List of law enforcement agencies in the District of Columbia

This is a list of law enforcement agencies in the District of Columbia.

According to the US Bureau of Justice Statistics' 2008 Census of State and Local Law Enforcement Agencies, the District has six local law enforcement agencies employing 4,262 sworn police officers, about 722 for each 100,000 residents. This is the highest proportion of police officers to citizens of any state or territory.

Listed by age

The oldest agencies are the:

• United States Marshals Service, founded September 24, 1789
• United States Park Police, founded in 1791 as park watchmen to guard federal property in DC
• United States Mint Police, founded in 1792
• United States Capitol Police, founded in 1828
• Metropolitan Police Department of the District of Columbia, founded in 1861 (took the place of DC City Watch, founded in 1802)
• United States Secret Service, founded July 5, 1865
• District of Columbia Protective Services Division, founded by Congress in 1899 under the Watchmen in Municipal Facilities Act

Primary DC law enforcement (local and federal)

Federal police agencies with a uniformed presence in District of Columbia area

The majority of federal law enforcement agencies have some type of jurisdiction and/or headquarter offices in the District of Columbia; however, some are more overt than others.

College and university agencies

See also

• Crime in Washington, D.C.
• Law enforcement in the United States
• List of United States federal law enforcement agencies
• List of United States state and local law enforcement agencies

References