Police Forces in the District of Columbia Can Improve Operations and Save Money
GGD-79-16
Published: Jul 12, 1979. Publicly Released: Jul 13, 1979.
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Highlights
Four District police forces were reviewed, the Metropolitan Police Department, the U.S. Park Police, the Capitol Police, and the Metro Transit Police. The forces need to improve their patrol practices and certain inefficient and costly practices.
Recommendations
Recommendations for Executive Action
| Agency Affected | Recommendation | Status |
|---|---|---|
| District of Columbia | The Mayor, District of Columbia; the Secretary of the Interior; the Chairman, Capitol Police Board; and the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority should, with respect to police activities, adopt a policy to acquire goods and services from GSA when economically beneficial. |
Although the recommendation is still valid, GAO must close the case because there is no longer a D.C. audit site staff available to perform followup work and such a staff is not expected to be available in the future.
|
| U.S. Capitol Police | The Chairman, Capitol Police Board, should implement a program to use guards instead of police officers where possible. |
Although the recommendation is still valid, GAO must close the case because there is no longer a D.C. audit site staff available to perform followup work, and such a staff is not expected to be available in the future.
|
| Department of the Interior | The Secretary of the Interior should direct his force to coordinate the photographing and fingerprinting of arrestees with the Metropolitan Police Department. |
Although the recommendation is still valid, GAO must close the case because there is no longer a D.C. audit site staff available to perform followup work, and such a staff is not expected to be available in the future.
|
| Department of the Interior | The Secretary of the Interior should, as appropriate, transfer the police control of small parcels of land such as circles and triangles to the District of Columbia. |
Although the recommendation is still valid, GAO must close the case because there is no longer a D.C. audit site staff available to perform followup work, and such a staff is not expected to be available in the future.
|
| District of Columbia | The Mayor, District of Columbia; the Secretary of the Interior; the Chairman, Capitol Police Board; and the General Manager, Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority should, with respect to police activities, use civilians to replace, when economically advantageous and technically feasible, police officers in administrative support, clerical, and technical positions. |
The District has converted some sworn police positions to civilian and an accomplishment report has been prepared. Although the recommendation is still valid, GAO must close the case because there is no longer a D.C. audit site staff available to perform followup work, and such a staff is not expected to be available in the future.
|
| District of Columbia | The Mayor, District of Columbia, and the Secretary of the Interior should evaluate the feasibility of authorizing the Metropolitan Police Department the patrol responsibility for federal parks and monument grounds in the District. The evaluation should consider the need to coordinate police efforts during emergencies, demonstrations, parades, and other events. |
Although the recommendation is still valid, GAO must close the case because there is no longer a D.C. audit site staff available to perform followup work, and such a staff is not expected to be available in the future.
|
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