Norton Writes to NPS for Explanation after Vandalism at the Lincoln Memorial

WASHINGTON, DC – Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-DC) yesterday sent a letter to National Park Service (NPS) Director Jonathan Jarvis concerning the recent vandalism at the Lincoln Memorial and at other monuments and buildings around the District of Columbia. Norton, in her letter, asked for an answer within 30 days to specific questions about Park Police staffing, resources and coordination with other federal police forces, and the effects of the sequester, and raised concerns about the ability of federal police forces to protect the city's monuments and properties. Norton wrote to NPS because the Park Police are tasked with protecting the National Mall and because they are the only federal police with citywide (other than the Secret Service) and region-wide jurisdiction.

In her letter, Norton wrote, "There is now considerable concern about whether other monuments on the National Mall are in jeopardy of being vandalized, and whether there is adequate protection to ensure that such acts do not occur in the future…No matter how many police forces are in the nation's capital, we will not be able to meet the challenges we face today to protect against the unexpected unless there is coordination among the police forces."

Norton's questions, as written in the letter, are: "(1) Do the same number of Park Police patrol the monuments now as before sequestration became effective in March? (2) What, if anything, is the numerical difference? (3) How many sworn Park Police officers are on staff as of this month, and how many sworn Park Police officers were employed a year ago? (4) Can Park Police officers who leave the force be replaced? (5) Is there coordination among the police forces in the nation's capital specifically to prevent vandalism and defacement, or on issues other than preventing terrorist attacks, including with the Metropolitan Police Department, the Capitol Police, Smithsonian Institution Office of Protection Services, and National Zoological Park Police, among others." Additionally, due to the success of a provision Norton was able to get in 1997 to protect public safety in D.C. by allowing the Metropolitan Police Department to enter into cooperative agreements with federal law enforcement entities, she asked NPS for an explanation of its current coordination efforts with other police forces to protect monuments on the National Mall and around the city.

The full text of Norton's letter follows.

Dear Director Jarvis:

I appreciate that the National Park Service (NPS) ended furloughs for the U.S. Park Police on June 1, 2013. As you know, I held meetings with three federal police forces and their employees – Park Police, the Capitol Police, and Federal Protective Service (FPS) – in May 2013 to discuss the effects of sequestration because I was concerned about public safety in the nation's capital following the tragic loss of life and the injuries at the Boston Marathon. I write now concerning the recent vandalism at the Lincoln Memorial, at a statue memorializing Joseph Henry, at the National Cathedral and at other monuments, which raises concerns about Park Police and other federal police staffing and resources available to protect the valuable monuments on the National Mall and federal assets throughout the nation's capital.

There is now considerable concern about whether other monuments on the National Mall are in jeopardy of being vandalized, and whether there is adequate protection to ensure that such acts do not occur in the future. Because the Park Police are the only federal police with citywide (aside from the Secret Service) and region-wide jurisdiction and because the Park Police are charged with public safety for the National Mall, I ask that you provide my office with answers to several questions: (1) Do the same number of Park Police patrol the monuments now as before sequestration became effective in March? (2) What, if anything, is the numerical difference? (3) How many sworn Park Police officers are on staff as of this month, and how many sworn Park Police officers were employed a year ago? (4) Can Park Police officers who leave the force be replaced? (5) Is there coordination among the police forces in the nation's capital specifically to prevent vandalism and defacement, or on issues other than preventing terrorist attacks, including with the Metropolitan Police Department, the Capitol Police, Smithsonian Institution Office of Protection Services, and National Zoological Park Police, among others.

Coordination is not new in the nation's capital, and I am aware of the effective coordination to prevent terrorist attacks after the September 11, 2001, attacks. In 1997, I was able to get a provision enacted that allowed the Metropolitan Police Department to enter into cooperative agreements with federal law enforcement entities to enforce local D.C. law, and many have done so. Until this provision, most of these sworn police officers had jurisdiction only on their immediate premises. This provision has played a role in protecting public safety here. No matter how many police forces are in the nation's capital, we will not be able to meet the challenges we face today to protect against the unexpected unless there is coordination. Therefore, I ask for an explanation of NPS's current efforts to coordinate police forces to protect the monuments on our National Mall, as well as specific answers to my questions, within 30 days.

Sincerely,

Eleanor Holmes Norton

Published: August 1, 2013