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On June 4, 1976, President Ford signed into law a bill passed by Congress authorizing the establishment of the Metro Transit Police Department (MTPD). MTPD police officers have tri-state jurisdiction with responsibility for a variety of law enforcement and public safety functions in transit facilities throughout the Washington, DC Metropolitan area.

The MTPD has an authorized strength of 420 sworn police officers, 106 security special police, and 24 civilian personnel. Officers provide a variety of law enforcement and public safety services on the Metrorail and Metrobus systems in the Washington Metropolitan Area.

MTPD police officers have jurisdiction and arrest powers throughout the 1,500 square mile Transit Zone that includes Maryland, Virginia, and the District of Columbia for crimes that occur in or against Transit Authority facilities. It is the only tri-jurisdictional police agency in the country and serves a population of 3.2 million.

The MTPD is nationally accredited through the Commission on Accreditation for Law Enforcement Agencies, Inc. and officer candidates are trained to the standards established for police in the District of Columbia, Maryland, and Virginia. MTPD detectives are tasked with investigating open crimes and bringing them to closure. Uniformed and plainclothes officers ride Metrobuses at random and in areas where problems have been reported and also patrol trains, stations, and parking lots.