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MPD says findings are "at odds with reality and does not align with the feedback from residents and businesses throughout the city.”
WASHINGTON — DC Police needs more detectives and smarter deployment of its offers in the department’s fight to stop crime, according to the findings included in a report released Thursday by the Office of the District of Columbia Auditor.
The 459-page report is based on a staffing study of DC’s Metropolitan Police Department.
Among the auditor's key findings:
- DC Police doesn’t have enough detectives, and doesn’t always have patrol officers in the right places at the right times
- Based on an analysis of caseload and other factors for MPD detectives, the report says the department’s Investigative Services Bureau or ISB needs 65 additional detectives to operate effectively
- Of those 65 new detectives:
- 11 are needed in the carjacking unit
- 5 needed in the child sex abuse office
- 4 needed to investigate sexual assault and human trafficking cases
The recommendations come at a time when MPD is already struggling with low staffing levels, losing officers to retirement or other departments. To help combat that, the study found that rather than adding to the total number of patrol officers on the street, MPD should adjust personnel to better meet workload.
For instance, in July 2023, which was included in the period the researchers studied, one-third of all patrol officers were assigned to the midnight shift, but only a quarter of the 9-1-1 calls come in during that time.
The auditor wants MPD to cut overnight patrol staffing, and beef up patrols during the day and evening hours, as well as shifting more officers to District 3 downtown in Northwest and District 7 in the Southeast Anacostia area.
In an emailed statement, DC Police told WUSA9:
“The central conclusion of the report – that there is sufficient staffing in patrol and too many officers working patrol at night – is at odds with reality and does not align with the feedback from residents and businesses throughout the city.”
The report also suggests MPD shift civilians into administrative roles held by sworn officers, and putting those sworn officers back on the street. The study also called on MPD to greatly improve its data collection on how officers and detectives are using their time to continue to adjust staffing and officer allocation moving forward.
The recommendations come at a time when crime is actually down in the District, with murders and overall violent crime down a third from where D.C. was this time last year.
“With MPD’s current sworn workforce at a 50-year low, we are listening to residents and continuing to work to increase staffing while making the Department more efficient," DC Police said in their statement to WUSA9.
MPD said it does plan to hire dozens of civilians in the next fiscal year to help improve operations or move sworn officers to more operational roles.
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