He was the chief of the Metropolitan Police Department from April 21, 1998 to December 28, 2006. He was the longest-serving chief of the MPDC since DC Home Rule and the second longest-serving in Department history. Under then Chief Ramsey's leadership, the Department regained its reputation as a national leader in urban policing. Crime rates declined by approximately 40 percent during Ramsey's tenure, community policing and traffic safety programs were expanded, and MPDC recruiting and hiring standards, training, equipment, facilities and fleet were all dramatic upgraded. He also oversaw and participated in numerous high profile investigations and events in Washington DC, such as: The 1998 murders of two United States Capitol Police officers inside the U.S. Capitol Building; The Y2K National Celebration in Washington, DC; The International Monetary Fund/World Bank Protests in April, 2000; The Chandra Levy Murder Investigation, The 9/11Terrorist Attacks, The 2001 Anthrax Attacks; The 2002 DC Sniper Investigation; The funeral of President Ronald W. Reagan and the 2001 and 2005 Presidential Inaugurations.

A nationally recognized innovator, educator and practitioner of community policing, Commissioner Ramsey is known to refocus police departments on crime fighting and crime prevention through a more accountable organizational structure, new equipment and technology, an enhanced strategy of community policing and, since September 11, 2001, new approaches to homeland security and counter-terrorism.

A native of Chicago, Illinois, Commissioner Ramsey served in the Chicago Police Department for nearly three decades in a variety of assignments. He began his career in 1968, at the age of 18, as a Chicago Police cadet. He became a police officer in February 1971, and was promoted through the ranks, eventually serving as commander of patrol, detectives and narcotics units. In 1994, he was named Deputy Superintendent of the Bureau of Staff Services, where he managed the department's education and training, research and development, labor affairs, crime prevention and professional counseling functions.

Commissioner Ramsey was instrumental in designing and implementing the Chicago Alternative Policing Strategy, the city's nationally acclaimed model of community policing. As co-manager of the CAPS project in Chicago, Commissioner Ramsey was one of the principal authors of the police department's strategic vision. He also designed and implemented the CAPS operational model and helped to develop new training curricula and communications efforts to support implementation.

As head of the 4,400-member Metropolitan Police Department, Commissioner Ramsey worked to improve police services, enhance public confidence in the police, and bring down the District of Columbia's crime rate. He also oversaw a multi-million dollar upgrade to district stations and other Department facilities, as well as new communications and information technology, including mobile data computing and the 3-1-1 non-emergency system. Expanded training programs for both police recruits and veteran members, including a unique diversity management course at the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, are enhancing officer performance. In the area of community policing, Commissioner Ramsey redefined the Department's mission to focus on crime prevention. Policing for Prevention, the Department's community policing strategy, encompasses focused law enforcement, neighborhood-based partnerships and problem solving, and systemic prevention efforts. The strategy is supported not only by enhanced training for officers and supervisors, but also by a unique community training initiative called Partnerships for Problem Solving as well as a Senior Citizen Police Academy. The MPDC received international acclaim for its handling of major events, and the Department took a number of steps to address the continued threat of terrorism in the Nation's Capital.

The result of these and other initiatives was a dramatic reduction in crime in the District of Columbia. In fact, serious crime in DC is at its lowest level since the current method of reporting statistics was first developed in the late 1960s. At the same time, opinion surveys indicate that public confidence in the MPDC rose under Commissioner Ramsey's leadership.

Commissioner Ramsey holds both bachelor's and master's degrees in criminal justice from Lewis University in Romeoville, Illinois. He is a graduate of the FBI National Academy and the National Executive Institute. He completed the Executive Leadership Program at the Naval Postgraduate School, Center for Homeland Defense and Security in February 2008. Commissioner Ramsey has lectured nationally on community policing as an adjunct faculty member of both the Northwestern University Traffic Institute's School of Police Staff and Command and Lewis University. He is seen as an expert in the area of policing and homeland security. He has served as a member of the Executive Committee for the International Association of Chiefs of Police, Executive Board of the Major Cities Chiefs and the Police Executive Research Forum. He also served as Chairman of the Homeland Security Subcommittee for both the International Association of Chiefs of Police and the Major Cities Chiefs.