D.C. Police Chief Overhauls Department
posted 6:03 pm Mon September 24, 2007 - Washington
D.C. Police Chief Cathy Lanier announced a major reorganization of the Metropolitan Police Department's structure on Monday, aimed at increasing efficiency and communications by "flattening" the organization.
"The command structure is designed for us to be a little bit more efficient and communicate a little bit more rapidly," said Lanier in a Monday news conference.
The largest change to the 3,900-member force will be the centralization of patrol officers. Lanier says she is merging three Regional Operations Command Centers (ROCs) into one patrol division, placing all 2,000 street officers under the command of Assistant Chief Diane Groomes, who is being promoted from First District Commander.
"With just one person overseeing all of patrol, that person now has accountability for all those resources," said Lanier. "It gives her a flexibility to not have to go through two or three ranks in the chain of command to coordinate movement of resources and personnel among the seven districts. She doesn't have to go anywhere to make those decisions, so that can happen immediately."
Additional officers who had staffed the ROCs will be reassigned to patrol, adding a handful of officers to the streets. Lanier is also reducing the number of assistant chiefs, from ten under former Chief Charles Ramsey to seven. Lanier rejected reports that the new command staff will under-represent African Americans in the majority-black city. She said there will be four black assistant chiefs and three white. Lanier also stressed that all the senior commanders had been hand-picked to make a difference.
"I've put together this team of folks that we've spent a lot of time evaluating," said Lanier. "I think we've got the right people in the right jobs and absolutely, I think you'll see an impact."
Mayor Adrian Fenty, who also attended the news conference, noted that all of the promotions were internal, which he said should provide a morale boost to the department.
Fenty said the changes should make it easier for district commanders to combat crime. "I think that these commanders are now empowered to know that there's not as much bureaucracy or management between them and the chief and that can only make them more effective at doing their job for the people," he said. Lanier also is beefing up technology.
She is distributing 400 laptop computers to patrol officers, automating police reports and encouraging commanders to keep residents informed about crime by using Web-based community message boards.
Many residents and the police union voiced support for the changes. "It seems like she's downsizing the executive management to put more officers on the street which I think can only help," said district resident Ben Phillips. The changes are scheduled to take effect Sunday.
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© 2007 The Associated Press
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