New Police Chief

Cathy L. Lanier joined the Metropolitan Police Department in 1990. (Marvin Joseph - The Washington Post)

Newly appointed D.C. police chief Cathy Lanier was online Wednesday, Nov. 29 at 1 p.m. to discuss her plans for the city's police department.

A transcript follows.

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Boston: Are there plans to beef up patrols in Adams Morgan during peak hours (late night and weekends), and will that pull resources away from east of the Anacostia?

Cathy Lanier: Beefing up patrols in Adams Morgan during peak hours is already happening. In order to accomplish this, resources are not being pulled away from areas east of the Anacostia. Commander McCoy, the 3D Commander has already aligned his personnel to add to the number of officers in Adams Morgan during peak hours. That personnel comes from the officers already assigned to the Third District and does not impact any other area.

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Washington, D.C.: Good afternoon. I just wanted to say "congratulations" to you on your selection. As a female member of the MPD, it is very gratifying to see a woman at the helm of a great police department.

Cathy Lanier: Thank you! The support I have been getting from inside of the agency has been wonderful. Thanks for taking the time.

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Arlington, Va.: My son is a D.C. police officer in 4D and he always complains that they have too many chiefs and not enough braves. What are are you going to do to fix it?

Cathy Lanier: I will be assessing the MPD's organization and, if I find that there is a disproportionate amount of executive/command ratio to the rank and file, I will stream-line the organization accordingly.

Cathy Lanier: Of course I will need some time to look at current deployment and assignments; however, I do believe in an efficient organization. That said, I will not come into office and make sweeping changes without first taking the time to make a good assessment of what we have and how that may be changed to IMPROVE operations.

And your son is in a great District - that is where I started.

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Logan Circle: First of all, congratulations on your promotion. What are you going to do to get more officers on foot patrol? From the looks of many of them, they could use the exercise.

Cathy Lanier: Thanks for the congrats! As far as foot patrols are concerned, I will be working with the officers, commanders and communities to determine which areas will benefit most from the use of footbeats.

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Washington, D.C.: Do you plan on visiting all of the districts and divisions within the department to get feedback from your personnel? If so, when will you begin?

Cathy Lanier: Of course -- and I started last week. I have already been to the 7th District and the First District. My staff is working to schedule the remaining District's and Units over the upcoming weeks. So far, the reception and input has been great!

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U Street, D.C.: Good morning,

One item that has been on my mind for some time, and which you are now bringing up as an initiative, regards targeted food patrols. Both putting more officers out on the streets (and out of their patrol cars), and increasing police presence at times and in places where high incidences of crime are prevalent (such as the U Street, Columbia Heights area from 10 p.m. until 2 a.m.) seem intuitively simple. Why is this an idea that has taken so long to gain traction, and what are the hurtles to seeing action on the issue?

Cathy Lanier: My plan to implement precision patrolling will incorporate both vehicular and foot patrols. This approach worked well when I was a Commander at the Fourth District, and I believe that I can achieve similar results on a city-wide level. As with anything else, with system-wide change, there can be some challenges (i.e. attributed to staffing levels, resources, etc.) but change, nevertheless, will prevail.

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Clinton, Md.: What is your position on civilianization? Will you continue the trend of hiring civilian employees to replace sworn members in administrative positions so that these sworn officers can be reassigned to patrol or other operational areas?

Cathy Lanier: Civilians in the Metropolitan Police Department contribute significantly to the agency's operational effectiveness and success. Civilianization allows sworn members to perform patrol functions, and thereby allows for more police presence on the streets. Overall, it's beneficial.

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Odenton, Md.: Chief -- Will you and the Federal police agencies (Capitol Police, Secret Service Uniformed Division, FPS, etc.) create a comprehensive plan for policing the District that allows the Federal agencies to take more responsibility in their areas of control, in order to free up District Officers for targeted patrols or other assignments?

Cathy Lanier: The concept of inter-agency cooperation has been explored before with favorable results. Cooperation between federal and local agencies is critical to urban law enforcement because, let's face it, criminals know no boundaries when it comes to committing crimes.

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SW D.C.: All I can say is good luck Cathy! I'm sure you'll do a great job but realize that many before you have tried and failed. I hope you have that secret weapon in your back pocket to decrease crime, clean up the streets, etc. Again, good luck!

Cathy Lanier: Thank you. My secret weapon is simply my strong belief that the citizens, the police officers, the community, and all stake holders have a fundamental desire to live in an environment that is vibrant and safe from crime and the fear of crime. I think we are well on our way and don't intend on doing this alone... I am going to engage every member of this organization (and the community) in the problem solving process -- my job is just to pull it all together and make it happen.

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Washington, D.C.: Do you believe the redeployment of some of the senior police officers has made a major impact in decreasing crime? And do you plan on continuing this policy?

