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Metropolitan Police Department of the District of Columbia

The Metropolitan Police Department of the District of Columbia (MPDC), more commonly known locally as the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD), and, colloquially, DC Police, is the primary law enforcement agency for the District of Columbia, in the United States. With approximately 3,400 officers[6] and 600 civilian staff, it is the sixth-largest municipal police department in the United States. The department serves an area of 68 square miles (180 km2) and a population of over 700,000 people. Established on August 6, 1861, the MPD is one of the oldest police departments in the United States. The MPD headquarters is at the Henry J. Daly Building, located on Indiana Avenue in Judiciary Square across the street from the District of Columbia Court of Appeals and the Superior Court of the District of Columbia. The department's mission is to "safeguard the District of Columbia and protect its residents and visitors with the highest regard for the sanctity of human life".[7] The MPD's regulations are compiled in title 5, chapter 1 of the District of Columbia Code.

Metropolitan Police Department of the District of Columbia

Metropolitan Police Department

MPD or MPDC

"Excellence is Transferable"[1][2][3]

August 6, 1861 (1861-08-06)

  • Washington City police (daytime) Auxiliary Guard (nighttime)

4,100 (June 2022)

$544 million (2021)[4]

671,803 (2022)

District of Columbia

Henry J. Daly Building
300 Indiana Avenue NW

3,501 Police Officers

609 Civilian Personnel

  • Pamela A. Smith, Chief of Police
  • Jeffery Carroll, Executive Assistant Chief of Police
  • Leeann Turner, Chief Operating Officer
  • Marvin Haiman, Chief of Staff
  • Darnel Robinson, Assistant Chief - Patrol Services North
  • Ramey Kyle, Assistant Chief - Patrol Services South

  • Carlos Heraud, Assistant Chief - Investigative Services Bureau
  • Leslie Parsons, Assistant Chief - Homeland Security Bureau
  • Tasha Bryant, Assistant Chief - Internal Affairs Bureau
  • Stuart Emerman, Assistant Chief - Technical and Analytical Services Bureau
  • Michael Coligan, Assistant Chief - Professional Development Bureau
  • Andre Wright, Assistant Chief - Youth and Family Engagement Bureau[5]
9
  • Special Operations
  • Youth and Family Services
  • Criminal Investigations
  • Narcotics and Special Investigations
  • Intelligence
  • Internal Affairs
8
  • Patrol Services North
  • Patrol Services South
  • Homeland Security
  • Professional Development
  • Investigative Services
  • Internal Affairs
  • Technical and Analytical Services
  • Youth and Family Engagement

2

2

The MPD has a broad array of specialized services, including the Emergency Response Team, K9, harbor patrol, air support, explosive ordnance division, homeland security, criminal intelligence, narcotics, and the gun recovery unit. The MPD also operates the Command Information Center (CIC) which monitors hundreds of cameras across the city, license plate readers, ShotSpotter and many other intelligence and surveillance devices.[8]


The MPD has a unique role in that it serves as a local police department, with county, state and federal responsibilities, and is under a municipal government but operates under federal authority. They are responsible for operating the district's sex offender registry, approving all applications for motorcades, protests, demonstrations and other public events, and maintaining the district's firearm registry.[9]

Duties[edit]

While the MPD is the primary law enforcement agency in the city, it shares its jurisdiction with the Transit Police, responsible for policing the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority Metrorail and Metrobus systems; the United States Park Police, which provides law enforcement for the National Mall and all other National Park Service properties; the United States Marshals Service, which acts as the city's sheriff; and many other federal agencies. However, the MPD ultimately remains the primary agency in the city and has the authority to investigate all crimes in the city regardless of the location it took place.


Under the District of Columbia Home Rule Act, whenever the President of the United States determines that special conditions of an emergency nature exist which require the use of the Metropolitan Police for federal purposes, the president may direct the mayor to provide, and the mayor shall provide, such services of the Metropolitan Police force for up to 48 hours. During longer periods of time, the president must provide to Congress in writing his or her reasons for continuing control of the MPD. This control can be extended at any time beyond 30 days if either the emergency continues or if Congress passes a law ordering it. During this nature of emergency, the MPD is considered a federal law enforcement agency.[10]

History[edit]

19th century[edit]

As the American Civil War raged on, U.S. president Abraham Lincoln took a personal interest in the formation of a regular police force for the U.S. capital. Washington had quickly filled with soldiers, government employees, and citizens hoping to cash in on the war. The crowds, crime, and the constant threat of enemy spies, had made the capital into a rowdy city barely under control. After the formation of the Metropolitan Police and its governing Board of Commissioners by Act of Congress, signed into law by Lincoln on August 6, 1861, Lincoln dispatched a member of the board to study the New York City Police Department and its structure.[11]


