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 February 23, 2006, at the Council Chamber, John A. Wilson Building, 1350 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW, Washington, DC.

Chairperson Mendelson, members of the Committee, staff and guests. I am very pleased to have this opportunity to discuss with you the Metropolitan Police Department’s performance over the past year. The full text of my statement is posted on the Department’s website, http://www.mpdc.dc.gov/.

 

Fiscal year 2005 was another outstanding year for the Metropolitan Police Department – a year in which we continued to make significant progress toward our goal of creating a safe and secure city for all. Our progress is reflected in hard, quantifiable measurements: crime in the District of Columbia is currently at its lowest level since at least the late 1960s – a remarkable turnaround for the city.  Our progress is also reflected in less tangible, but equally important measures: the continued growth and vibrancy of our city, and the stabilization and resurgence of many of our neighborhoods, including some previously troubled neighborhoods. Economic growth and neighborhood development simply do not occur when people do not feel safe, and when people are not safe. The fact that our city and our neighborhoods continue to grow and develop is, I believe, strongly related to the outstanding performance of our Police Department and our partners in government and the community.

 

There are certainly challenges that remain. Not all of our communities are where they should be in terms of either public safety or opportunity and development. But our progress in combating crime in communities such as Sursum Corda, Woodland Terrace and other designated hot spots demonstrates that we are committed to the safety and security of all of our neighborhoods, and that we have an effective strategy of community policing for getting us there. 

 

Once again, I want to publicly thank and salute the men and women of the Metropolitan Police Department. Our sworn and civilian employees have worked tirelessly and successfully over the past year to make our city even safer. And their hard work – in partnership with the community – continues to reap remarkable safety benefits for our city.