News Articles, 1998
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Confronting the Enemies Within
New D.C. Police Chief to Face Crises in Equipment, Buildings

By Cheryl W. Thompson
Washington Post Staff Writer
Monday, April 20, 1998; Page A01

When it rains, D.C. police officers assigned to the 4th District on upper Georgia Avenue NW arm themselves -- with buckets and mops. These are their weapons of choice to clean the pigeon droppings that wash into offices through the poorly sealed windows and leaky roof.

After a hard summer rain, the officers must defend themselves against the hordes of mosquitoes that get into the building through holes in the ceilings big enough for adolescents to crawl through.

In the office where police officers process evidence from crime scenes, the air conditioning hasn't worked for a year. And when any of the 90 women who work there want to shower, they must use a stall in a custodian's closet because there are no shower facilities for women.

The conditions in the 4th District building are among the worst in the D.C. police department's seven district stations, and they are among the long-ignored problems awaiting Charles H. Ramsey, Mayor Marion Barry's nominee to be police chief. Ramsey's confirmation hearing before the D.C. Council starts today.

The U.S. attorney's office, a special D.C. Council committee and the city's inspector general all have begun investigations into police corruption, misconduct and mismanagement. Morale, officers say, continues to be low. Almost half the force has not been recertified in the last several years with the firearms the department issued them.

Equipment is still scarce in some units, with officers using their own money -- or asking residents for cash donations -- to buy electronic items, notebooks and toilet paper. Ramsey said there aren't any quick fixes to the festering problems in the department.

"I'm not a miracle worker," Ramsey said in an interview. "There's a tendency to want to fix everything overnight, and that's not going to happen. We have to prioritize."

Ramsey said he will outline a 100-day plan for his first months in office and develop a strategic plan after that. He also will ask for a department-wide audit to "find out what the real problems are."

The District already has paid more than $5 million to the Bethesda-based consulting firm Booz-Allen & Hamilton Inc. for a top-to-bottom review of the police agency -- and longtime police officials said the Booz-Allen review documents only problems noted over the years in other reports.

That is a major reason city officials looked to an outsider to run the department: because "insiders" who have held the top jobs have known about problems but failed to fix them.

Although the department is authorized to employ a force of 3,800 officers, it has only about 3,600 on the payroll. Another 300 or so are on administrative or sick leave or disability.

In the 2nd District, which covers Northwest Washington west of Rock Creek Park, the detectives don't have cellular telephones or long-distance phone lines in their offices -- technology that is crucial for investigations.

"We have requested them but were told there was no money for them," said one administrator who asked not to be identified.

The 360 officers assigned to the 3rd District, north of downtown Washington, lost their fax machine when their commander was fired in February -- and took his personal fax machine with him.

"What we'll have to do is sit down and take a look at it and find out what our needs are, and then develop a three- or four-year plan and set aside X amount of money," Ramsey said. "You've got to have support for facilities. That's got to be part of the budget."

Leroy Thorpe, an advisory neighborhood commissioner who lives in Northwest Washington's Shaw neighborhood and is active in community anti-crime patrols, said officers still lack notebooks and other fundamental supplies.

The police precincts in the 1st and 3rd districts are "deplorable," Thorpe said. "There's not even toilet paper in the bathrooms."

At officers' request, he said, residents raised money to fix leaky roofs, ceilings and poor plumbing in the two stations because the department did not allocate money for the repairs.

Kathy Smith, an at-large member of the police chief's Citizens Advisory Council who lives in Northwest Washington's American University Park neighborhood, said it is imperative that Ramsey address the equipment and infrastructure problems immediately. "They need bikes and radar equipment," Smith said. "There was a meeting recently where an officer said there was only one piece of radar equipment that works. They need to spend money. What are they sitting on it for?"

D.C. Council member Jack Evans (D-Ward 2), chairman of the Judiciary Committee, which oversees the department, expressed surprise that it still suffers equipment shortages and other procurement problems. The federal General Services Administration took over purchasing for the department last year.

"That's a management problem, because the money is there to buy the stuff," said Evans, who noted that the department can spend as much as $500,000 on supplies and equipment without D.C. Council approval. "It's appalling the money is there and it doesn't get spent. I don't see Ramsey tolerating a situation like that."

Assistant Chief Michael Fitzgerald, who oversees the property division that doles out basic supplies, did not return several telephone calls seeking comment. Interim Chief Sonya T. Proctor also did not respond to requests for an interview.

Evans said he is confident officers will see improvement in the agency under Ramsey and that the new chief "can make tremendous progress."

Smith said the issues awaiting Ramsey are daunting. They include the high turnover rate of employees assigned to the 911 emergency dispatch system and the outdated mainframe computer system -- which, if it collapses, could erase thousands of crucial records. "The mainframe computer system is a disaster," she said. "It was custom-built in the 1970s by people who are no longer with the department."

But while equipment and building needs are important, Evans said, Ramsey should concentrate on boosting morale and improving professionalism.

"Ramsey knows what he needs to do," the council member said.

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