The 'New York City Police Department (NYPD)' was created in 1845 and currently is the largest municipal police force in the world with primary responsibilities in law enforcement and investigation within
the five boroughs of
New York City. The NYPD is considered to be the first "modern" style
police department in the
United States. The NYPD boasts a broad array of specialized services, offering expertise in tactical operations,
K-9, marine/diving, aviation (
helicopters), bomb disposal, counter-terrorism,
intelligence, anti-
gang,
narcotics, public transportation, and
public housing. NYPD has extensive
crime scene investigation and laboratory resources, as well as units which assist with
computer crime investigations. The NYPD's headquarters houses an anticrime computer network, essentially a large search engine and data warehouse operated by detectives to assist officers in the field with their investigations.
[1]
According to the department, its mission is to "enforce the
laws, preserve the peace, reduce fear, and provide for a safe environment." Primarily, this involves preventing and responding to
crime.
The
New York City Transit Police and
Housing Police were fully integrated into the NYPD in
1995; some new police officers are randomly assigned to the Transit and Housing units. Members of the NYPD are frequently referred to by the nickname ''New York's Finest''. The NYPD is headquartered at One Police Plaza located on Park Row across the street from
City Hall.
The size of the force has fluctuated, depending on crime rates, politics, and available funding. The overall trend, however, shows that the number of sworn officers is decreasing. In June
2004, there were about 40,000 sworn officers plus several thousand support staff; In June
2005, that number dropped to 35,000. The NYPD's current authorized uniformed strength is 37,838.
[2] 
The NYPD flag
History
The New York City Police Department was established in May 1845, which along with the
Boston Police Department, was among the first modern police forces in the United States. At the time, New York City's population of 320,000 was served by an archaic force, consisting of one night watch, one hundred city marshals, thirty-one constables, and fifty-one police officers.
[3] Peter Cooper, at request of the
Common Council, drew up a proposal to create a police force of 1,200 officers.
John Watts de Peyster was an early advocate of implementing military style discipline and organization to the force.
[4]The state legislature approved the proposal which authorized creation of a police force on
May 7,
1844, along with abolition of the
nightwatch system.
Under Mayor
William Havemeyer, the NYPD was reorganized on
May 13,
1845, with the city divided into three districts, with courts, magistrates, and clerks, and station houses set up.
The NYPD was closely modeled after the
Metropolitan Police Service in London, which in turn used a military-like organizational structure, with rank and order.
In 1857, a new Metropolitan police force was established and the Municipal police abolished. The Metropolitan police bill consolidated the police in New York,
Brooklyn,
Staten Island, and
Westchester County (which then included
The Bronx), under a governor-appointed board of commissioners.
[5] Mayor
Fernando Wood and the Municipals, unwilling to be abolished, resisted for several months.
Throughout the years, the NYPD has been involved with a number of riots in New York City. In July 1863, the
New York State Militias were absent to aid
Union troops, when the
1863 Draft Riots broke out, leaving the police who were outnumbered to quell the riots.
[6] The
Tompkins Square Riot occurred on
January 13,
1874 when police crushed a demonstration involving thousands of
unemployed in
Tompkins Square Park.
[7] Newspapers, including ''
The New York Times'', covered numerous cases of
police brutality during the latter part of the 19th century. Cases often involved officers beating suspects and persons, using
clubs, who were drunk or rowdy, posed a challenge to officers' authority, or refused to move along down the street. Most cases of police brutality occurred in poor immigrant neighborhood, including
Five Points, the
Lower East Side, and
Tenderloin.
[8]
Beginning in the 1870s, politics and
corruption of
Tammany Hall, a
political machine supported by Irish immigrants infiltrated the NYPD, which was used as political tool, with positions awarded by
politicians to loyalists. Many officers and leaders in the police department took
bribes from local businesses, overlooking things like illegal liquor sales. Police also served political purposes such as manning polling places, where they would turn a blind eye to ballot box stuffing and other acts of fraud.
The
Lexow Committee was established in 1894 to investigate corruption in the police department.
