Washington Police Chief Pamela Smith Resigns After Year Of Tension; Mayor Credits Drop In Violent Crime

Washington Mayor Muriel Bowser announced Monday that Pamela Smith, who was appointed police chief in 2023 to stabilize a department facing staffing shortages and a post-pandemic surge in crime, is stepping down.

Tenure Marked By Federal-Local Clash And Crime-Fighting Initiatives

Smith’s year as chief unfolded amid an unusually high-profile dispute over authority in the capital after President Donald Trump moved to federalize aspects of law enforcement in Washington and federal agents and National Guard troops were deployed alongside the city’s officers. Smith, a longtime federal law enforcement official and former chief of the U.S. Park Police, took command during one of the city’s most volatile periods in nearly two decades.

Bowser praised Smith for “stepping up” during a moment of “significant urgency” and credited her with driving down violent crime, cutting homicides to an eight-year low, and launching major initiatives, including a Real-Time Crime Center and departmentwide technology upgrades.

"Chief Smith got all of this done while navigating unprecedented challenges and attacks on our city’s autonomy," Bowser said.

Statistics, Policies And Community Measures

City officials say overall crime fell about 17% in the first ten weeks of 2024. Smith attributed the improvement to a combination of targeted deployments, new laws adopted by local leaders and temporary public-safety measures such as youth curfew zones in neighborhoods with repeated problems. In 2023, a spike in violence prompted congressional hearings and led city lawmakers to expand police authority and revise portions of the municipal criminal code.

Resignation Details And What Comes Next

Bowser did not provide a reason for Smith’s departure and did not name an interim or permanent successor. In her resignation statement, Smith said she believed the department "is in a strong position and that the great work will continue," calling the role both challenging and rewarding and thanking residents for their trust and partnership.

"I am proud of the accomplishments we achieved together... While my aspiration has always been to see zero percent crime, we are not there yet. Nonetheless, we have made tremendous progress, and there remains important work ahead," Smith said.

The mayor and city officials will now face decisions about leadership and whether to maintain or adjust the public-safety strategies that were credited with recent crime declines. The transition comes as Washington continues to recover from the elevated levels of violence seen in 2023.