers aren’t real. We’re not reporting everything.”
It’s a common refrain, heard across jurisdictions of all sizes. And it’s not new, possibly 80 percent of police officers’ comments when my articles address crime result in claims that their cities are being disingenuous about crime data.
An Example?
Violent crime rates plunge in America’s big cities
Axios: Violent crime fell sharply across the largest U.S. cities in early 2026, extending a nationwide decline that began after the pandemic-era crime spike.
Pirro ‘not surprised’ after DC officers placed on leave amid crime stats probe
The Hill: More than a dozen Washington, D.C., police officers were placed on leave this week amid an internal investigation into the alleged manipulation of crime statistics, a development U.S. Attorney for D.C. Jeanine Pirro said on Thursday did not shock her.
The dynamics in Washington, D.C., exist in every city in the country. All cities want lower crime. If your mayor demands reduced crime, there is pressure to deliver.
Proof?
First, there is little hard evidence that most, if any, cities are playing fast and loose with their crime data; most are only allegations. And it would take a much larger article to discuss all the issues with crime data. For more, see Is FBI Data A Reliable Count Of National Crime?
Do I think my police officer respondents are being less than honest? No, but it’s a matter of proof. But it’s more than a bit disturbing when hundreds of police officers, over time, are singing the same song.
Chicago
Decades ago, when I left law enforcement and entered college, one of my first criminology courses examined Chicago’s history of manipulating crime statistics. It wasn’t presented as a fringe theory; it was part of the academic discussion about how crime data is produced.
That history still shapes today’s debate. But the issue has evolved.
There is no official list of cities proven to be downplaying crime. What exists instead is something broader: a pattern of allegations, audits, reporting gaps, and data inconsistencies across multiple jurisdictions, past and present.
Is US Crime Up Or Down?
Crime statistics for the US add to the confusion. Endless mayors, advocates, and government officials are claiming that their interventions reduced crime in 2025 and 2026, regardless of the lack of independent, well-researched, and replicated evidence.
The FBI states that violent and property crimes have decreased beginning in 2023 (3 percent) and 2024 (4.5 percent). The latest data from the FBI’s website states that crime continues to fall.
But per the USDOJ’s Bureau of Justice Statistics 50-year-old National Crime Victimization Survey (what the US Census and USDOJ call the premier method of counting crimes in America), we had a large increase in rates of violent crime in 2022 (44 percent), and rates have remained almost unchanged for 2023 and the latest-most recent full report for 2024.
The National Crime Victimization Survey states that urban violence increased in its latest 2024 report. Independent analysts say that violent and property crimes are falling considerably in cities based on crimes reported to law enforcement.
Thus, any analysis of factors that contribute to violent or property crime is confounded by our struggle to judge the effectiveness of interventions or to evaluate our personal safety. If we can’t agree on whether crime is up or down locally or nationally, how can we judge the effectiveness of programs?
You can make any case about crime you want based on USDOJ data. Different sources allow for differing interpretations.
Fear Of Crime
Then we need to recognize that the vast majority of the American public expresses an excessive or moderate concern or fear of crime. However, those expressing the highest levels of concern have been reduced from previous record fears.
Regardless, the high level of fear comes from a variety of factors, including personal interactions with crime or the experiences of friends and neighbors.
The Majority Of Crime Is Not Reported
The majority of all crime is not reported to law enforcement. Approximately 30 percent of property crimes are reported, and property crime makes up approximately 70 percent of all crime. About half of violent crimes are reported, according to the Bureau of Justice Statistics. There are 120 million porch package thefts in the US. The survey indicated that there are far more porch-pirate thefts than the total number of property crimes reported to the FBI. There are many additional examples I could provide. The Bureau of Justice Statistics states that 13 percent of sexual assaults are reported in urban areas.
So, Before We Look At Individual Cities, Let’s Summarize
How police officers record crimes, how crimes are counted locally and nationally, understanding that the majority of crime is not reported, most violent crimes include someone the victims know, and the fear of crime that most Americans continue to express are all factors that make this discussion challenging.
