District of Columbia Protective Services Division

Last updated
District of Columbia Protective Services Division
Washington, D.C. Protective Services Police.jpg
Common nameDC Protective Services
AbbreviationPSD
MottoJustitia Omnibus
"Justice For All"
Agency overview
Formed1899 Municipal Watchmen
Jurisdictional structure
Operations jurisdictionWashington D.C., District of Columbia, United States
Legal jurisdictionDistrict of Columbia
Operational structure
Police Officers70 police officers
Civilian employees12 civilian employees
Agency executive
  • Larry "Nero" Priester
Parent agencyDC Department of General Services
Website
dgs.dc.gov/page/dgs-protective-services-division
A PSD unit, along with MPDC and FPS units holding the perimeter of a major incident in the Southwest Government Center area of DC in June 2015. PSPD mutual aid 2015.jpg
A PSD unit, along with MPDC and FPS units holding the perimeter of a major incident in the Southwest Government Center area of DC in June 2015.
A PSD unit on a POTUS Detail, holding an intersection for the Presidential Motorcade to pass safely in Sept 2014. PSPD unit on POTUS detail.jpg
A PSD unit on a POTUS Detail, holding an intersection for the Presidential Motorcade to pass safely in Sept 2014.
PSPD cruisers holding a perimeter in SW DC Protective Services Police Department Columbia.jpg
PSPD cruisers holding a perimeter in SW DC
PSPD sergeant on a traffic detail PSPDsergeantandcruiser.jpg
PSPD sergeant on a traffic detail
Typical setup of PSPD cruiser cockpit PSPD cruiser interior.jpg
Typical setup of PSPD cruiser cockpit
PSPD personnel in roll call PSPDrollcall.jpeg
PSPD personnel in roll call
2011 PSPD Cruiser Redesign DC Protective services police cruiser 2.jpg
2011 PSPD Cruiser Redesign
2011 PSPD Cruiser Redesign DC Protective services police cruiser.jpg
2011 PSPD Cruiser Redesign

The District of Columbia Protective Services Division (formerly, the Protective Services Police Department) is a division of the Department of General Services of the District of Columbia Government. The organization is responsible for "law enforcement activities and physical security of all properties owned, leased or otherwise under the control of the Government of the District of Columbia." [1]

Contents

PSD officers are sworn law enforcement personnel with full police authority delegated from the Mayor of the District of Columbia and have the authority to bear firearms, serve warrants, and make full custodial arrests throughout the District of Columbia [2] [3]

History

The PSD traces its beginnings to an 1899 Act of Congress, the "Watchmen in Municipal Facilities Act", which ordered the creation of a police force separate from the Metropolitan Police Department to maintain law and order in municipal government facilities that at the time were controlled by the federal government.

In 1973, the District of Columbia government established the Government Protective Services Division to control the police force being transferred from the federal government to the Mayor of the District of Columbia under the Home Rule Act. D.C. Code § 10-1005 [4] establishes the "Protective Services Police Department, which shall coordinate and manage the security and law enforcement requirements for District government agencies and facilities."

In September 2009, Mayor Adrian Fenty signed an Executive Order that changed the name of the agency from "Protective Services Division" to "Protective Services Police Department."

In 2012, Mayor Vincent Gray transferred PSPD from the Department of Real Estate Services to the new Department of General Services. The legislation ordering the transfer was attached to the FY 2012 Budget Support Act, and transmitted to the U.S. Congress on August 11, 2012, for a 30-day review. Congress took no action, thus it became law on October 1, 2012. With this act, the Protective Services Police Department became the Protective Services Division of the Department of General Services.

Areas of responsibility and primary jurisdiction

Operational

PSD officers assigned to the Mobile Operations Branch are deployed throughout the District of Columbia and are responsible for answering calls for police services in the assigned Police District. PSD utilizes the District of Columbia Office of Unified Communications for dispatching and therefore, PSD officers work off the same radio dispatch zones as their DC Metropolitan Police Department and DC Housing Authority counterparts.

PSD is tasked with providing uniformed police officers to support the operations of other District agencies when needed and is occasionally tasked with providing Executive Protection Details to District Government Officials or other dignitaries visiting the District of Columbia.

