Metropolitan Police Department Of The District Of Columbia

The Metropolitan Police Department of the District of Columbia, also known as the '''D.C. Police''', '''MPD''', or '''MPDC''', is the Municipal Police force for Washington, DC . It is possibly internationally the best known police department in the United States due to the television series The District .

Headed by a Chief Of Police it was formed in 1861 in accordance with the personal wishes of then President , Abraham Lincoln , who had taken a personal interest in the establishment of regular Police for the nation's capital. Upon the establishment of the District Of Columbia ( Washington, D.C. ), both the State of Maryland and the Commonwealth of Virginia appointed Constables to patrol the city. In 1802 the city was given police primacy and appointed a Watch of a Captain and 15 Watchmen, who patrolled until 1861. The MPDC's duties include the provision of police services to the city and its inhabitants and to supplement the various federal Security Police forces in the city. It maintains 3,800 sworn officers and 600 civilian support staff. It is unique in that twenty-five percent (25%) of its personnel are women and that 75% of it's officers are African American . In 1978 , it also became the first Police Department in a major city to become majority African American . It exercises concurrent jurisdiction with the United States Park Police , citywide in general and on National Park Service property in the District.

The MPDC chief is Charles H. Ramsey .

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