The Washington, D.C., Office of the Inspector General’s investigation into the Metropolitan Police Department’s crime reporting process found it experienced a “systemic breakdown” of its internal systems for crime classification and data reporting.The OIG report, released Tuesday, found the MPD lacked a cohesive framework for crime classification and reporting, controls over its record management system, and up-to-date policies. MPD culture was also observed to be misaligned with the department’s stated mission, which contributed to the issues with crime reporting controls, the report said.
In a disclaimer, the OIG noted that the report did not examine the accuracy of MPD’s crime reporting, but instead examined whether the department had the right quality-control systems in place for crime data and reporting. The OIG concluded its findings after conducting literature reviews, interviews with officers and staff, ride-alongs, and incident report analyses.MPD lacked independent unit to ensure reporting accuracy
According to the OIG, an effective internal control framework requires a slate of mechanisms to be in place, including an integrated system with clear leadership; written policies that communicate a clear organizational hierarchy; consistent training standards; and independent oversight that surveils whether controls are in place and working.“When any one element is absent or begins to deteriorate, the reliability of the system suffers,” the report said. “We found that MPD’s internal control framework for crime classification and reporting had deteriorated over more than a decade.”Specifically, the report said the MPD’s independent review function was disbanded in 2013 and never replaced, which led to reporting errors, incomplete narratives, or improper reclassifications that went largely undetected or relied on individual employee initiative rather than structured oversight.“No single failure caused the others, but together they reflect the absence of a functioning, cohesive internal control framework—one in which the parts were designed to work together and leadership had visibility into whether they did,” it said.The audit found that after disbanding its independent quality control unit, MPD focused on federal National Incident-Based Reporting System compliance while leaving local crime classification and data entry largely unmonitored for over a decade.To resolve this issue, the OIG recommended the MPD stand up an independent review function to ensure crimes are accurately reported, detect reporting errors, and improve supervisory oversight. MPD agreed with the recommendation, noting that it started creating an independent unit in March to audit and evaluate police reports.Internal controls failed to catch reporting errors
