Title 5 — Police, Firefighters, Medical Examiner, and Forensic Sciences.

The District is constituted a police district, to be called “The Metropolitan Police District of the District of Columbia.”

The Metropolitan Police District of the District of Columbia shall be coextensive with the District of Columbia, and shall be subdivided into such police districts and precincts as the Council of the District of Columbia may from time to time direct.

It shall be the duty of the Mayor of the District of Columbia at all times of the day and night within the boundaries of said Police District: (1) To preserve the public peace; (2) To prevent crime and arrest offenders; (3) To protect the rights of persons and of property; (4) To…

(a) By January 1, 2001, the Chief of the Metropolitan Police Department (“MPD”) shall submit to the Council a study performed by MPD on the efficacy of the Police Service Area (“PSA”) model, including: (1) Whether re-engineering of the model is necessary; (2) Whether PSA boundari…

The Mayor of the District of Columbia is authorized, from time to time, without expense to the United States, to cause to be collected into compact form all the laws and ordinances in force in the District having relation and applicable to police and health, and to publish the sa…

The Police Code, prepared in accordance with § 5-103.01 and such rules as the Mayor of the District of Columbia may from time to time adopt for the purpose of enforcing and carrying out the provisions thereof, shall constitute the law of the District upon the matters therein cont…

(a) The Mayor of said District shall appoint to office, assign to such duty or duties as he may prescribe, and promote all officers and members of said Metropolitan Police force; provided, that all officers, members, and civilian employees of the force except the Chief of Police,…

Repealed Repealed.

The Mayor of the District of Columbia shall require an oath of office to be taken by the members of the police force, and shall make suitable provisions respecting the same, and for the registry thereof, and such oath may be taken before said Mayor, who is empowered to administer…

No person shall receive a permanent appointment who has not served the required probationary period, but the service during probation shall be deemed to be service in the uniformed force if succeeded by a permanent appointment, and as such shall be included and counted in determi…

The said Metropolitan Police force shall consist of 1 Chief of Police, who shall continue to be invested with such powers and charged with such duties as is provided by existing law; and also of 1 Assistant Superintendent with the rank of inspector; 4 surgeons for the Police and …

On and after June 20, 1942, the Mayor of the District of Columbia may assign to duty as assistant to the inspector commanding the detective bureau in the Metropolitan Police Department any officer or member of the Metropolitan Police force and, during the period of such assignmen…

The Council of the District of Columbia is authorized to determine and fix the minimum and maximum limits of age within which original appointments to the Metropolitan Police Department may be made.

Repealed Repealed.

No later than 60 days following March 6, 2007, the Chief of Police, pursuant to subchapter I of Chapter 5 of Title 2, shall issue rules establishing a procedure for service of process upon sworn members of the Metropolitan Police Department for actions arising out of the performa…

(a) Repealed. (b) Repealed. (c) Repealed. (d) Repealed. (e) As of March 6, 2007, to be eligible for appointment as a sworn member of the Metropolitan Police Department, an applicant shall have either: (1) Successfully completed 60 hours of post-secondary education at an accredite…

(a) A candidate for appointment as a sworn member of the Metropolitan Police Department shall execute an agreement obligating the candidate to serve a minimum of 2 years as a sworn member upon successful completion of the initial training program. (b) Except as provided in subsec…

The Department shall implement a program of continuing education for its sworn members, which shall consist of a minimum of 32 hours of training each year.

(a) All sworn members of the Metropolitan Police Department shall be required to pass, at least biennially, a physical examination and a physical agility test. The physical examination shall be performed by a physician at the Police and Fire Clinic using current medical standards…

(a) There is hereby established the District of Columbia Police Officers Standards and Training Board (“Board”). (b) Membership on the Board shall consist of the following 11 persons who shall be voting members: (1) The Mayor or the Mayor’s designee; (2) Chief of Police, Metropol…

(a) The Board shall establish minimum application and appointment criteria for the Metropolitan Police Department that include the following: (1) That an applicant be a citizen of the United States at the time of application; (2) Age limits; (3) Height and weight guidelines; (4) …

(a) The Chief of the Metropolitan Police Department shall establish a police officer cadet program, which shall include senior year high school students and young adults under 21 years of age residing in the District of Columbia who are graduates of a high school in the District,…

The Mayor or the Mayor’s designated agent may issue rules necessary for the implementation and operation of the cadet programs established pursuant to §§ 5-109.01 and 5-418.

The Council of the District of Columbia shall provide specific rules for uniform clothing of the police force, and any member shall be removed from the force for not complying with such rules.

