Mayor Bowser Opens New MPD Cadet Corps Training Center
Courtesy of @MayorBowser
Wednesday, October 19, 2022
(Washington, DC) – Today, Mayor Muriel Bowser and Chief Robert J. Contee, III of the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) opened the new MPD Cadet Corps Training Center, the District’s first-ever educational facility dedicated to cadets as they progress through the Cadet Corps program with the goal of becoming a sworn police officer.
“Our investments in the MPD Cadet Corps program are investments in our young people and in the future of public safety in DC,” said Mayor Bowser. “The Cadet Corps program not only puts young Washingtonians on a pathway to the middle class, it also ensures that people who know DC are policing in DC. That is why we invested in the expansion of the program and in the creation of this training center.”
The facility, located at 2405 Martin Luther King Jr. Avenue SE, is the first space solely dedicated to the Cadet Corps program. At the training center, MPD Cadets will be able to do their work through the University of the District of Columbia, study the Cadet Corps curriculum, and engage with various guest speakers from the department as well as partner DC government agencies.
“As a former MPD Cadet, I was given an opportunity to see the department from a different perspective as a young person from Washington, DC, and that is where my story began with this agency,” said Chief Robert J. Contee, III of the Metropolitan Police Department. “The impact this program can have on our youth is expansive, and the trajectory of their life can change. This is a public safety investment that will directly benefit our workforce and the community.”
The MPD Cadet Corps program allows DC residents who are either a high school senior or between the ages of 17 and 24 to serve part-time as uniformed, civilian employees. Cadets earn a salary, starting at $35,637, while also taking college courses, and earn up to 60 tuition free credits toward a degree at the University of the District of Columbia Community College. Cadets spend part of their time working specific job assignments for MPD while also working toward their degree. The members are put on a track to enter into MPD’s Police Officer Recruit Program at the Metropolitan Police Academy. The program helps cadets develop the leadership and skills required to meet the challenges of their complex roles as problem-solvers, service providers, and professionals in the criminal justice system.
Since coming into office, Mayor Bowser has made it a priority to expand the MPD Cadet Corps program so that more young Washingtonians have an opportunity to join MPD and serve the community. In 2016, Mayor Bowser expanded eligibility for the MPD Cadet Corps Program by increasing the maximum age for participating from 21 to 24. Last year, the Mayor relaunch of the part-time Metropolitan Police Academy’s High School Cadet Program, and this year, the Mayor again expanded eligibility by allowing DC residents who attended high school outside of DC to join the program. Since 2015, Mayor Bowser has grown the Cadet Corps program from 20 cadets to 150 cadets in FY23.
The Cadet Corps program also supports the Mayor’s effort to hire more women at MPD – 51% of cadets are women. Additionally, 98% of cadets are people of color.
For more information on the Cadet Corps program or to apply, please contact Dr. Deidre Magee at cadet.adminbox@dc.gov, call (202) 645-0445, or visit joinmpd.dc.gov.