The Metropolitan Police Department announced today that its proposed transfer of a portion of the Third Police District to the Second District will take effect Sunday, September 2. Police Service Area (PSA) 306 will be renamed PSA 208 and transferred administratively to the Second Police District. The move comes as a response to an increase in calls for service in the Third District and will benefit residents by improving response time by enabling better management of call volume. The physical boundaries of the police service area will remain the same, but the organizational change will enable better coordination of service, communication, and management of resources.
This change will help to resolve a workload imbalance between the Second District (2D), which handles just 4.5% of “Priority 1” (emergency) calls, and the Third District (3D), which currently accounts for over 21% of these calls. Similarly, 3D has 24.2% of the violent crime in the city, while 2D accounts for 3.2%. As the number of calls for service has increased in the Third District, the amount of radio traffic has increased exponentially, reducing the effectiveness of police communications. Additionally, the strain on structural resources such as the use of district lockup facilities, report-writing rooms, and other elements of the police stations is similarly imbalanced in the present arrangement. Managerial resources will also be improved in the new scenario.
Chief Cathy L. Lanier said the move will help improve police service across the city and resolve a potential danger to community members and police officers who could not communicate due to the strained radio frequency in 3D. “This move will improve police service to that area of the city. Residents will receive a faster response to their 9-1-1 calls and officers will be better able to service residents. The change will also make our officers safer and allow for more proactive policing. Ultimately, it will be to a greater efficiency of the Department and improve public safety overall.”
The planned move will transfer a total of 78 to the Second District. It is important to note that the police coverage in this part of the city will remain nearly identical to what exists today; the change is strictly an organizational one. Residents who have grown familiar with the officers assigned to their beat will continue to see many of the same members patrolling their communities. The benefit will be an equalized workload and improved communication at the police district level.
Get more information about PSA 208 at mpdc.dc.gov/PSA208.