Of course, in Washington, D.C., perhaps like no other city in the country, the police department must balance community policing and homeland security.  We must be prepared to prevent and respond to a terrorist attack.  In fact, I recently revised our Departmental Mission Statement to reflect our commitment to community policing and terrorism prevention. We continue to focus on equipping and training our personnel in terrorism prevention and response, and we conduct regular briefings and exercises to practice what we are training on.

 

Our Department successfully handled several major events during FY 05 and into FY 06. These included the 2004 Presidential elections, the 2005 Presidential Inauguration, three meetings of the IMF and World Bank, and various anti-war demonstrations.  This past September, the Office of Police Complaints monitored the MPD’s performance during anti-war and anti-globalization protests in the District. The Police Complaints Board was given authority to monitor and evaluate MPD’s handling of demonstrations through the First Amendment Rights and Police Standards Act of 2004.  In its report, the OPC was very complimentary to our agency, saying that “the MPD performed in a professional manner and had constructive dealings with the protesters.” I continue to be very proud of how our officers handle the myriad challenges and responsibilities they face – challenges and responsibilities that, quite frankly, no other police department in the country must confront on such a regular basis