District of Columbia Protective Services Police Department

The District of Columbia Protective Services Police Department (PSPD) is a law enforcement agency in the District of Columbia, codified under § 10-1005 of the DC Code, which establishes the "...Protective Services Police Department, which shall coordinate and manage the security and law enforcement requirements for District government facilities." The Department is administratively a division of the DC Department of General Services.

PSPD officers are sworn law enforcement personnel with full police authority throughout the District of Columbia.

PSPD shares its radio frequencies and mobile computer infrastructure with its brother agency, the Metropolitan Police Department of the District of Columbia

Metropolitan Police Department of the District of Columbia

The Metropolitan Police Department, also known as the DC Police, DCPD, MPD, and MPDC is the municipal police force in Washington, D.C...

(MPDC). PSPD utilizes MPDC district booking stations and central cell block in order to process prisoners and also participates in staffing the District of Columbia Fusion Center with Intel personnel. PSPD members are deployed into MPDC Districts for patrol assignments and answer radio runs throughout their assigned district alongside MPDC members. Newly hired recruit officers receive their initial basic law enforcement training at the Maurice T. Turner Institute of Police Science (MPDC Police Academy).

In September 2009, Mayor Adrian Fenty signed an Executive Order officially changing the name of the agency from the Protective Services Division (PSD) to the Protective Services Police Department (PSPD).

PSPD officers carry the same equipment as their MPDC counterparts, with the standard duty weapon being the GLOCK 17, 9 mm handgun. Officials of the rank of Captain or higher may carry the GLOCK 19, 9 mm handgun, while Investigators have the option of carrying the GLOCK 19 or GLOCK 26, 9 mm handguns.

Transfer to the Department of General Services

Mayor Vincent Gray ordered PSPD to be transferred from the Department of Real Estate Services to the newly created Department of General Services (DGS), effective October 1, 2011. The specific legislation ordering the transfer was attached to the FY2012 Budget Plan, was approved by the DC Council and US Congress and subsequently signed into law by Mayor Vincent Gray. As a division of the Department of General Services, PSPD will begin to assume more primary responsibility for the DC Public School System as well as other duties delegated by the Mayor and Director of the Department of General Services.

As DGS is a new "super-agency" with the third largest operating budget of any DC Government Agency, many aspects of the new agency's responsibilities and mission have yet to be ironed out, however PSPD, as an Administrative Division of DGS, will remain the primary law enforcement agency responsible for safeguarding District Government Property, Personnel and Elected Officials as well as for planning and coordinating various District Government Security Programs.

Areas of Responsibility and Primary Jurisdiction

John A. Wilson Building (Seat of Government)
Historic Eastern Market
DC Government Office Buildings (Reeves Center, One Judiciary Square, Municipal Center, Southwest Towers, etc)
DC Jails and Halfway Houses throughout the city
DC Department of Youth and Rehabilitation facilities and Halfway Houses throughout the city
DC Department of Mental Health facilities, including St Elizabeth's Hospital and Halfway Houses throughout the city
DC City Parks, Recreation Centers and Pools
DC Public Charter Schools occupying surplus DCPS school buildings
DC Public Schools
DC Public Library System
DC Office on Aging Facilities including 2 Nursing Homes
DC Fire and EMS Headquarters, Fire Stations and facilities
DC Department of Human Services Homeless Shelters
DC Department of Human Services Welfare Offices
DC Department of Health Community Health Care Clinics (Unity Health)
DC Animal Shelter and associated facilities
DC Water treatment plants and facilities
DC Department of Public Works yards and facilities
DC Department of Transportation yards and facilities
DC Department of Homeland Security and Emergency Management Agency Headquarters
DC Metropolitan Police Department Headquarters and facilities
DC Office of Unified Communications facilities (911 centers, communications towers, etc)
DC Court Services and Offender Supervision Agency (Parole and Probation)
DC Department of Motor Vehicles Service Centers
DC Village Campus
DC General Campus
ST Elizabeth's Campus
DC Sports and Entertainment Authority facilities (RFK Stadium, Nationals Stadium, etc)
DC National Guard facilities
DC Department of Employment Services One Stop Centers and facilities
DC OCTO Data Centers
DC Child and Family Services Agency facilities