Cathy Lanier: Like everything else, I really need to look at all of our activities before making changes. As far as the impact on crime -- you can't argue with statistics. The larger issue is what are the other ways we can accomplish crime decreases, increase visibility and keep officers engaged and supportive of the process -- big challenge -- but I am up to it.

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D.C.: Gang activity seems to be a top-order item in Montgomery and NOVA jurisdictions. How high is this issue a priority for you?

Cathy Lanier: Criminal activity is my first priority; however, I believe that gang involvement is one of many "facilitators" of criminal behavior that needs to be addressed. That being said, I would prefer to go one step further and intervene BEFORE young people are tempted to get involved in gangs rather than trying to arrest them out of it later.

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Washington: Congratulations on your appointment. I have lived on the 4700 block of Jay St NE for a little over three years now. Almost every evening however we have drug dealers on the corner. A month ago my wife narrowly avoided an armed robbery as youths with guns approached her cab. Many cab drivers still refuse to go to that region of D.C. and conveniently "forget" where that part of the city is.

Got any plans in place for my part of town?

Cathy Lanier: I am very familiar with Jay Street -- I was assigned to the Sixth District as a sergeant and a Captain. I will be looking to Commander Hoey and his team to provide me with their recommendations first -- and those recommendations should include input from the community.

Bottom line, all of us need to work on issues like this together, not independently. There may be others that we need to engage in this process as well. We will do our best

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Washington, D.C.: You've been at the command level within the department for several years now, which has given you the opportunity to see first hand who has been an effective executive and who hasn't. That being said, are you planning any personnel changes with regards to your cabinet positions and if so, how soon?

Cathy Lanier: Despite my being a member of the Command Staff for nearly eight years, I will expect very different things from the command staff once I take office. Some will do well -- others may not. All will have a chance. Then we go from there. I do believe in being fair and once I set the goals and the pace, everyone will have a chance to keep up.

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Washington, D.C.: Crime and quality-of-life issues continue to plague areas "East of the River." How do you plan on attacking these problems?

Cathy Lanier: As a team and with the community. Once again, I have a District Commander and a team of officers, sergeants and lieutenants that know the area and the problems. I will expect them to engage the community and come up with solutions. I hope you will be willing to work with them.

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D.C.: How will you work to promote healthy relations between the department and minority communities?

Cathy Lanier: I think that all communities should be treated the same -- with dignity and respect.

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Washington, D.C.: Congratulations, Chief Lanier. First, do you consider yourself a trailblazer for women in law enforcement? Also, how do you plan to re-energize the PD's community policing efforts?

Cathy Lanier: I don't consider myself a trailblazer (although my mother does). There are a lot of women who have gone through an awful lot before me so that I would even have the opportunity to be considered for this position.

As far as re-energizing our efforts, I think engagement is the key. Everyone needs to be engaged and feel like they are essential to the success of our policing efforts.

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Columbia Heights, D.C.: I appreciate your emphasis on innovative ways for the police to combat crime in our neighborhoods. I would love to know what I can do to make my street safer. I think you can start asking citizens to step up and help out. We just need some direction...

Cathy Lanier: That is great! And in line with what I have in mind for taking our efforts to the next level. District Commanders and their teams will be expected to work closely with the community to establish APPROPRIATE crime control strategies together.

I would encourage you to go to the MPD Web site and look up the name of your PSA representative. They will be happy to work with you and get you involved.

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Washington, D.C.:

Chief Ramsey, was strong supporter of new technology policing: red-light cameras, speed camera and now crime-location cameras.

Do you differ from this position?

Do you believe the new technology is more effective human policing?

Cathy Lanier: I think technology is good for improving our efficiency, however, nothing can replace the critical "human" decision making that is needed for law enforcement officers across the board.

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Columbia Heights, D.C.: Chief Lanier,

I've heard a lot of enthusiastic talk about increasing police presence in D.C. communities. In the context of the mistakes that lead to the shooting death of Mr. Bell in New York City, how can the people of this city be assured that the community police plan for D.C. won't result in the use of unnecessary force in communities perceived to be "sketchy"?

Cathy Lanier: Since the inception of the Department of Justice/ Memorandum of Agreement regarding uses of force by police officers, officers are better trained and equipped to use a continuum of force when dealing with perceived or actual threats. An officer's use of force is not determined by any subjective perception of what a "sketchy" community is. This pejorative will never be tolerated.

Cathy Lanier: I will not comment on police shootings I don't know all of the facts on; however, MPD officers are well trained and equipped to use a variety of tactics when dealing with perceived or actual threats.

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Washington, D.C.: What are you going to do to recruit more officers. The department clearly needs more people to deliver the results that the residents are expecting

Cathy Lanier: I think we do a pretty good job recruiting... the big problem for law enforcement nationwide is retention. We have a hard time competing with private sector and federal agencies that offer higher salaries. I will try to emphasize improved job satisfaction for our officers.

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Cathy Lanier: Thank you all for the opportunity to engage in conversation and hear your concerns. I am looking forward to the challenge!

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