The Eyes of the Community Are Watching

Third Watch is a new Metropolitian Police Department program that gives residents the direct ability to take back their communities, providing citizens with a confidential voice to report and stop crime while remaining anonymous to criminals.

An Introduction
The Seventh District of the Washington Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) has  introduced a pilot program, Third Watch.  Third Watch is a police department initiative to provide citizens with a confidential voice to assist officers in fighting crime and building safer communities.  Third Watch has been designed to  help citizens take back their communities.

A Community Based Approach
Third Watch allows concerned citizens to confidentially provide information directly to on-duty police officers while remaining completely anonymous to criminals.

Third Watch participants may contact officers by telephone to report criminal activity as it is taking place.  Between the hours of 4:00 pm and Midnight, the Third Watch of police duty (hours which have typically sustained the largest amount of criminal activity), officers will answer citizens’ calls and respond directly to reports of criminal activity.  Officers will not knock on your door, but will be able to instead address the specific criminal activity you reported to them over the phone.

With the advantage of citizens providing accurate directions and descriptions to crime scenes and offenders, officers can respond directly to the areas and subjects of concern.  In cases where arrests are made, the US Attorney’s Office and the Office of Attorney General will prepare and present cases for prosecution.

Enrollment is Simple
Citizens interested in becoming Third Watch participants complete a brief application and are screened by MPD. Citizens’ personal files, names and contact information, are kept in a secured location and are only accessible by the Program Administrator. Third Watch participants will receive a confidential number which they will use instead of their names.  MPD, USAO and community partners will provide training to Third Watch participants on safe methods for intelligence gathering.

There is no fee to join. Citizens are not paid for participation. Third Watch is designed so that citizens can work directly with officers to take back their communities.

Building Partnerships to Fight Crime
Third Watch has been designed to foster and strengthen partnerships between law enforcement,
District of Columbia communities, and   the US Attorney’s Office.

• Step 1: Citizens confidentially report crime and disorderly activity to MPD.
• Step 2: Officers respond to citizens’ reports and make arrests, when appropriate.
• Step 3: The US Attorney’s Office and the Office of Attorney General papers cases and prosecutes, finalizing the process. 

The program is a collaboration between project developer Sergeant Andre Wright, MPD 7th District
Focused Mission Unit and the US Attorney’s Office 7th District Community Prosecutor.
In addition, Third Watch meets regularly with a Board of Citizen Advisors to further reach out to the community.

An Invitation
Under Third Watch, citizens have a protected voice, a voice that they are now empowered to use to report crime and disorderly activity without fear of retribution. We welcome your support in the fight against crime in District of Columbia communities. Please consider joining the Third Watch Program. Call (202) 698-1425 or email Sgt. Andre Wright at andre.wright@dc.gov for more information.