PSD officers are issued similar duty equipment as the officers of the MPDC. The standard duty weapon is the GLOCK 17, while officials at the rank of Captain and above may be issued GLOCK 19 or GLOCK 26 service weapons. Since, PSD officers are government employees with the authority to make full custodial arrests; the officers are "qualified law enforcement officers" as defined in the Law Enforcement Officers Safety Act, and can therefore carry concealed firearms while off-duty anywhere in the United States without regard to local and state laws.

Organization

Leaders

Rank structure

PSD uses a rank structure that is similar to MPDC.

TitleInsignia
Associate Director of DGS for PSD
Blank.jpg
Deputy Associate Director - Operations Bureau
Blank.jpg
Commander
Commander Rank.png
Captain
US-O3 insignia.svg
Lieutenant
US-OF1A.svg
Sergeant
MPDC Sergeant Stripes.png
Lead Police Officer
First Class Stripes - Blue w-White.png
Police Officer
Blank.jpg

Fallen officers

Since 1973, one PSD/PSPD officer has died in the line of duty. Mack Wesley Cantrell died from gunshot wounds sustained during the Hanafi Siege of the District Building (now the John Wilson Building) on March 9, 1977.

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">United States Secret Service</span> Federal US law enforcement agency

The United States Secret Service is a federal law enforcement agency under the Department of Homeland Security charged with conducting criminal investigations and protecting U.S. political leaders, their families, and visiting heads of state or government. Until 2003, the Secret Service was part of the Department of the Treasury, as the agency was founded in 1865 to combat the then-widespread counterfeiting of U.S. currency.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">United States Marshals Service</span> Federal law enforcement agency of the United States

The United States Marshals Service (USMS) is a federal law enforcement agency in the United States. The USMS is a bureau within the U.S. Department of Justice, operating under the direction of the Attorney General, but serves as the enforcement arm of the United States federal courts to ensure the effective operation of the judiciary and integrity of the Constitution. It is the oldest U.S. federal law enforcement agency, created by the Judiciary Act of 1789 during the presidency of George Washington as the "Office of the United States Marshal". The USMS as it stands today was established in 1969 to provide guidance and assistance to U.S. Marshals throughout the federal judicial districts.

Security police officers are employed by or for a governmental agency or corporations to provide security service security services to those properties.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Federal Protective Service (United States)</span> Federal law enforcement agency of the United States

The Federal Protective Service (FPS) is the Uniformed Police Division of the United States Department of Homeland Security (DHS). FPS is "the federal agency charged with protecting and delivering integrated law enforcement and security services to facilities owned or leased by the General Services Administration (GSA)"—over 9,000 buildings—and their occupants.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Metropolitan Police Department of the District of Columbia</span> Law enforcement agency in Washington, D.C., United States

The Metropolitan Police Department of the District of Columbia (MPDC), more commonly known as the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD), the DC Police, and, colloquially, the DCPD, is the primary law enforcement agency for the District of Columbia, in the United States. With approximately 3,400 officers and 600 civilian staff, it is the sixth-largest municipal police department in the United States. The department serves an area of 68 square miles (180 km2) and a population of over 700,000 people. Established on August 6, 1861, the MPD is one of the oldest police departments in the United States. The MPD headquarters is at the Henry J. Daly Building, located on Indiana Avenue in Judiciary Square across the street from the District of Columbia Court of Appeals and the Superior Court of the District of Columbia. The department's mission is to "safeguard the District of Columbia and protect its residents and visitors with the highest regard for the sanctity of human life". The MPD's regulations are compiled in title 5, chapter 1 of the District of Columbia Code.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">United States Capitol Police</span> Police agency protecting the U.S. Congress

The United States Capitol Police (USCP) is a federal law enforcement agency in the United States with nationwide jurisdiction charged with protecting the United States Congress within the District of Columbia and throughout the United States and its territories. It answers to the Capitol Police Board and is the only full-service federal law enforcement agency appointed by the legislative branch of the federal government of the United States.

Crime in Washington, D.C., is directly related to the city's demographics, geography, and unique criminal justice system. The District's population reached a peak of 802,178 in 1950. Shortly after that, the city began losing residents, and by 1980 Washington had lost one-quarter of its population. The population loss to the suburbs also created a new demographic pattern, which divided affluent neighborhoods west of Rock Creek Park from the less well-off neighborhoods to the east.

