United States Capitol Police


The United States Capitol Police is a federal law enforcement agency in the United States with nationwide jurisdiction charged with protecting the United States Congress within the District of Columbia and throughout the United States and its territories. It answers to the Capitol Police Board and is the only law enforcement agency appointed by the legislative branch of the federal government of the United States.
The United States Capitol Police has the primary responsibility for protecting life and property, preventing, detecting, and investigating criminal acts, and enforcing traffic regulations throughout a complex of congressional buildings, parks, and thoroughfares. The Capitol Police has primary jurisdiction within buildings and grounds of the United States Capitol Complex. It also has concurrent jurisdiction with other law enforcement agencies, including the United States Park Police and the Metropolitan Police Department of the District of Columbia, in an area of approximately 200 blocks around the complex. Officers also have jurisdiction throughout the District of Columbia to take enforcement action when they observe or are made aware of crimes of violence while on official duties.
Additionally, they are charged with the protection of members of Congress, officers of Congress, and their families throughout the entire United States, its territories and possessions, and the District of Columbia. While performing protective functions, the Capitol Police have jurisdiction throughout the entire United States. It is informally considered as the sister agency of the United States Secret Service, which itself is responsible for the protection of the United States president and their Cabinet.

Jurisdiction and budget

In the early 1980s, the protective mandates and jurisdictions of the U.S. Capitol Police were substantially expanded to allow them to protect legislators away from their normal jurisdictions in response to the growing risk and threats faced by legislators and the growing institutionalization of Congress.
U.S. Code, Title 2, Chapter 29 defines the powers and duties of the U.S. Capitol Police. The U.S. Capitol Police has the authority to enforce the laws of the United States in any area of the United States and has the power to effect warrantless arrests for any offense against the United States committed in their presence, or for any felony cognizable under the laws of the United States upon probable cause, in the performance of their protective duties. Qualified members of the U.S. Capitol Police may also travel outside of the United States when performing security advisory and liaison functions for congressional travel.
The primary jurisdiction of the United States Capitol Police centers on the United States Capitol building in Washington, D.C., the adjacent congressional offices, and the Library of Congress buildings. This primary jurisdiction is about, with about being the Capitol grounds themselves.
The U.S. Capitol Police has also concurrent jurisdiction with the District of Columbia's Metropolitan Police Department, the U.S. Park Police, the U.S. Secret Service Uniformed Division, and others federal agencies to enforce District of Columbia laws, based upon cooperative agreements with MPD and the Police Coordination Act covering local cooperation with 32 federal law enforcement agencies.
File:U.S. Capitol Police vehicle within the "soft" security perimeter of the 2024 RNC IMG 5406.jpg|thumb|USCP vehicle in Milwaukee during the 2024 Republican National Convention. Capitol police are involved in security during presidential nominating conventions.
The U.S. Capitol Police also have extended jurisdiction over parts of Northeast, Northwest, and Southwest Washington D.C. The USCP provides protection detail to House and Senate leaders, other Members of Congress depending on individual risk analysis, Members' state and district offices, and "off-campus" events such as presidential nominating conventions.
Four congressional committees have statutory oversight. The authority of the police chief is, in many ways, restrained. The Capitol Police chief reports to the Capitol Police Board, a three-person group composed of the Senate and House sergeants at arms and the architect of the Capitol. The chief is "whipsawed between partisan politicians and career professionals like the two Sergeants at Arms and congressional staff...here they literally have hundreds of people who think they're their bosses." The pay for the USCP Chief is far less than many police chiefs in the US.
In FY 2021, the USCP had an annual budget of more than $515million; it employs more than 2,000 sworn and civilian personnel, making it one of the most well-funded and well-staffed police departments relative to the two square miles it guards. USCP's budget is divided into a salaries account, used for overtime and benefits, and a general expenses account, used for equipment, vehicles, communications, training, medical services, forensic services, etc. USCP cannot transfer money between the accounts without the approval the House and Senate Appropriations Committees.
In FY 2022, USCP's annual budget was $602 million.
In FY 2023, USCP's annual budget will increase to $708 million to provide resources to fulfill security recommendations as suggested by the Government Accountability Office and the Office of Inspector General after the January 6th attacks on the Capitol.

