Policemen's Association of the District of Columbia: Deckelbaum, Ralph H., counsel. Stickley, Lt. Samuel W., president.. Sullivan, Inspector John L. (retired), chairman, Board of Legislation_ Recommendations: Page 94, 107 107 107 V. Admission of Less Qualified_ 114 VI. Scout Cars and Specialized Units-The Canine Corps – – 115 VII. Police Advocate 116-117 Whitener, Hon. Basil, Chairman, Special Subcommittee on the Metropolitan Police Department_ MATERIAL SUBMITTED FOR THE RECORD Adams, Hon. Brock, a Representative in Congress from the State of Kneipp, Robert F., Assistant Corporation Counsel, draft of proposed Washington Evening Star: 85 101 96 Letter dated February 28, 1967, to the clerk, analyzing time of 104 Letter dated March 9, 1967, to Chairman McMillan, showing 105 141 Order dated February 15, 1967, respecting Canine Corps__ 132 Order dated March 15, 1967, attaching Commissioner's order of Layton, John B., Chief of Police: March 8, 1967, regarding testimony before Committees of Con- 138 Editorial, "Sagging Police Morale", February 13, 1967_-- 140 141 INVESTIGATION AND STUDY OF METROPOLITAN POLICE DEPARTMENT, RECRUITMENT AND RETENTION PROBLEMS, AND RELATED MATTERS THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 9, 1967 HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, SPECIAL SUBCOMMITTEE ON THE METROPOLITAN POLICE DEPARTMENT OF THE COMMITTEE ON THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA, Washington, D.C. The Subcommittee met, pursuant to recess, at 10:10 a.m., in Room 1310, Longworth House Office Building, Honorable Basil L. Whitener presiding. Present: Representatives Whitener (presiding), Nelsen, and Fuqua. Also present: Representatives McMillan (Chairman of full Committee), Dowdy, Sisk, Adams, Mathias, Winn, Gude and Zwach. Walter N. Tobriner, Commissioner, District of Columbia, and John B. Layton, Chief of Police, District of Columbia. James T. Clark, Clerk; Hayden S. Garber, Counsel; Donald Tubridy, Minority Clerk; and Leonard O. Hilder, Investigator. Mr. WHITENER. The Special Subcommittee on the Metropolitan Police Department will come to order. At the outset, I will state for those present and for the record that during the 89th Congress, this Special Subcommittee was appointed by the Chairman of the full House Committee on the District of Columbia to make a study of personnel recruitment and retention problems and related matters affecting the Metropolitan Police Department. Such study was carried on pursuant to its general investigating authority provided in House Resolution 44 (89th Congress, 1st session, approved February 16, 1965), and also was somewhat prompted by the adoption by the House on August 22, 1966 of House Resolution 931, favorably reported (H. Rept. 1788) from the House Committee on the District of Columbia, which will be made a part of the record at this point. [H. Res. 931, 89th Cong. 2nd sess., agreed to Aug. 22, 1966] RESOLUTION Whereas, the sovereign power of this Nation is reserved to the people of all the States under the Constitution, and Whereas, the powers delegated by the people in the Constitution include the command to the Congress that it "exercise exclusive legislation in all cases whatsoever" in the Nation's Capital, and Whereas, this power was delegated by the people of the States for their own benefit to make the seat of government secure for the conduct of the National government free from threats, coercions, insurrections, or interferences, to protect the persons and property of its representatives and officials, and the visitors and residents at the seat of the National government, and to preserve to all the people of the Nation the records, buildings, shrines, and monuments in the National Capital, and Whereas, the police power delegated to the Congress by the Constitution for the protection of the interests of all the people obligates the Congress to supervise and control the organization and operation of the Metropolitan Police Department in the District of Columbia, and Whereas, complete reorganization of the Metropolitan Police Department has been recommended without reference to the views of the Congress: Now, therefore, be it Resolved, That it is the sense of the House of Representatives that no alteration, reorganization, or other change shall be made in the organization of the Metropolitan Police Department of the District of Columbia until such time as the House of Representatives shall have had reasonable opportunity to thoroughly examine the complete and final report of the President's Commission on Crime in the District of Columbia on the Metropolitan Police Department. Mr. WHITENER. As a result of the appointment of this Subcommittee, which now has, because of the vagaries of the voters, only three remaining members of the five, Mr. Fuqua, Mr. Nelsen and myself, and the Chairman of the full Committee as ex-officio member and the Chairman advises me that for this Congress he has appointed Representative Adams of Washington to serve with us on the Subcommittee in meeting the assignment which has been given to the Subcommittee, it was our desire to try to accomplish this important assignment without a great deal of fanfare and commotion. I think that has been done. It has been done because of the cooperation of the members of the committee, the law enforcement people of the District of Columbia, and others who have worked in this mission. I think it has been handled in a commendable manner, because of the decision made by the Subcommittee and the Chairman of the full Committee as to the identity of the gentleman we would ask to make this study. Before moving into the study, at the suggestion of Chairman McMillan, I contacted some of the most reputable law enforcement authorities in America and asked for their recommendations. I pointed out to them that we had no ax to grind; that we had no political mission to serve; that we wanted a man whose credentials and ability to make such a study could not be questioned by any fair-minded person. As a result of these recommendations, we selected Mr. Malachi L. Harney, a native of Minnesota, a graduate of the University of Minnesota, who served in the United States Marine Corps in World War I, and then went with the Internal Revenue Service of the Treasury Department in 1920. For the next 35 years he was employed as a Treasury Agent and later as an administrator in Washington. For 16 years of this period he was assistant to the then United States Commissioner of Narcotics, Mr. Harry