New national police rating gives Washington DC police high marks and suggests improvements – NBC4 Washington

A new nationwide evaluation of police departments in the United States, looking at the performance of police officers sworn to serve and protect the community, gave the Washington DC Police Department high marks.

The assessment is a new tool from the Policing Project at New York University School of Law. The project “worked with police chiefs, researchers, civic leaders and others” to develop the assessment system, according to a press release from the Office of the District of Columbia Auditor (ODCA).

Overall, the DC Police Department received a score of 81.66% in the report.

This is the highest score any department has ever received in this assessment, although only three departments had been assessed as of June 26, the ODCA said.

As Ted Oberg of News4 put it, “Nobody scores 100 on this thing.”

The ODCA partnered with the project to conduct the assessment beginning in December 2023. Its goal was to measure whether the DC Police Department is “robust, accountable, fair and effective” based on 100 individual factors.

How did the Washington, DC Police Department perform in each evaluation category?

The rating divides these factors and the performance of a particular police department into four categories, the press release said. These categories are good policing, responsible policing, fair policing and effective policing.

noise protection measures the effectiveness of the DC Police Department. How well does the department recruit officers and staff? Does it offer staff development? How are department resources managed?

The Washington DC Police Department received 86.63% in the “Good Policing” category. The report says the department could still make improvements in retention, data collection on officer suicides and commitment to conducting prevention training.

Responsible police work measures how transparent the DC Police are with the public. Does the public have a meaningful say in the police services they receive? How much say do they have?

The Washington DC Police Department received 83.16% in the Responsible Policing category. The report said the department could improve the frequency and regularity of releasing data on things like use of force.

Only police work measures whether the DC Police Department operates fairly, justly, and constitutionally.

At 67.56%, it was the lowest scoring category for the Washington DC Police Department

This category includes the use of force, stops, searches and seizures, First Amendment protections, and investigative procedures.

According to the report, not all subcategories in the Fair Policing section received low scores. In fact, the Washington DC Police Department received 100% in the First Amendment subcategory, meeting all standards set in the assessment.

“MPD policies and training emphasize crowd control methods without arrests to maintain order,” the assessment said. “This is especially important considering that Washington, DC, hosts some of the largest First Amendment demonstrations in the country.”

The Washington DC Police Department performed poorly in two of the four subcategories: “Stops, Searches and Seizures” and “Investigative Procedures.”

The report says Washington DC police should be more cautious when stopping people for what experts say are less serious offenses, such as vehicle equipment violations during traffic stops, which can sometimes lead to a search of the vehicle to look for more serious violations.

The report suggests that officers must have specific reasons to stop and search people. MPD disagreed with the auditors on this point, saying they were using discretion and that it was not a major problem for the department.

Effective policing measures how well the Washington DC Police Department prevents crime. Is crime being prevented and controlled? Does the way the Washington DC Police Department prevents crime improve the situation in the community?

At 92.16%, this was the highest scoring category for the Washington DC Police Department

The report includes one recommendation for improvement in this area: The agency proposes giving officers more time to engage in problem-oriented policing – a type of policing that allows officers to determine the root cause when a cluster of crimes occurs in a particular area.

A nationwide assessment of policing in America is now available. The results for Washington DC are positive. Ted Oberg of News4 reports.

Although the report does not measure the extent to which Washington, DC police officers reduce crime, the metrics considered in the assessment ultimately represent a large part of that overall goal.

“For decades, police departments have been measured by their crime rates,” says Aili Malm, a researcher at the NYU Policing Project. “But as you know, crime rates often have very little to do with the police department and much more to do with other problems going on in the community.”

DC Police Chief’s Reaction

In response to the report, the Washington DC Police Department told News4 that the department was satisfied. The department was grateful that the authors recognized its strengths in the areas of diversity and recruitment, protecting the First Amendment, community engagement, and dealing with individuals in crisis situations.

Chief Pamela Smith agreed with many, but not all, of the changes described in the report.

“It’s my job to make sure that when those recommendations are made to us, we come together as a team to really make sure that we’re meeting the brief,” Smith said Thursday morning in an “Ask the Chief” segment on News4. “The most important aspect of that is that we recognize that they’ve recognized how we respond to First Amendment-related activities. The most important thing to me is how we engage in our community.”

You can see her detailed thoughts on the report in the video player below.

DC Police Chief Pamela Smith talks about the Metropolitan Police Department’s new drone program, how it scored in a national assessment, and efforts to reduce crime this summer, especially during big events like the Fourth of July. News4’s Jummy Olabanji and Tony Perkins report.