The Australian Protective Service (APS) was an Australian Commonwealth law enforcement agency which existed between October 1984 and June 2004. The APS was created by the separation of the Uniformed Protective Service component of the Australian Federal Police (AFP) into a new agency based upon recommendations contained in the Stewart Royal Commission of Inquiry into Drug Trafficking. It was initially responsible for protecting personnel and property of the Australian government; foreign diplomatic missions in both Australia and overseas, Internationally Protected Persons (IPPs); and the provision of custodial services at immigration detention centres. The APS provided a uniformed protection presence at most sensitive government establishments through either a permanent guarding presence or mobile patrol and alarm response function.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Supreme Court Police</span>

The Supreme Court of the United States Police is a federal law enforcement agency that derives its authority from 40 U.S.C. § 6121. The Supreme Court Police enforce federal and District of Columbia laws and regulations, as well as enforce regulations governing the Supreme Court Building and grounds prescribed by the marshal and approved by the chief justice of the United States. The department's mission is to ensure the integrity of the constitutional mission of the Supreme Court of the United States by protecting the Supreme Court, the justices, employees, guests, and visitors.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Anne Arundel County Police Department</span> Primary law enforcement agency of Anne Arundel County, Maryland, US

The Anne Arundel County Police Department is the primary law enforcement agency of Anne Arundel County, Maryland, United States, serving a population of more than 564,195 per 2015 census estimates across 588 square miles (1,500 km2) of jurisdiction. The Department was created by an Act of the Maryland General Assembly in 1937, and originally consisted of a Chief of Police, three sergeants, and seventeen patrolmen.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">United States Pentagon Police</span> Federal police agency of the Office of the US Secretary of Defense

The Pentagon Police Division (PPD) is the uniformed division of the Pentagon Force Protection Agency (PFPA).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Smithsonian Institution Office of Protection Services</span> Guard force of the Smithsonian Institution

The Smithsonian Institution Office of Protection Services is the guard force of the Smithsonian Institution.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">FBI Police</span> FBIs uniformed police

The FBI Police is the uniformed security police of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and is part of the Bureau's Security Division. The FBI Police is tasked with protecting key FBI facilities, properties, personnel, users, visitors information and operations from harm and may enforce certain laws and administrative regulations.

The federal government of the United States empowers a wide range of law enforcement agencies to maintain law and public order related to matters affecting the country as a whole.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Department of Defense police</span>

United States Department of Defense Police are the uniformed civilian police officers of the United States Department of Defense, various branches of the United States Armed Forces, or specific DoD activities.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Florida Department of Law Enforcement</span> Florida government agency

The Florida Department of Law Enforcement (FDLE) is a state-wide investigative law enforcement agency within the state of Florida. The department formally coordinates eight boards, councils, and commissions. FDLE's duties, responsibilities and procedures are mandated through Chapter 943, Florida Statutes, and Chapter 11, Florida Administrative Code. FDLE is headed by a commissioner who reports to the Florida Cabinet, which is composed of the governor, the attorney general, the chief financial officer and the commissioner of agriculture. The commissioner is appointed to his position by the governor and cabinet and confirmed by the Florida Senate.

The District of Columbia Police Coordination Amendment Act of 2001 is an amendment to the National Capital Revitalization and Self-Government Improvement Act of 1997. It was enacted on January 8, 2002. This act was created to fund and increase coordination between law enforcement agencies in the Washington Metropolitan Area.

The Georgetown University Police Department (GUPD) is a campus police department responsible for providing security and law enforcement for Georgetown University's main campus and Medical Center in Washington, D.C., as well as properties owned by the university.

References

  1. "Protective Services Division". Department of General Services. D.C. Government. Retrieved June 25, 2015.
  2. https://code.dccouncil.us/dc/council/laws/docs/4-115.pdf [ bare URL PDF ]
  3. "22–2106. Murder of law enforcement officer. | D.C. Law Library".
  4. "D.C. Law Library - § 10–1005. Organization. [Repealed]". code.dccouncil.us. Retrieved 2020-01-16.