PSPD provides police support to other District Agencies such as DC Homeland Security and Emergency Management Agency, DC Department of Health and DC Child and Family Services Agency and many others in order to support that agency's mission thru PSPD's law enforcement authority.
PSPD is charged as the lead agency in securing, safeguarding and escorting the District of Columbia's Strategic Medicine Stockpile during times of crisis or during major National Events occurring in the nation's capitol.
PSPD provides Executive Protection Details to members of the DC Council and Executive Branch Agency Officials on an as-needed basis.
PSPD provides uniformed police support to the Mayoral Executive Protection Detail on a 24/7 basis.
PSPD is charged with ensuring the integrity of Primary and General Elections thru securing and escorting election equipment, election officials and ballots during elections.
PSPD is charged with ensuring Continuity of Government during times of crisis or civil disorder by securing key DC Government Officials and moving them to secure locations.

Organization

PSPD is broken into three Bureaus; each of which is commanded by a Deputy Chief or Civilian Equivalent.

Patrol Operations Bureau (POB) - uniformed police patrols throughout the city, with concentration on critical government centers and high crime areas around government facilities. Members of POB are routinely deployed in support of major incidents throughout the city including protests and demonstrations and often work in support of MPDC's Special Operations Division (SOD) and DC Homeland Security and Emergency Management Agency.
Operational Support Bureau (OSB) - investigations, intelligence, training, development, internal affairs, special events, Wilson Building Command, Honor Guard and K-9.
Strategic Services Bureau (SSB) - electronic security systems, citywide credentialing, communications and IT support. SSB is also responsible for designing and writing emergency response plans for District agencies including the Emergency Evacuation/Relocation Plan for the District Government.
Office of the Chief of Police (COP) - administrative and executive support operations, includes the Chief of Police, Assistant Chief of Police, Operations Manager (Civilian Deputy Chief Equivalent), 2 Commanders, 1 Captain and several additional civilian employees.

At present PSPD employs approximately 100 sworn officers.

Leadership

Lou Cannon is currently the Chief

Chief of police

A Chief of Police is the title typically given to the top official in the chain of command of a police department, particularly in North America. Alternate titles for this position include Commissioner, Superintendent, and Chief constable...

for the PSPD and a Deputy Director of the Department of General Services. He is one of seven November 2010 appointees to President Barack Obama's Federal Salary Council

Federal salary council

The Federal Salary Council is an advisory body of the executive branch of the United States Government. The FSC was established under the provisions of the Section 5304 of Title 5 of the United States Code, to provide recommendations on the locality pay program created by the Federal Employees...

.

Chief Cannon brings 30-plus years of progressively responsible law enforcement and security experience to this position. Prior to his selection as Chief of PSPD, for the past three years he was Chief of Police of the Office of Naval Intelligence, in charge of day-to-day police and security functions, emergency preparedness and anti-terrorism operations. Additionally, he served more than 20 years as an Metropolitan Police Department officer/supervisor and received over 150 commendations.

Chief Cannon has held security/law enforcement positions in both the private sector along with federal and municipal sectors which include the Library of Congress Police and the United States Mint Police. He has made over 1,000 arrests in his career, for offenses ranging from misdemeanor violations to homicide. In 2007 Chief Cannon completed his seventh consecutive term as head of the Fraternal Order of Police in the District.

Fallen officers

Since the establishment of the Government of the District of Columbia - Protective Services Division, which later became the Protective Services Police Department, one officer has died in the line of duty.

The cause of death is as follows:

Cause of death	Number of deaths
Accidental	0
Aircraft accident	0
Animal related	0
Automobile accident	0
Bicycle accident	0
Drowned	0
Duty related illness	0
Fall	0
Gunfire	1
Gunfire (Accidental)	0
Heart attack	0
Motorcycle accident	0
Stabbed	0
Struck by streetcar	0
Struck by vehicle	0
Vehicle pursuit	0
Vehicular assault	0

Rank Structure

PSPD utilizes a rank structure similar to MPDC: