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April 21, 1998 Statement Upon Being Named Chief of Police
I am honored and humbled that you have selected me to be the next Chief of Police for the District of Columbia, and I am truly excited by the prospect of leading this police department into the new millennium. The Metropolitan Police Department is a good police department—with good and talented people within its ranks, and a good citizenry supporting it. But "good" is simply not good enough for me. I will expect more from the men and women of the MPDC, from the members of the community, and from myself. I will expect—and accept—nothing less than the MPDC becoming the finest police department in the nation. And I will expect—and accept—nothing less than the District of Columbia assuming its rightful place as the safest major city in the United States.
Today is a new beginning for the Metropolitan Police Department—with a new attitude, a new confidence, a new set of expectations for the future. What can you expect from the MPDC of the future?
- You can expect a police department rooted in, and guided by, certain core values: honesty, integrity, respect for one another and for the community, fairness, dedication, commitment, and accountability for individual actions and organizational results. I will live these values every day I am your Chief. And I will insist that all the members of the MPDC do the same.
- You can expect open, honest and ongoing communications between the MPDC and our customers, the community. I am committed to establishing a close and lasting partnership between our police officers and our residents. And I recognize that to create such a partnership will require the continuous sharing of ideas and information. I, personally, will set the example when it comes to communication, internally and with the community. In the short term, I intend to hold town hall meetings throughout the District and visit roll calls and other meetings with my personnel—all to hear what's on their minds and to solicit new ideas. For the long term, I intend to establish new and efficient ways of gathering and sharing information with the community—through regular community meetings, through new technologies such as the Internet and cable television, through being accessible to the news media, and in everyday contact with citizens.
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