Acting Police Chief Pamela Smith faced a room of mostly supporters on Wednesday as she testified before a D.C. Council committee preparing to vote on her confirmation as top cop.

More than 40 members of the public spoke at the hearing, the majority praising Smith’s experience and temperament for the job. Her support ranged from the president of the local NAACP branch to the head of the D.C. Police Union.

“Acting Chief Pamela Smith has made historic strides towards achieving a more balanced police department and supporting safer communities,” said Akosua Ali, president of the NAACP of Washington D.C. (Ali also said that Smith has “worked to create opportunities” for Black women in MPD, which is facing lawsuits related to alleged discrimination against Black women in the department).

“The union is highly optimistic that there will be positive outcomes with Chief Smith, most importantly in our vulnerable neighborhoods,” said Gregg Pemberton, the chair of the D.C. Police Union.

Still, Smith is nominated for chief at a particularly troubled time for the department, which is facing a shortage of officers, an increase in robberies and carjackings, and some of the highest homicide rates the city has seen since the 1990s.

As she testified before the five-person committee on the Judiciary and Public Safety, Smith insisted that things have already begun turning around since she was named acting chief in July.

“Looking at the past 30 days compared to the prior 30 days, homicides are down 37%, carjackings are down 27%, and robberies are down… 23%,” she told the committee. “From my first day as acting chief, I’ve been working with the MPD team and partners to develop and deploy tactics that would help us interrupt these patterns and make the streets safer for everyone in Washington, D.C.”

Smith has indeed announced a number of new initiatives since her time as chief began, including enforcement of a youth curfew, a violent crime suppression initiative, hot spot policing, and an update to MPD’s strategic plan that was just published on Wednesday, MPD spokesperson Paris Lewbel confirmed to DCist/WAMU. Lewbel described the plan as a more formalized version of what Smith and MPD have recently put into practice, including the violent crime suppression initiative and a robbery suppression unit.

Youth crime was also a focus of public testimony and several councilmembers’ questions. Smith agreed that it’s a cause for concern.

“In 2023, almost two-thirds of arrests for carjackings were youth under 18 years of age,” Smith said. (It’s notable that only 24% of carjackings so far this year have resulted in an arrest, per MPD’s own data). “While the overwhelming majority of youth have no involvement in crime, when some youth as young as 12 are engaging in carjackings and other dangerous crimes… it’s clear that the current strategies are not an effective deterrent.”

Councilmembers peppered Smith with questions, ranging from how the department is approaching crimes like drug dealing to MPD’s current relationship with the U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia. There was also talk of MPD’s continued staffing crisis, with Smith noting the department is down nearly 500 officers and with the lowest staffing levels in 50 years.

But she said that the department is already making strides in attrition and recruiting, including by instituting bonuses for MPD employees who recruit new cadets that complete the training program.

“Efforts today are paying off with attrition rates to this date down 16% compared to last fiscal year and 21 new officers starting this Monday, the largest class in more than a year. This gives reason for some optimism in this critical area,” Smith said.

The confirmation hearing did not end in a vote and it’s not immediately clear when that could happen, per an MPD spokesperson. But Smith appears to have broad support from the council and is likely to be confirmed as chief.

This step in the confirmation process comes as D.C. surpassed two hundred homicides, marking the earliest in the year that the city has eclipsed that tragic benchmark in more than a quarter of a century. That includes a teenager who was shot to death on Tuesday near Dunbar High School in Northwest D.C..

It was a violent summer in the District with residents and officials alike trying to find solutions to the ongoing violence, including one councilmember calling for the National Guard to be brought in. In response to the violence, the D.C. Council approved an emergency crime bill with permanent legislation expected to be approved later this fall.

Smith has faced questions about her role in reducing crime across the District since she was nominated to this role

“It is troubling to me, just like I’m sure it is troubling to every single person who has either a daughter or son or mother and they’ve been victims of gun violence,” Smith said at a press conference earlier this week after the killing of the teenager near Dunbar. “And this needs to be stopped.”

Prior to her nomination to head up the Metropolitan Police Department, Smith worked for the U.S. Park Police for more than two decades, including serving as chief. She was hired in May 2022 to be MPD’s first equity officer before being nominated to head up the department this past summer. The fact that she’s only been part of MPD for about 16 months was a source of some questions by both councilmembers and residents during the public roundtable portion.

“The acting chief of police has a beautiful personality,” public witness and former ANC commission Debbie Steiner said. “[But] when it comes down to knowledge and wherewithal, I don’t see it. It could be two or three years (before she gets it). We will see.”

While Smith didn’t directly respond to any public testimony, several members of the public defended her record and experience.

“I would say that Pam Smith’s resume and qualifications are unquestionable, but based on some of the comments today, it needs to be reiterated that she has over 25 years of law enforcement experience,” said Ali.

Smith would be the second woman — and first Black woman — to be D.C.’s police chief.

In a statement on Wednesday night, Mayor Bowser called Smith “the full package” and urged the Council to “quickly confirm” the acting chief.

“In her short time leading MPD, Acting Chief Smith has demonstrated she knows policing, understands the partnerships needed to improve public safety, underscored the importance of community engagement, and implemented crime reduction strategies tailored to the needs of our neighborhoods,” Bowser said.

The public roundtable provided a glimpse into what D.C. residents believe are the root causes of the violent crime surge in the District. There were criticisms of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for its  low rate of prosecutions, questions about dealing with the opioid crisis, increased budgeting for violence interruption programs, and asking for solutions to MPD’s staffing challenges.

Despite the continuing worrisome homicide numbers, several public witnesses noted that they’ve seen a marked increase in community involvement from MPD officers since Smith took over as acting police chief two months ago, including seeing more officers out of their patrol cars, walking the streets, and interacting with the community.

Despite Smith’s positive attitude and general support for her to be the District’s next police chief, there was an acknowledgment that Smith and MPD are not solely responsible for decreasing crime across the city.

“We can’t police our way out of this,” Smith said. “We are going to have to have the support of some of the other agencies that are in D.C. government.”

This story has been updated to correct the percentage of arrests in carjacking cases this year.