Robert J. Contee III is the Chief of the Metropolitan Police Department of Washington, D.C.

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.

Contact Email: 

robert.contee@dc.gov

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

 

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*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.