The inquiry into whether data was manipulated to make crime rates seem lower is being run out of the office of the U.S. attorney for D.C., Jeanine Pirro.

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Justice Department has opened an investigation into whether police officials in Washington, D.C., have falsified data to make crime rates appear lower than they are, according to two people familiar with the probe who weren't authorized to publicly discuss an open investigation.

D.C. officials have repeatedly cited police stats showing drops in violent crime to push back on the need for a federal takeover of law enforcement.