(a) The uniform of officers and members of the United States Park Police force, the United States Secret Service Uniformed Division, the Capitol Police, and the Metropolitan Police force of the District of Columbia shall bear a distinctive patch, pin, or other emblem depicting th…

(a) For furnishing uniforms and all other official equipment prescribed by Department regulations as necessary and requisite in the performance of duty there is hereby authorized to be appropriated a sum not exceeding $75 per annum for each member of the Metropolitan Police, to b…

The Mayor of the District of Columbia shall cause the Metropolitan Police force to keep the following records: (1) General complaint files, in which shall be entered every complaint preferred upon personal knowledge of the circumstances thereof, with the name and residence of the…

(a) In addition to the records kept under § 5-113.01, the Metropolitan Police force shall keep a record of each case in which an individual in the custody of any police force or of the United States Marshal is charged with having committed a criminal offense in the District (exce…

Reports shall be made to the Chief of Police, in accordance with regulations prescribed by the Mayor of the District of Columbia, of each offense reported to, and each arrest made by, any other police force operating in the District.

(1) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, the Metropolitan Police Department of the District of Columbia shall disseminate its unexpurgated adult arrest records to members of the court and law enforcement agents, including the Identification Division of the Federal Bureau o…

(a) Whenever the Board of Parole of the District of Columbia has authorized the release of a prisoner under § 24-404, or the United States Board of Parole has authorized the release of a prisoner under § 24-406, it shall notify the Chief of Police of that fact as far in advance o…

(a) Except as provided in subsection (c) of this section, the records to be kept by paragraphs (1), (2), and (4) of § 5-113.01 shall be open to public inspection when not in actual use, and this requirement shall be enforceable by mandatory injunction issued by the Superior Court…

All records of the Metropolitan Police Department shall be preserved, except that the Mayor, upon recommendation of the Chief of the Metropolitan Police Department and only pursuant to part B of this subchapter, may cause records which the Metropolitan Police Department considers…

For the purposes of this part, the term: (1) “Biological material” means a sexual assault forensic examination kit, semen, vaginal fluid, blood, saliva, observable skin tissue, or hair which apparently derived from the perpetrator of a crime or, under circumstances that may be pr…

(a) In open homicide investigations, law enforcement agencies shall retain case jackets, crime scene examination case files, and any evidence collected during the course of the investigation for 65 years from the date the crime is first reported to the law enforcement agency. (b)…

(a) Whoever willfully or maliciously destroys, alters, conceals, or tampers with evidence or records that are being preserved and retained in accordance with this part shall be subject to: (1) Administrative sanctions, if the individual is an employee of the District of Columbia …

The Metropolitan Police Department shall issue a records retention schedule, in the form of a general order, consistent with this part.

For the purposes of this subchapter, the term: (1) “Accident” means an untoward and unforeseen occurrence out of the maintenance or use of: (A) A motor vehicle; (B) A vehicle operated or designed for operation upon a highway by power other than muscular power with respect only to…

(a) Except when circumstances related to safety, law enforcement, or emergency medical care make it impracticable to do so, a law enforcement officer shall demand proof of insurance from the operator of any motor vehicle that: (1) Has been involved in a traffic accident to which …

(a) A law enforcement officer responding to the scene of a motor vehicle accident and completing a traffic accident report shall note the following information on the traffic accident report: (1) The insurer or provider of insurance for the operator of each motor vehicle involved…

(a) The Metropolitan Police Department shall annually publish and submit to the Council and to the Department of Insurance, Securities, and Banking a report on the effectiveness of enforcement of the requirements of compulsory motor vehicle insurance. The Mayor shall direct the a…

(a) Any person arrested in the District of Columbia may be questioned with respect to any matter for a period not to exceed 3 hours immediately following his arrest. Such person shall be advised of and accorded his rights under applicable law respecting any such interrogation. In…

Every case of arrest shall be made known within 6 hours thereafter to the lieutenant of police on duty in the precinct in which the arrest is made, by the person making the same; and it shall be the duty of the lieutenant within 12 hours after such notice, to make written return …

If any member of the police force shall neglect making any arrest for an offense against the laws of the United States committed in his presence, he shall be deemed guilty of a misdemeanor and shall be punishable by imprisonment in the District Jail or Penitentiary not exceeding …

(a) In accordance with regulations prescribed by the Council of the District of Columbia, the Corporation Counsel of the District of Columbia shall represent any officer or member of the Metropolitan Police Department, if he so requests, in any civil action for damages resulting …

The Mayor of the District of Columbia shall provide suitable accommodations within the District for the detention of witnesses who are unable to furnish security for their appearance in criminal proceedings, and such accommodations shall be in premises other than those employed f…

If any member of the police force, or if any 2 or more householders shall report in writing, under his or their signature, to the Chief of Police that there are good grounds, stating the same, for believing any house, room, or premises within the police district to be kept or use…

It shall be the duty of the Chief of Police to cause all persons arrested in pursuance of the provisions of § 5-115.06 to be rigorously prosecuted, the articles seized to be destroyed, and such room or house to be closed, and not again used for such unlawful purpose.

(a)(1) The Metropolitan Police Department shall electronically record, in their entirety, and to the greatest extent feasible, custodial interrogations of persons suspected of committing a crime of violence, as that term is defined in § 23-1331(4), when the interrogation takes pl…

The Chief of Police may issue a General Order establishing additional procedures, not inconsistent with those prescribed in § 5-116.01, for the electronic recording of interrogations by the Metropolitan Police Department.