The Metropolitan Police replaced previous law enforcement organizations. Before the formation of the district in 1801, county constables had jurisdiction over the area, along with the comparatively developed police force for the City of Alexandria. Within the City of Washington, the first police superintendent was named in 1803, and the city divided into four policing wards, each under a constable, in 1804.[12] Yet another force, the 16-member Auxiliary Guard of the City of Washington, was established by Act of Congress in August 1842,[13] purportedly because President John Tyler had been burned in effigy, and had rocks thrown at him on the White House grounds.[14] The formation of the Metropolitan Police dissolved all these previous authorities. (The Militia of the District of Columbia was created in the Assumption Act of May 3, 1802,[15] active as peacekeepers within the district but tasked with defending the federal government, and commanded directly by the president as a military force, not law enforcement.)[16]

Organization and personnel[edit]

Structure[edit]

MPD is headed by a chief of police. Other senior leadership members includes an executive assistant chief of police, two patrol chiefs (one North and one South), three assistant chiefs (one each for the Investigative Services, Homeland Security, and Internal Affairs bureaus) and two directors (one for the Corporate Support Bureau and one for the Professional Development Bureau). Each of the district's seven districts is led by a district commander.[8] The First, Sixth and Seventh Districts report to Patrol Services South while the Second, Third, Fourth, and Fifth Districts report to Patrol Services North.[53]


The department has a number of specialized units, including the Gun Recovery Unit (GRU) and District Crime Suppression Teams (CSTs).[8] Other specialized units in the MPD are under the Special Liaison Branch works with various parts of Washington's population. Within the branch are four units: the Asian Liaison Unit (ALU), the Deaf and Hard of Hearing Liaison Unit (DHHU), the Gay and Lesbian Liaison Unit (GLLU) -- formerly led by internationally recognized leader and retired Lieutenant: Brett Parson, and the Latino Liaison Unit (LLU),[8] which collectively have 196 members.[54] Within MPD's Homeland Security Bureau is the Special Operations Division and the Joint Strategic & Tactical Analysis Command Center.[55] Within the Special Operations Division is the Training Unit, Special Tactics Branch, and the Special Events Branch; the latter two units coordinate with the U.S. Secret Service.[56]

Demographics[edit]

The MPD has had an average of just under 3,800 sworn members.[8] As of the end of 2017, the department had 3,837 sworn personnel and 658 civilian personnel. Of the sworn personnel, there are 3,075 officers and detectives, 146 recruits, 437 sergeants, 116 lieutenants, 35 captains, and 28 command personnel.[8] Among sworn personnel, about 78% were men and 22% were women and, about 52% of sworn personnel were black, 36% were white, 9% were Hispanic, and 4% were Asian.[8] The proportion of African American officers has increased over time; in 1968, African Americans constituted 25% of the department's force and in 1970 constituted 35% of the department's force.[57]

Districts[edit]

The District of Columbia is divided into seven geographical areas designated as "districts" which are numbered 1–7. The districts are then broken up into Patrol Service Areas (PSA). These PSAs are the beats that are served by the patrol units.[58]

Author features MPD police detective Alex Cross in the Alex Cross series of books.[77]

James Patterson

The novels of , which are largely set in the Washington, D.C. area, have included several major and minor characters who are active or former MPD officers.[78]

George Pelecanos

The novels of feature MPD detectives. The 1997 film Murder at 1600 was based on her first novel.[79] The premise of the novel and film, that an MPD Homicide detective would be the lead investigator for a death that occurs in the White House is factually correct as the MPD has primary jurisdiction over death investigations anywhere in the District of Columbia.

Margaret Truman

The 2009 novel by David Baldacci features a former MPD officer as the protagonist and her older sister who is the Chief of Police. The chief in the novel was loosely based on Chief Cathy Lanier. Baldacci spent time shadowing MPD officers and interviewed Chief Lanier for the novel.[80]

True Blue

Author 's novel Slovo Ne Vorobey is set in Washington, D.C., and features several MPD officers and detectives who are hunting a serial killer.

Philip Scholz

List of law enforcement agencies in the District of Columbia

Johnny St. Valentine Brown

Official website

National Archives: To Protect and to Serve: The Records of the D.C. Metropolitan Police, 1861–1930

Blog: Establishment of the Washington Metropolitan Police Force 150 Years Ago