[3] 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 has a broad array of specialized services, including the Emergency Response Team, K9, harbor patrol, air support, explosive ordnance division, homeland security, criminal intelligence, narcotics, and the violent crime suppression units.

The MPD also operates the Command Information Center (CIC) which monitors hundreds of cameras across the city, license plate readers, ShotSpotter, and many other intelligence and surveillance devices.

Under the District of Columbia Home Rule Act, whenever the President of the United States determines that special conditions of an emergency nature exist which require the use of the Metropolitan Police for federal purposes, the president may direct the mayor to provide, and the mayor shall provide, such services of the Metropolitan Police force for up to 48 hours.

[7] As the American Civil War raged on, U.S. president Abraham Lincoln took a personal interest in the formation of a regular police force for the U.S. capital.

The crowds, crime, and the constant threat of enemy spies, had made the capital into a rowdy city barely under control.

Before the formation of the district in 1801, county constables had jurisdiction over the area, along with the comparatively developed police force for the City of Alexandria.

[9] Yet another force, the 16-member Auxiliary Guard of the City of Washington, was established by Act of Congress in August 1842,[10] purportedly because President John Tyler had been burned in effigy, and had rocks thrown at him on the White House grounds.

The Third Precinct comprised the remainder of Washington County west of Rock Creek, including Georgetown and the island of Analostan in the Potomac River.

[15] Beginning immediately, Superintendent Webb worked to organize the department which had an authorized strength of ten sergeants and as many patrolmen as needed, though not to exceed 150.

Superintendent Webb had four MPD officers assigned the task of guarding the White House grounds and accompanying the president on his walks through the city.

The marchers remained at their campsite waiting for President Herbert Hoover to take action after Congress rejected a bill to pay the veterans.

On July 28, 1932, Attorney General William D. Mitchell ordered the Metropolitan Police to remove the Bonus Army veterans from their camp.

During his 13 years as chief, Murray would be credited with making the most sweeping, and longest lasting changes in the MPD's history and is seen as bringing the department into the modern era of policing.

He and the MPD earned public accolades for their handling of the Transit strikes in the hot summers of 1955 and 1956, the March on Washington, and the funeral of JFK.

During the four days of violence, the inner part of Washington was devastated in widespread looting and fires, at one point coming within two blocks of the White House.

The mobilization of 13,600 troops to assist the MPD in putting down the riot was the largest military occupation of an American city since the Civil War.

Pleasant neighborhood, who were upset in the aftermath of a controversial police shooting which exacerbated strained relationships between the city's Hispanic population and the MPD.

[33] In 2000, MPD detective Johnny St. Valentine Brown, assigned to the narcotics division, was convicted of perjury after lying about having a degree from Howard University's School of Pharmacy.

[37] That evening, after the majority of the population had returned home and Washington's streets lay empty, Chief Ramsey, his Executive Assistant Chief Terry Gainer, FBI director Robert Mueller, and Secret Service director Brian L. Stafford drove around D.C. to check security measures of the locked-down city.

[45][46] On January 6, 2021, supporters of Donald Trump, the 45th U.S. president, broke past police barricades and entered the United States Capitol in a failed attempt to overturn his defeat in the 2020 presidential election.

[53] Within MPD's Homeland Security Bureau is the Special Operations Division and the Joint Strategic & Tactical Analysis Command Center.

Members who hold the rank of sergeant or above but are assigned to the Criminal Investigation Division or have investigatory duties, are referred to with the "Detective" title in front, e. g.

At the end of the probationary period, officers are certified to patrol on their own, apply to specialized units, and progress through the department's hierarchy.

[62] Master Patrol Officers (MPO) are assigned some of the field training duties, and hold supervisory authority in the absence of a sergeant.

Uniformed headgear of all ranks consists of an eight-point hat, similar to those worn by the NYPD and San Francisco Police Departments.

[63][64][65] In October 2018 the MPD switched to a new uniform for Officers through Sergeants consisting of an outer load bearing vest with a patch on the back saying "METROPOLITAN POLICE" in white lettering.

The Emergency Response Team uses the SIG Sauer P226 9x19mm as the sidearm instead of the standard issue Glock pistols carried by other units and officers in the agency.

The word "POLICE" is printed in large text on the side of the car, and "MPDC", with the MPD shield splitting MP and DC, on the rear quarter panels of the vehicle.

The Special Operations Division (SOD) has a large variety of vehicles including the Eurocopter AS350B3, Lenco Bearcat, and a Freightliner M2 tandem rear axle chassis with a mobile command center van.