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Metropolitan Police Department of the District of Columbia

 
Metropolitan Police Department of the District of Columbia

 
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Metropolitan Police Department of the District of Columbia
 
 
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The Metropolitan Police Department of the District of Columbia, also known as the DC Police, DCPD, MPD, and MPDC is the municipal
Township

A township is a settlement which has the status and powers of a unit of local government. Specific use of the term to describe political subdivisions has varied by country....
 police
Police

Police are agents or agencies, usually of the executive , empowered to enforce the law and to ensure public and social order through the legitimized use of force....
 force for Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C.

Washington, D.C. , formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, the District, or simply D.C., is the Capital of the United States, founded on July 16, 1790....
  It is one of the ten largest police forces within the United States
United States

The United States of America is a Federal government constitutional republic comprising U.S. state and a federal district. The country is situated mostly in central North America, where its Contiguous United States and Washington, D.C., the Capital districts and territories, lie between the Pacific Ocean and Atlantic Oceans, Borders of the U...
.

the establishment of the District of Columbia, the states of Maryland
Maryland

Maryland is a U.S. state located in the Mid Atlantic States of the United States, bordering Virginia, West Virginia and the Washington, D.C. to the south and west, Pennsylvania to the north, and Delaware to the east....
 and Virginia
Virginia

The Commonwealth of Virginia is an United States U.S. state on the East Coast of the United States of the Southern United States. The state is known as the "Old Dominion" and sometimes as "Mother of Presidents", because it is the birthplace of Lists of United States Presidents by place of birth#By state....
 appointed constables to patrol the city. In 1802, the city was given police primacy and appointed a Captain of the Watch and 15 Watchmen.






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The Metropolitan Police Department of the District of Columbia, also known as the DC Police, DCPD, MPD, and MPDC is the municipal
Township

A township is a settlement which has the status and powers of a unit of local government. Specific use of the term to describe political subdivisions has varied by country....
 police
Police

Police are agents or agencies, usually of the executive , empowered to enforce the law and to ensure public and social order through the legitimized use of force....
 force for Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C.

Washington, D.C. , formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, the District, or simply D.C., is the Capital of the United States, founded on July 16, 1790....
  It is one of the ten largest police forces within the United States
United States

The United States of America is a Federal government constitutional republic comprising U.S. state and a federal district. The country is situated mostly in central North America, where its Contiguous United States and Washington, D.C., the Capital districts and territories, lie between the Pacific Ocean and Atlantic Oceans, Borders of the U...
.

History

Upon the establishment of the District of Columbia, the states of Maryland
Maryland

Maryland is a U.S. state located in the Mid Atlantic States of the United States, bordering Virginia, West Virginia and the Washington, D.C. to the south and west, Pennsylvania to the north, and Delaware to the east....
 and Virginia
Virginia

The Commonwealth of Virginia is an United States U.S. state on the East Coast of the United States of the Southern United States. The state is known as the "Old Dominion" and sometimes as "Mother of Presidents", because it is the birthplace of Lists of United States Presidents by place of birth#By state....
 appointed constables to patrol the city. In 1802, the city was given police primacy and appointed a Captain of the Watch and 15 Watchmen. The modern-day Metropolitan Police Department was officially formed on August 6, 1861 in accordance with the personal wishes of President
President of the United States

The President of the United States is the head of state and head of government of the United States and is the highest political official in the United States by influence and recognition....
 Abraham Lincoln
Abraham Lincoln

Abraham Lincoln was the List of Presidents of the United States President of the United States. He successfully led the country through its greatest internal crisis, the American Civil War, preserving the Union and ending slavery....
, who had taken a personal interest in the establishment of regular police for the nation's capital.

Duties

The department's duties include the provision of police services to the city and its inhabitants and to supplement the various Uniformed Federal Law Enforcement agencies (USSS, U.S. Park Police, U.S. Capitol Police) in the city, with whom the department exercises concurrent jurisdiction. Additionally, due to its location within an independent federal city, the department must exercise the standard functions of a local police force and also handle certain activities normally considered within the domain of a county police
County police

County police are the police of a county in the United States, Sweden and England ....
 or state police
State police

State police are a type of sub-national territorial police force, particularly in Australia and the United States. Some other countries have analogous police forces, such as the provincial police in some Canada provinces, while in other places, the same responsibilities are held by national police forces....
 agency such as a sex offender registry
Sex offender registration

Sex offender registration is a system in place in a number of jurisdictions designed to allow government authorities to keep track of the residence and activities of sex offenders, including those who have completed their criminal sentences....
.