[9] The committee made reform recommendations, including the suggestion that the police department adopt a
civil service system. Around the turn of the century, the NYPD began to professionalize under leadership of then Police Commissioner,
Theodore Roosevelt. The NYPD also began to emphasize training, and took advantage of technological innovations such as
fingerprinting.
The economic downturn of the 1970s led to some extremely difficult times for the city. The
Bronx, in particular, was plagued by
arson, and an atmosphere of lawlessness permeated the city. In addition, the city's financial crisis led to a hiring freeze on all city departments, including the NYPD, from 1976 to 1980.
This was followed by the
crack epidemic of the late 1980s and early 1990s that was one factor that caused the city's homicide rate to soar to an all-time high. By 1990, New York set a record of 2,262 murders, a record that has yet to be broken by any US major city. Petty thefts associated with drug addiction were also increasingly common.
In 1993, Mayor
David Dinkins appointed the
Mollen Commission, chaired by
Milton Mollen, to investigate corruption in the department. The commission found that "Today's corruption is not the corruption of Knapp Commission days. Corruption then was largely a corruption of accommodation, of criminals and police officers giving and taking bribes, buying and selling protection. Corruption was, in its essence, consensual. Today's corruption is characterized by brutality, theft, abuse of authority and active police criminality."
In the 1990s, the NYPD oversaw a large reduction in crime across the city, which has been attributed to the NYPD's implementation of
CompStat under
Bill Bratton,
broken windows policing, as well as general demographic changes, and subsiding of the
crack cocaine epidemic.
On
September 11, 2001, 23 NYPD officers were killed when the
World Trade Center collapsed due to terrorist attacks. More lives were lost that year than in any other year in the department's history.
Gun control problems in the city came to the forefront during the last two weeks of
2005, when two officers were shot to death by criminals using illegal weapons. Most of these weapons come from the South, through
Interstate 95 which has been called the "iron pipeline".
[10]
Irish American History of the NYPD
The NYPD was built upon the strength of the Irish immigration to America in the 1800s. Many Irish-Americans saw the NYPD as a way to serve their adopted country, and to a lesser extent as a means toward social mobility, and joined the force in droves. By the early 1900s, nearly five-sixths of the force was composed of Irish-Americans.
African American History of the NYPD
Wiley G. Overton was the first
African American police officer hired by the Brooklyn Police Department in
1891 and Samuel Battle was the first
African American police officer hired by the New York Police Department in
1911. In 1917, the NYPD's second
African American officer Robert Holmes became the first
African American officer to die in the line of duty having been killed by a Harlem burglar who shot back while in pursuit. In 1919, the NYPD hired the first
African American police woman Cora I. Parchment, and in 1920, the NYPD named Wesley Redding as the force's first
African American detective.
[11]
By the 1940s there were less than 400 sworn
African American officers on the force but in following years, several of those officers were elevated to a commanding rank, many of which were the first held by an
African American. George Redding became the NYPD's fourth African American sergeant (1939), the third African American lieutenant (1943), the first African American full status Captain (1953), the first African American deputy inspector (1953), the first African American Inspector (1956), and the first African American deputy chief inspector (1959), commanding uniformed forces in the east half of Brooklyn.
[11] In 1964, Lloyd Sealy became the force's first
African American precinct commander, commanding the 28th precinct located in
Harlem.
[13] By 1970, more than 2,000 African American officers were employed by the NYPD but in subsequent years, the city faced a financial crisis. In 1975 when the city faced a financial crisis, the city's 3,000 junior officers were layed off,
[13] many of whom were recently hired
African American and
Puerto Rican officers.
In
1984, the NYPD named
Benjamin Ward as the department's first
African American police commissioner.
[15] Ward had joined the force in 1951 as the first
African American officer in Brooklyn's 80th precinct, a precinct that patrolled an all-white neighborhood. Ward later became director of Civilian Complaint Review Board in
1966 and Traffic Commissioner of the department in
1973. Ward left the NYPD temporarily to become the director of the
New York State Department of Correctional Services in
1975, the nation's first
African American director of a statewide correctional system. Ward would later command both the New York City Housing Authority and Corrections Departments before being named Commissioner of the department in
1984. To date, the NYPD has had only two
African American commissioners: Benjamin Ward from
1984 to
1989 and
Lee P. Brown from
1990 to
1992.
