Metropolitan Police Department: Hearing on Metropolitan Police Department Year 2000 Performance

United States Senate
Subcommittee on Oversight of Government Management, Restructuring and the District of Columbia

Charles H. Ramsey
Chief of Police

Chief Charles H. Ramsey delivered the following statement during the Hearing on Metropolitan Police Department Year 2000 Performance, United States Subcommittee on Oversight of Government Operations, Restructuring and the District of Columbia. The hearing was held on March 22, 2001 with the honorable Senator George V. Voinovich, Chairman presiding.

Mister Chairman, members of the Subcommittee, staff, and distinguished guests - thank you for the opportunity to present testimony this morning, and answer any questions you may have, concerning the Metropolitan Police Department's performance during the year 2000. As a note to those in the chamber, the text of my prepared remarks is available on our Department's website - mpdc.dc.gov.

The year 2000 was certainly a year of high-profile events for the Metropolitan Police Department. It was also a year of everyday challenges and quiet, yet significant victories for our Department and for the communities we serve. With the support of this subcommittee and the Congress, as well as Mayor Williams and the DC Council, the Metropolitan Police Department continues to make significant progress toward making the District of Columbia a safer, more attractive and livable city for our residents, workers and visitors alike.

People who look at the MPDC's performance over the past year likely will focus on the major events we handled: preparations for Y2K and the Millennium celebrations; the IMF/World Bank meetings and protests; the Million Mom and Million Family Marches, and planning for the 2001 Presidential Inaugural. These events, along with the dozens of smaller, less publicized demonstrations, present unique challenges to the MPDC. Year in and year out, no other municipal police department in the country has to deal with the quantity or complexity of major events that we do. I am very proud of how our members respond to these challenges - in particular, their handling of last April's IMF/World Bank meetings and the Presidential Inaugural. I truly believe our Department has set a new standard for planning and execution in these types of operations - for ensuring that major events can take place as scheduled, that protesters can lawfully exercise their First Amendment rights, and that public safety can be maintained.

These events, however, are not without costs. Our Department has incurred significant, and sometimes unbudgeted, expenses for major events over the past year, in terms of both overtime and equipment. Recognizing that these events take place in the District of Columbia because this is our Nation's Capital, Congress has been very supportive in providing some financial reimbursement for our costs. Still, as we look ahead, we can expect more of these events, and the potential for more, and more sophisticated, protesters in our city. During this calendar year alone, the IMF and World Bank will meet twice in the District, in April and again in October. The Metropolitan Police Department will continue to do everything we must do to ensure the public's safety during these types of events. But the cost remains significant, and we will likely need continued support this year and into the future.

Our Department's performance over the past year involved much more than handling major events, however. The past year also saw continued reductions in crime, growing public confidence in the MPDC, and, as we build for the future, tremendous growth and development of our community policing strategy. I am extremely proud of our members for their accomplishments in these areas as well.

Our FY2000 Performance Accountability Plan included four goals:

Detailed information on our performance in each of these areas is included as an attachment to my statement. I considered these to be "stretch goals," deliberately set high to give our members and the community something to strive for. For example, we set out to achieve a 5 percent reduction in crime, knowing full well that this would have to come on top of significant, often double-digit crime reductions in recent years. We also set a 65 percent homicide closure rate, despite the fact that homicide clearances are falling nationally. While our Department did not meet every goal, I am still pleased with our performance in these and other critical areas over the past year.