There are issues with the FBI’s new National Incident-Based Reporting System (NIBRS), which can record up to 10 crimes per incident rather than a single major crime under the previous Summary Reporting System. Approximately 16,000 out of 18,000 law enforcement agencies actively report data to the NIBRS. There may be issues with full compliance due to the process’s newness. Police agencies may not be sharing all crimes that occur within an incident.
We know that multiple charges come with most arrests that “could” easily double or triple a city’s crime numbers.
Where Did I Get My Examples?
I used three sources for this article: media articles, ChatGPT, and Google AI. Format and presentations will differ depending on how the data was presented.
Per ChatGPT:
Washington, D.C.: A Current, High-Level Investigation
Washington, D.C., represents the most significant ongoing case involving the alleged manipulation of crime statistics.
Recent developments include:
- 13 officers, many in senior leadership roles, were placed on leave or facing termination
- Investigators are identifying more than 150 potentially misclassified crime reports
- Federal and congressional scrutiny into whether crimes were downgraded to present lower crime levels
- No criminal charges filed to date
Sources:
Washington Post reporting:
https://www.washingtonpost.com/dc-md-va/2026/05/05/dc-police-crime-statistics-investigation/
https://www.washingtonpost.com/dc-md-va/2026/05/06/dc-crime-stats-investigation-terminations/
Associated Press:
https://apnews.com/article/47e615ad29b713953088d50877a2152c
Context:
Unlike older cases, Washington, D.C. is current, active, and unresolved, with significant leadership consequences.
Oakland: Modern Data Problems and Reporting Gaps
Oakland represents a more contemporary version of the issue—less about proven manipulation and more about data accuracy and completeness.
Recent reporting has found:
- Crime data submitted by Oakland did not match other official datasets, creating discrepancies
- Errors were significant enough to distort statewide California crime statistics
- Internal acknowledgments that not all crimes may be recorded due to delays and backlogs
Sources:
ABC7 News investigation:
https://abc7news.com/post/oakland-crime-opd-police-murder-robbery-doj/15498444/
Governing analysis:
https://www.governing.com/management-and-administration/oakland-overstates-reductions-in-crime-due-to-faulty-data
San Francisco Chronicle reporting:
https://www.sfchronicle.com/crime/article/crime-state-california-data-20405949.php
Context:
Oakland illustrates how modern reporting systems can still produce misleading results through error, delay, or inconsistency.
Chicago: A Longstanding Example
Chicago remains the most frequently cited example in discussions of crime data manipulation.
Investigations and audits—some dating back decades—have found:
- Crimes are sometimes downgraded to less serious categories
- Classification practices that could influence reported trends
- Allegations from officers about pressure to produce favorable statistics
These findings have been widely discussed in academic and media analyses.
Source:
Crime in Chicago (summary of audits and reporting issues):
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crime_in_Chicago
Context:
Much of this research is not recent. But Chicago continues to be cited because it established a central concern: Crime statistics can be shaped by how crimes are classified.
Baltimore: Ongoing Concerns, Limited Recent Findings
Baltimore is often mentioned alongside Chicago, though the nature of the issue is different.
Rather than definitive findings of manipulation, Baltimore has been associated with:
- Longstanding concerns about reporting practices
- Broader debates about data reliability and transparency
- Participation in national reporting systems that have experienced significant gaps
Source:
National reporting issues affecting multiple jurisdictions:
https://www.nssf.org/articles/america-has-a-crime-reporting-problem/
Context:
As with Chicago, much of the scrutiny is not recent. But Baltimore remains part of the conversation because it reflects a broader issue: Inconsistent reporting can distort public understanding even without proven manipulation.
New York: When Missing Data Becomes the Issue
In New York, the concern has not primarily been manipulation, but incomplete reporting.
In some recent reporting cycles:
- A substantial portion of agencies failed to submit crime data to the FBI
- This created gaps in statewide and national crime statistics
Source:
National reporting participation issues:
https://www.nssf.org/articles/america-has-a-crime-reporting-problem/
Context:
Even without manipulation, missing data can significantly distort crime trends.
Los Angeles, Philadelphia, Atlanta: Recurring Allegations
Cities such as Los Angeles, Philadelphia, and Atlanta frequently appear in broader discussions about crime data.
