March 10, 2005

Report on Metropolitan Police Department Performance in FY2004

Charles H. Ramsey
Chief of Police
Metropolitan Police Department

Chief Charles H. Ramsey delivered the following statement to the Council of the District of Columbia, Committee on the Judiciary, The Honorable Phil Mendelson, Chair, on March 10, 2005, at the Council Chamber, John A. Wilson Building, 1350 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW, Washington, DC.

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Good afternoon, Chairperson Mendelson, other members of the Committee, staff and guests. I am pleased to be here today to discuss the Metropolitan Police Department's performance over the past year … because I believe our Department's performance over the past year has been exemplary. In our key performance areas - and, in particular, in the critical area of crime reduction - the MPD has made tremendous progress in making the District of Columbia a safer and more livable city. I am not here today declaring victory; we still have a long way to go to achieve our goals in public safety. But I can say, with both confidence and pride, that our Department made significant strides during 2004, and that these trends are continuing into 2005.

Many of the details behind our success are outlined in my prepared statement, which is also posted on the Police Department's website, www.mpdc.dc.gov. But before I get into the various facts and figures, I do want to make one very important point: the credit for our success over the past year goes primarily to two groups of people. First are the hard-working and dedicated men and women of the Metropolitan Police Department. Our sworn and civilian employees have worked tirelessly over the past year to make our city safer, and I want to publicly thank our employees for their efforts. Second, I want to acknowledge our partners in the community and in the rest of city government. You have heeded the call that public safety truly is "everyone's business," and you have responded with the creativity and tenacity that are the hallmarks of our great city and its great residents.

So while the MPD is represented today by me and by members of my senior Command Staff, I want everyone to recognize that it our employees and our partners in the community who are the real driving forces behind the good news on crime and public safety that I am able to report on today.

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