Leadership

The current Chief of Police is Cathy L. Lanier
Cathy L. Lanier

Cathy L. Lanier is the Chief of Police with the Metropolitan Police Department of the District of Columbia . Washington, D.C. mayor Adrian Fenty appointed Lanier to replace outgoing Police Chief Charles H....
, who began her career as a MPDC patrol officer, and is the first female chief of the department. She assumed her post on January 2, 2007, replacing Charles H. Ramsey
Charles H. Ramsey

Charles H. Ramsey , is the Commissioner of the Philadelphia Police Department. Prior to assuming that post in January 2008, he had served as Chief of the Metropolitan Police Department of the District of Columbia from 1998 to 2006....
, who had served under former Washington D.C. Mayor Anthony A. Williams
Anthony A. Williams

Anthony Allen "Tony" Williams is an United States politician who served as the fifth List of mayors of Washington D.C. of the District of Columbia for two terms, from 1999 to 2007....
 and is now Philadelphia Police
Philadelphia Police Department

The Philadelphia Police Department is the law enforcement agency responsible for law enforcement and investigations within the City of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania....
 commissioner.

Ranks of the MPDC

Mpdc Cruiser 130
There are eleven ranks in the Metropolitan Police Department of the District of Columbia:

Police Districts and Service Areas

First District |http://mpdc.dc.gov/mpdc/cwp/view,a,1239,q,543658,mpdcNav_GID,1534.asp

Second District |http://mpdc.dc.gov/mpdc/cwp/view,a,1239,q,544652,mpdcNav_GID,1535.asp

Third District |http://mpdc.dc.gov/mpdc/cwp/view,a,1239,q,544981,mpdcNav_GID,1536.asp

Fourth District |http://mpdc.dc.gov/mpdc/cwp/view,a,1239,q,545499,mpdcNav_GID,1537.asp

Fifth District |http://mpdc.dc.gov/mpdc/cwp/view,a,1239,q,545954,mpdcNav_GID,1538.asp

Sixth District |http://mpdc.dc.gov/mpdc/cwp/view,a,1239,q,546269,mpdcNav_GID,1539.asp

Seventh District |http://mpdc.dc.gov/mpdc/cwp/view,a,1239,q,546633,mpdcNav_GID,1540.asp

Demographics

The department maintains 4,050 sworn officers and 600 civilian support staff, making it one of the ten largest police forces within the United States. In 1978, the department became the first police department in a major city in the United States to become majority African American
African American

African Americans or Black Americans are citizens or residents of the United States who have origins in any of the Black people populations of Africa....
. The department currently has one of the highest percentages of African American officers amongst United States Police Departments, at 66%. The department is also 28% White, 5% Hispanic, and 1% Asian. Males account for 76% of the force, while females make up 24%.

In media

The syndicated CBS
CBS

CBS Broadcasting Inc. is an American radio network and television network. The name is derived from the initials of Columbia Broadcasting System, its former legal name....
 television series The District
The District

The District is a television police procedural which aired on CBS from October 7, 2000 to May 1, 2004. The show followed the work and personal life of the chief of Washington, D.C.'s Metropolitan Police Department of the District of Columbia ....
 dramatized the daily ongoings of the police department. In the 1997 film Murder at 1600
Murder at 1600

Murder at 1600 is a 1997 film Thriller starring Wesley Snipes, Diane Lane, Dennis Miller, Ronny Cox, Daniel Benzali and Alan Alda. The 1600 in the title refers to 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, the address of the White House....
, a MPD homicide detective (portrayed by Wesley Snipes
Wesley Snipes

Wesley Trent Snipes is an United States actor, film producer and martial artist. He has starred in action-adventures, thrillers, and dramatic feature films but is best known for his role as Blade in the Blade ....
) investigates a murder at The White House.

The hit TV series NCIS
NCIS (TV series)

NCIS , aka Navy NCIS: Naval Criminal Investigative Service or NCIS: Naval Criminal Investigative Service, is an American police procedural television series revolving around a fictional team of special agents from the Naval Criminal Investigative Service, which conducts criminal investigations involving the United Stat...
 has several references to Metropolitan PD, with several interactions with the Local LEO and NCIS.

The current(2009) season of the TV series "24" on Fox starring Kieffer Sutherland has featured the MPDC in a few episodes which centers around a terrorist plot against the white house. The MPDC are shown working with the FBI and Other major government agencies.

See also



External links