These conversations typically involve:
- Disputes over whether reported crime declines reflect reality
- Questions about classification practices
- Skepticism from officers, unions, or analysts
These cases tend to be episodic and debated, rather than confirmed through formal audits.
Google AI
Wichita, Kansas:
In 2023, allegations emerged that the city’s reported violent crime data was skewed, with investigations suggesting that the FBI’s Crime Data Explorer missed nearly half of the violent crimes recorded by the local police department due to issues with the new NIBRS reporting system.
Los Angeles, CA: Between 2005 and 2012, the Los Angeles Police Department misclassified roughly 14,000 serious assaults as minor offenses, according to a Los Angeles Times investigation.
Milwaukee, WI: In 2012, a Journal-Sentinel report uncovered that more than 500 serious assaults had been misclassified as minor offenses. An internal audit later found over 5,300 underreported aggravated assaults dating back to 2006.
New Orleans, LA: In April 2024, the department admitted it had underreported more than 400 rape cases between 2021 and 2022, attributing the error to technical issues with its record management system.
Columbus, OH: After touting a drop in violent crime in 2013 and 2014, reports in 2024 revealed that violent crime actually rose during those years, suggesting the initial victory claims were based on inaccurate data.
Detroit, MI: A 2001 investigation revealed that the Detroit Police Department had erroneously high rape arrest statistics that skewed national numbers, reflecting historic issues with data accuracy in the city.
The Larger Pattern: Old Findings, Current Concerns
Taken together, these cities illustrate a consistent pattern:
- Chicago: classification practices influencing statistics
- Baltimore: longstanding concerns about reliability
- Oakland: modern data errors and inconsistencies
- New York: incomplete reporting
- Other cities: recurring allegations, skepticism, and NIBRS compliance.
- Washington, D.C.: active investigation and leadership fallout.
The details vary. The timeframes differ. But the core issue remains the same.
Why Officers Keep Saying It
When officers say, “we’re not reporting all the crime,” they may be referring to:
- Incidents that never become formal reports
- Crimes classified differently than expected
- Backlogs are delaying entry into official systems
- Administrative pressures—real or perceived
This does not automatically mean misconduct. But it does point to a fundamental reality: Crime statistics are not a direct measure of crime. They are a measure of what gets reported, recorded, and classified as crime.
Bottom Line
There is no definitive list of cities with proven crime downgrading. But across Chicago, Baltimore, Oakland, New York, Los Angeles, Philadelphia, Atlanta, and Washington, D.C., the same issues appear in different forms:
- Misclassification
- Missing data
- Reporting delays
- Disputed interpretations
And perhaps most important: The belief that crime is underreported is not confined to one city or one era. It is a longstanding, nationwide concern—voiced repeatedly by those inside the system itself.
Summary-Everything Is Downgraded
Everything within the criminal justice system is downgraded. It’s not just an issue with crime statistics.
Urban prosecutors do not prosecute 20-30 percent of criminal charges based on older data from the Bureau of Justice Statistics. Newer federal court data suggest that 50 percent of some crimes are not prosecuted.
Well over 90 percent of criminal charges are plea bargained. Charged robberies become aggravated assaults, resulting in lighter or reduced sentences. This results in time served in state prisons becoming a median of 1 to 3 years based on Bureau of Justice Statistics data.
So if my police officer comments suggesting that their agencies downgrade crimes are correct, it would fit a pattern that exists throughout the justice system.
Finally, I am not suggesting a nationwide effort on the part of law enforcement to deceive. Most (not all) cities throughout the country are reporting decreases in reported crime. If this is a conspiracy to downgrade crimes, it would be too massive to hide. The exact statistics may differ, but the trend based on reported crimes is clear.
Do mayors insist that their chiefs of police bring down crime totals? Yes. Does that result in supervisors telling officers to downgrade crimes? We simply do not know if these are isolated or systemic issues. But it seems to be well-documented and happening in Washington, D.C., so it may be happening in other cities under similar pressures.
ChatGPT And Google AI
ChatGPT and Google AI provided sources. ChatGPT fact-checked this article.
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