Colin Hall currently serves as commander of the First District. Located in the lower central portion of the District of Columbia, the First District is home to the city's business and political center. It includes some of our nation's most recognized and cherished landmarks, as well as some of the city's most interesting and diverse neighborhoods. Hall was promoted to commander by Acting Chief of Police Pamela A. Smith in July 2023.
Hall has 25 years of experience within the Metropolitan Police Department. He began his career in March 1998 as an officer in the First District. In February 2004, Hall was promoted to sergeant where he supervised and helped develop patrol officers in the Fifth District. He received the award for Fifth District Citizens Advisory Councils’ Sergeant of the Year in 2006. He remained at the Fifth District until January 2008. Hall then served as the Sergeant of the Firearms Registration Unit for the next ten years. When local laws for concealed carry licensing changed, he was tasked with creating new rules and regulations in accordance with the new firearms laws and court decisions. In this role he managed all operations for the firearm branch, including concealed carry licenses and firearm registration, making key decisions on the eligibility of applicants and creating an appeals process. In 2013, he was awarded the Corporate Support Bureau’s Sworn Member of the Year.
Hall was promoted to lieutenant in January 2018 in the Security Officers Management Branch where he managed operations, criminal history review inspections, audits, and investigations for special Police Officers and security companies throughout the District. Hall returned to the Firearms Registration Branch from 2019 to 2020 helping to create, manage, and develop operating procedures for MPD’s first Federal Firearms Dealer Unit. This role required him to obtain a Federal Firearms License and acquire a deep knowledge of all the federal firearm laws. He was responsible for collaborating with the federal Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms (ATF) agency and developing a completely new system for inventory, transfer, and storage of firearms.
In November 2020, Hall was promoted to captain and assigned to the Second District where he supervised three PSA lieutenants and created innovative crime strategies and community outreach. He was also responsible for managing patrol and crime initiatives in sector III for traffic, domestic violence, field training, and crime scene search. In March 2021, he served as the Deputy Director of the Records Division in MPD’s Technical and Analytical Services Bureau, managing the operations for fingerprinting, expungements, firearms registration and licensing, and criminal and civilian background checks. In November 2021, Hall was assigned to the Seventh District. As captain, he was tasked with leading the MPD initiative in the Homicide Reduction Partnership, managed the 7D Property Crimes and Auto Theft Unit, and developed a crime plan and strategy to reduce burglaries within 7D which resulted in 100% reduction. In March 2023, Hall was promoted to inspector and assigned to the First District.
Commander Hall received his Bachelor of Arts from Temple University and has a wife and three daughters, two attending college and one in middle school, all born in Washington, D.C.