Robert J. Contee III is the Chief of the Metropolitan Police Department of Washington, D.C. United States. He was appointed by Mayor Muriel Bowser as acting chief effective January 2, 2021, and was confirmed unanimously by the DC Council on May 4, replacing Peter Newsham. Wikipedia
Born: Washington, D.C., United States
Education: Spingarn High School
Department: Metropolitan Police Department of the District of Columbia
Service years: 1992–present
On December 22, 2020, Mayor Muriel Bowser announced that she selected Robert J. Contee III, to serve as Chief of the Metropolitan Police Department. He was sworn in as Acting Chief of Police on January 2, 2021. On May 4, 2021, he was officially confirmed Chief of the Metropolitan Police Department.
Robert J. Contee joined the Metropolitan Police Department as a police cadet in November 1989. He became a sworn member of the Department three years later and quickly rose through the ranks, serving in a variety of assignments. He started as a patrol officer in the Third District, sergeant in the Second District, and the Metropolitan Police Academy. As a lieutenant, he served as a Patrol Services Area leader in the Second District, Regional Operations Command-East, and led the Intelligence Branch. In January 2004, Chief Contee was promoted to captain responsible for leading the Violent Crimes Branch, including the Homicide Branch and the Sexual Assault Unit.
Contee was promoted to Second District commander in August 2004 and was transferred to the Special Operations Division (SOD) in April 2006, where he was responsible for overseeing tactical patrol, special events and traffic safety functions. Following his post at SOD, Chief Contee became commander of the Sixth District in 2007, before taking command of the Recruiting Division in October 2014. He was named commander of the First District in January 2016, and was appointed Assistant Chief of MPD’s Professional Development Bureau in the summer 2016 where he oversaw the Human Resources Management Division, Disciplinary Review Division, the Metropolitan Police Academy, and Recruiting Division. In April 2017, Chief Contee was named Patrol Chief of Patrol Services South (PSS), which included his oversight of the First, Sixth, and Seventh Police Districts. He was named Assistant Chief of the Investigative Services Bureau (ISB), in March 2018. The ISB works with the community to solve crimes, bring offenders to justice, support the recovery of victims, and protect witnesses. It includes several divisions that are integral to supporting community safety. These divisions are the Criminal Investigations Division (CID), which includes the Homicide Branch and Sex Assault Unit; the Narcotics and Special Investigations Division (NSID), which provides proactive criminal enforcement services so that citizens can live in neighborhoods free from drug dealing, drug-related crime, and prostitution; the Crime Scene Investigations Division; Youth and Family Services Division; and the School Safety Division
Chief Contee grew up in the Carver Terrace community in Northeast, DC, and is a DC Public Schools graduate. He holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Professional Studies with a concentration in Police Science from George Washington University. He has also completed the Management College at the Institute for Law Enforcement Administration and the Senior Management Institute for Police (SMIP) of the Police Executive Research Forum in Boston, Massachusetts.
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2022 Year-to-Date Crime Comparison*
As of November 4, 2022
The statistics below reflect the data entered into MPD’s records management system (Cobalt) as of 12 am on the date above. The homicide numbers are based on numbers submitted by the Homicide Branch.
| Offense | 2021 | 2022 | Percent Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Homicide | 187 | 175 | -6% |
| Sex Abuse | 161 | 131 | -19% |
| Assault w/ a Dangerous Weapon | 1,420 | 1,203 | -15% |
| Robbery | 1,676 | 1,763 | 5% |
| Violent Crime – Total | 3,444 | 3,272 | -5% |
| Burglary | 1,002 | 904 | -10% |
| Motor Vehicle Theft | 2,939 | 2,986 | 2% |
| Theft from Auto | 7,318 | 6,629 | -9% |
| Theft (Other) | 9,188 | 9,112 | -1% |
| Arson | 4 | 4 | 0% |
| Property Crime – Total | 20,451 | 19,635 | -4% |
| All Crime – Total | 23,895 | 22,907 | -4% |
2021 Year End Crime Data*
Year-end 2021 data accurate as of January 1, 2022.
| Offense | 2020 | 2021 | Percent Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Homicide | 198 | 226 | 14% |
| Sex Abuse | 177 | 176 | -1% |
| Assault w/ a Dangerous Weapon | 1,631 | 1,675 | 3% |
| Robbery | 1,998 | 2,040 | 2% |
| Violent Crime – Total | 4,004 | 4,117 | 3% |
| Burglary* | 1,178 | 1,172 | -1% |
| Motor Vehicle Theft | 3,262 | 3,515 | 8% |
| Theft from Auto | 8,285 | 8,690 | 5% |
| Theft (Other) | 10,928 | 10,915 | 0% |
| Arson | 13 | 4 | -69% |
| Property Crime – Total | 23,666 | 24,296 | 3% |
| All Crime – Total | 27,670 | 28,413 | 3% |
*Not including unrest-related burglaries
As part of a recent data quality audit, the Metropolitan Police Department determined that our summary crime statistics were not capturing a small proportion of property crimes since the deployment of our new Records Management System in August 2015. These specific crimes were reported through the Office of Unified Communications’ (OUC) Telephone Reporting Unit (TRU) and crime categories impacted were: Theft; Motor Vehicle Theft; and Theft from Auto. Please note that this technical issue did not affect the handling of these cases as they were regularly transferred to MPD detectives for investigation and follow-up. The Department has corrected this technical issue, and the summary crime statistics presented here as well as on the public crime mapping website reflect this update.
Recovered Firearms
| 2011 | 2012 | 2013 | 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1,919 | 1,938 | 1,330 | 2,178 | 1,706 | 1,870 | 2,191 | 1,928 | 2,299 | 2,371 | 2,410 |
20-Year Homicide Trend
| 2021 | 2020 | 2019 | 2018 | 2017 | 2016 | 2015 | 2014 | 2013 | 2012 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 226 | 198 | 166 | 160 | 116 | 135 | 162 | 105 | 104* | 88 |
*The citywide 2013 homicide statistics include the 12 victims of the Washington Navy Yard shooting incident that occurred on September 16, 2013.
| 2011 | 2010 | 2009 | 2008 | 2007 | 2006 | 2005 | 2004 | 2003 | 2002 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 108 | 132 | 144 | 186 | 181 | 169 | 196 | 198 | 248 | 262 |
*These statistics reflect crime reports entered or migrated into the MPD Records Management System (Cobalt) as of 12 am of the report date. These numbers are based on DC Code Offense definitions and do NOT reflect Part I crime totals as reported to the FBI’s Uniform Crime Reporting (UCR) or National Incident-Based Reporting System (NIBRS). The statistics for this report are based on the various tables from the data warehouse as of the current refresh date. This report should be considered ‘preliminary’ in nature. The reports are subject to change due to subsequent determinations related to amendments in classification, unfounded cases or changes in offense definitions.