Metropolitan Police Department: Oversight Hearing on FY2002 Proposed Budget for the Metropolitan Police Department

Committee on the Judiciary
The Honorable Kathy Patterson, Chair
Council of the District of Columbia

Charles H. Ramsey
Chief of Police

Chief Charles H. Ramsey delivered the following statement during the Oversight Hearing on FY2002 Proposed Budget for the Metropolitan Police Department, DC Council Committee on the Judiciary. The hearing was held on March 23, 2001 with the honorable Kathy Patterson, Chair presiding.

Madame Chair, members of the Committee, other Councilmembers and distinguished guests — I appreciate the opportunity to appear before the Committee once again, this time to review the highlights of the Metropolitan Police Department's proposed budget for fiscal year 2002 and to attempt to answer any questions you may have about our budget. As a note to you and to our viewing audience on DC Cable 13, the text of my prepared remarks is available on the Police Department's website - mpdc.dc.gov.

In testifying before the Committee two weeks ago on FY2000 and FY2001 performance, I laid out those areas where our Department has made significant progress: enhancing police presence on the street, successfully training and equipping our officers, expanding community policing and, perhaps most importantly, helping to bring down the District's crime rate for a fifth consecutive year last year. I also outlined those areas that are priorities for improvement. These include improving criminal investigations, enhancing customer satisfaction and implementing new technology to support crime fighting and community policing.

I am pleased to report that the Department's proposed budget for FY2002 will allow us to sustain the progress we have made in the recent past and address those critical priorities we have identified for the future. While next year's budget represents a slight overall increase from FY2001 levels, it does not contain a lot of new spending for a lot of new programs. What the budget does provide are the resources we need to accomplish the basics of fighting crime, extending community policing and enhancing the quality of life in our neighborhoods.

Operating Budget Overview

The Department's proposed operating budget for FY 2002 from all funding sources is $316.1 million dollars. This represents an increase of approximately $9.3 million dollars, or about 3 percent over the FY 2001 budget. The budget proposes increases in both personal services (which continue to account for about 83 percent of our overall budget) and critical non-personal services. The proposed capital budget for the Department, which I will discuss a little later, contains another $46.3 million dollars to support key infrastructure and information technology projects.

Sworn officer strength

The proposed budget supports 4,580 full-time equivalents (FTEs): 3,800 sworn members and 780 civilian FTEs. As I have reported to the Committee on several occasions in the past, my goal - and the Mayor's goal - is to bring the MPDC up to our fully authorized level of 3,800 officers. The FY2002 budget, as proposed, provides the funding needed to make substantial progress toward that goal. Significantly, the budget includes the local fund match required for the $15 million dollar federal COPS grant the Department recently received. This grant and the matching funds will support 200 additional officers over the three-year life of the grant.