Training

U.S. Capitol Police officers attend training at the Capitol Police Training Academy in Cheltenham, Maryland and is one of many agencies that sends its recruits to the Federal Law Enforcement Training Center, located in Glynco, Georgia, for initial training. Rarely, recruits are sent to the FLETC location in Artesia, New Mexico.
Following 12 weeks at FLETC, recruits return to FLETC's location in Cheltenham, for an additional 13 weeks of training. After the recruits' academy training, graduates are sworn in as law enforcement officers and assigned to one of four divisions to begin their careers. Once assigned, officers are assigned a Field Training Officer for a definite period to provide additional on-the-job training. FTOs provide weekly updates on the subjects that have been learned and issue tests to the new officers.
Officers are also subject to a one-year probationary period. Starting salary is $83,362.00. After 30 months of satisfactory performance, officers are eligible for promotion to private first class.
USCP officers and special agents are covered under the Federal Law Enforcement Officer enhanced retirement provisions under the Civil Service Retirement, which covers federal employees hired before 1984, or the Federal Employees' Retirement System, which covers employees hired in 1984 or later. Similar to other Federal LEOs covered under those enhanced retirement provisions, USCP officers and special agents are subject to mandatory retirement at age 57, or as soon as 20 years of service have been completed after age 57.

Specialized bureaus and units

The U.S. Capitol Police is organized into bureaus and offices that report to each of the executive team members.
USCP contains several specialty units and assignments offering expert training. These specialty units are within the Uniformed Services Bureau, the Protective Services Bureau, the Operational Services Bureau, and the Mission Assurance Bureau:

Uniformed Services Bureau (USB)

  • Long-Gun Certified Officers
  • Mountain Bike Unit
  • Motorcycle Unit
  • Civil Active Disturbance Unit

    Protective Services Bureau (PSB)

  • Criminal Investigation
  • Intelligence Unit
  • Threat Assessment Unit
  • Dignitary Protection Unit
  • Liaison and Taskforces with Partner Agencies

    Operational Services Bureau (OSB)

  • Special Operations Division
  • Containment Emergency Response Team
  • Motorcycle/Motorcade Operations
  • K-9 Unit
  • Crash Investigation
  • Criminal Interdiction
  • Drug Recognition Experts
  • Hazardous Devices Section
  • Hazardous Material Response Team

    Leadership

Pursuant to 2 U.S.C. §1901, the U.S. Capitol Police is headed by a chief who is appointed and reports to the Capitol Police Board following a highly selective process.
Michael G. Sullivan was sworn in as the 12th chief of the U.S. Capitol Police on June 30, 2025. Previously, Sean Gallagher served as the acting chief of police and while concurrently as the assistant chief of police for uniformed operations.
Previous chiefs include the following:
  • Terrance W. Gainer, appointed in June 2002
  • Phillip D. Morse Sr., appointed on October 30, 2006
  • Kim Dine, appointed on December 17, 2012
  • Matthew R. Verderosa, appointed on March 20, 2016
  • Steven Sund, appointed on June 13, 2019
  • J. Thomas Manger, appointed July 22, 2021

    Capitol Police Board

The Capitol Police Board is the body that governs the United States Capitol Police. It was established in 1873, and today consists of three voting members: the sergeant at arms of the United States House of Representatives, the sergeant at arms of the United States Senate, and the architect of the Capitol. Additionally, the chief of the Capitol Police serves ex officio as a non-voting member. The chairmanship of the board alternates annually between the House and Senate sergeants at arms.
The board, like Congress, is not subject to freedom of information laws, and the inspector general of the board does not publish their findings and reports to the board who retains their employment.
;Current board
Current board members are listed below by order of tenure.
NameRoleMember sinceTitle
William McFarlandMemberJanuary 7, 2023Sergeant at Arms of the United States House of Representatives
Thomas E. AustinMemberJune 24, 2024Architect of the Capitol
Jennifer HemingwayChairJanuary 3, 2025Sergeant at Arms of the United States Senate
Michael G. SullivanEx-Officio MemberJune 30, 2025Chief, United States Capitol Police