J. Anslinger, and contributed materially to developing programs against organized crime in this country. Following this he became Assistant for Law Enforcement to the Secretary of the Treasury, in which position he had responsibilities toward all the Treasury Law Enforcement Agencies-the Alcohol and Tobacco Tax, Inspection and Intelligence Divisions of the Internal Revenue, the Customs Agency Service, the Secret Service, the Bureau of Narcotics, and Coast Guard Intelligence. years. After Mr. Harney retired from the Federal service, he, at the request of the Governor of Illinois, set up a State Narcotics Division and served as Superintendent of that organization for two and one-half Since leaving Illinois he has continued his interest in Treasury law enforcement by acting as a part-time consultant and as a lecturer in the Treasury Law Enforcement and Criminal Investigation Schools. Mr. Harney was one of the pioneers in setting up apparatus for close internal cooperation and mutual assistance in the investigation of inter-country narcotic and counterfeiting traffic. He is the co-author of two textbooks in the police field, one entitled "The Informer In Law Enforcement," and the other "The Narcotic Officer's Notebook," and has written many articles in law enforcement publications. He is a life member of the International Association of Chiefs of Police. And as I have heretofore stated, I think that the very excellent manner in which he went about this assignment, the tact and the judgment which I am satisfied that he displayed, fully supports the decision of the Subcommittee and of Chairman McMillan, in selecting Mr. Harney for this study. May I express to the President of the Board of Commissioners, Mr. Tobriner, and the Chief of the Metropolitan Police Department, Mr. Layton, our appreciation for their presence today, which indicates an interest in hearing what Mr. Harney's findings have been, and to say to Chief Layton that of the reports that we received from time to time from Mr. Harney, that we appreciate his cooperation in connection with the study that was being made by our representative, Mr. Harney. We are delighted, also, at the help and presence of our distinguished Chairman, and ranking minority member, Mr. Nelsen, who is a member of the Committee both by appointment and by reason of his position as ranking minority member. Mr. McMillan, we are delighted to have you. Mr. MCMILLAN. Thank you. During the last 25 years, almost without exception, the House or Senate Committees on the District of Columbia have considered matters relating directly to the Metropolitan Police Department and indirectly in connection with the study of the crime problem in Washington. About 15 years ago, the Congress made a major study of the operation of the Police Department, which resulted in important changes in its operation. Beginning in 1952, and running to 1958, there was a substantial annual decrease in the amount of crime in the District of Columbia at a time when the crime rate was increasing in almost every other jurisdiction in the United States. The rate of clearance for crime reached a point near or about 50 per cent and ranked Washington among the highest for any city within the entire nation. Repeatedly in testimony before Committees, in reports, and in magazine articles, the Metropolitan Police Department of the District of Columbia was said to be one of the finest and most efficient in the United States. In recent years, the Congress has increased the size of the police force, and there have been improvements in the organization of the Department. New training methods and equipment have been employed. In addition, the House Committee on the District of Columbia in the last Congress reported and the House passed, and there was enacted into law, pay legislation to provide an overall average pay increase of 9.9 per cent for our police, with an actual increase of 11.4 per cent for starting privates and 7.1 per cent for Lieutenants and above. This adds up to a 59.2 per cent pay increase for our police since 1954. Yet, and despite intensive recruitment efforts by the Metropolitan Police Department in a number of States, it has not been able to bring its organization up to full strength. Furthermore, the number of resignations and retirements from the police force is a matter of real concern. The press announcements accompanying the release of the preliminary report of the D.C. Crime Commission last year gave the impression that the organization of the Metropolitan Police Department is a prime factor, if not the most important one, relating to the adverse crime rates in the District of Columbia. In view of your Committee's long and intimate contact with and knowledge of the operation of the Metropolitan Police Department, and of the crime situation in Washington, we do not question that there are some possible improvements to be made in the organization of the Department, but the Committee has found no basis for nor does it see any probability of expectation that such reorganization can bring about any substantial improvement in the enforcement of the laws of the District of Columbia. As we have regretfully pointed out on so many occasions, the crime rate in the District of Columbia has increased almost 300 per cent in the past 10 years, about double the national average rate. At the same time the D.C. prison population at Lorton has dropped from approximately 2,200 to about 1,100. Such results are not primarily, under any stretch of the imagination, because of any basic defects in organization, or inefficiency or inadequacy of facilities of the Metropolitan Police Department. It was the purpose of H. Res. 931, reported and passed by the House District Committee in the last Congress, and agreed to by the House, that a reasonable opportunity be afforded the Congress to examine the complete and final report of the President's Commission on Crime in the District of Columbia before any action is taken to reorganize the Metropolitan Police Department. I think Mr. Harney has done a wonderful job, and I think he has done it in a manner that we are all very happy with. We were not trying to make big headlines. Mr. WHITENER. Well, I do not think he has been mentioned, let alone received a headline, which I think is commendable in this newsy city we are in. Mr. Nelsen. Mr. NELSEN. I have no comments except to express my thanks for the work that has been done. Mr. WHITENER. Well, Mr. Harney, if you would, please, sir, come around. |