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The Smithsonian Institution Office of Protection Services is the guard force of the Smithsonian Institution.
| Smithsonian Institution Office of Protection Services | |
|---|---|
Smithsonian Institution Office of Protection Services patch
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| Common name | Officers |
| Jurisdictional structure | |
| Operations jurisdiction | United States |
| Constituting instrument | |
| General nature | |
| Specialist jurisdiction |
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| Operational structure | |
| officers | 850 |
| Units | 3
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| Website | |
| http://www.security.si.edu | |
It is a federal guard force consisting of 850 officers with special police authority tasked with protecting visitors, staff, property, and grounds of the federally owned and managed Smithsonian Institution museums and research centers in Washington, D.C., New York City, at the 2,800 acre Smithsonian Environmental Research CenterinMaryland as well as oversight of the security operations at the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute in Panama.
According to a 1978 report by the Comptroller General of the United States:
In 1882 the Office of Public Buildings and Grounds was authorized to employ four watchmen to protect the buildings and grounds of the Smithsonian. The powers and duties of the watchmen were the same as those of the District's Metropolitan Police. Pursuant to 40 U.S.C. 193n, the Smithsonian was authorized to employ special policemen to police the buildings and grounds of the Institution. The special police were authorized to concurrently enforce, with the United States Park Police, the laws and regulations of the National Capital Parks.
According to the U.S Code (Title 40, Chapter 63, §6306), Smithsonian guards and National Zoo police officers are designated as special police. Subsection B outlines the powers of these special officers stating that they:
(1) may, within the specified buildings and grounds, enforce, and make arrests for violations of, sections 6302 and 6303 of this title, any regulation prescribed under section 6304 of this title, federal or state law, or any regulation prescribed under federal or state law; and (2) may enforce concurrently with the United States Park Police the laws and regulations applicable to the National Capital Parks, and may make arrests for violations of sections 6302 and 6303 of this title, within the several areas located within the exterior boundaries of the face of the curb lines of the squares within which the specified buildings and grounds are located."[1]
As a uniformed force in accordance with subsection C, employees designated as special police for the Smithsonian "may be provided, without charge, with uniforms and other equipment as may be necessary for the proper performance of their duties, including badges, revolvers, and ammunition."[1]
The National Zoological Park Police being as a Federal Law Enforcement Agency that represents one of the five original full service police forces in the Washington District of Columbia share full police powers within the District of Columbia, in addition has a Congressional mandate in the form of a cooperative agreement with the Metropolitan Police Department of the District of Columbia to assist with law enforcement and crime prevention in a directed patrol areas in the Second, Third and Fourth Police Service areas around the National Zoological Park.[2]
There are several position levels within the Office of Protection Services:
Smithsonian Museum officers in New York state and District of Columbia belong to the American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE) Local 2463.