[16]
As of 2005, the NYPD is 17.4%
African American,
[17] up 4% from the 2000 Census where
African Americans only made up 13% of the department's officers.
[18]
Allegations of police misconduct: corruption, brutality and excessive use of force
Over the years, NYPD officers have come under public scrutiny for corruption, brutality, for excessive use of force or poor firearm discipline. However, statistical evidence reveal that, in 2006, NYPD officers killed far fewer persons than much smaller departments. Las Vegas, Nevada, police fatally shot 25% more persons in 2006, and Philadelphia police fatally shot twice as many as NYPD. Both these departments, when added together, do not field even a third the officers the NYPD does.
[19]
In New York, individual incidents received a great deal of publicity. Some allegations were substantiated; many others were not.
Some allegations of misconduct, and their outcomes, within NYPD, are as follows:
★ In 1970, police officer
Frank Serpico and other officers, testified before the
Knapp Commission about the corruption he witnessed in the department. The Commission's findings led to sweeping changes within the department.
★ In August 1988, a
riot erupted in
Alphabet City's
Tompkins Square Park in the
East Village of
Manhattan when police attempted to enforce a newly-passed curfew for the park. Bystanders, artists, residents, homeless people and political activists were caught up in the police action that took place on the night of August 6th and the early morning of August 7th..
[20] In a report released by Commissioner Benjamin Ward, the police department admitted they were responsible for the riot.
★ On
December 22,
1994, 29-year old
Anthony Baez was choked to death by Police Officer
Francis X. Livoti in the
University Heights section of the
Bronx. In 1998 Livoti was convicted of violating Baez' civil rights, and two other officers were convicted of lying on the witness stand in the trial of Livoti.
[21]
★ On
August 9,
1997, Police Officer
Justin Volpe in
Brooklyn brutalized
Abner Louima with a broken broom handle in the 70th Precinct bathroom. Officer Volpe eventually pled guilty and received a sentence of 30 years in federal prison. Other officers were also implicated and convicted on charges stemming from the initial cover-up.
★ On
February 4,
1999, members of the
Street Crime Unit shot
Amadou Bailo Diallo, an unarmed man who was standing in the lobby of a
Bronx apartment building after not following police instructions. The officers fired 41 rounds, striking the man 19 times.
[22] The shooting stemmed from a misunderstanding in which officers believed Diallo was reaching for a weapon (he was reaching for his wallet which the officers had mistaken for a weapon) while a member of the unit tripped and appeared to be shot as he fell down the stairs. As a result, the four officers involved in the shooting were acquitted of wrongdoing on
February 25,
2000.
★ On
August 30,
1999, 31-year old
Hasidic Jew Gidone Busch was fatally shot 12 to 14 times after he lunged at police with a hammer on a
Boro Park, Brooklyn street. In 2003, a federal jury ruled the shooting justified.
[23]
★ On
March 16,
2000, undercover narcotics detectives shot
Patrick Dorismond to death during a scuffle on
Eighth Avenue in
Manhattan. The detectives had approached Dorismond, an unarmed security guard, and asked to purchase drugs. He attacked the undercover officer, angry that he was seen as drug dealer and he was killed with one shot by the officer in self-defense.
★ On
May 22,
2003, 43-year old
Ousmane Zongo an immigrant from
Burkina Faso was shot four times by Police Officer Bryan Conroy in a
Chelsea warehouse. In 2005 Conroy was found guilty of
criminally negligent homicide and sentenced to 5 years
probation. In 2006 the city awarded the family of Zongo $3 million in a
wrongful death suit.
[24]
★ On
January 24,
2004, Housing Bureau officer Richard Neri, Jr. accidentally shot to death
Timothy Stansbury, a 19-year-old black man who was trespassing on the roof landing of a
Bedford-Stuyvesant housing project. Mr. Stansbury was unarmed but he apparently startled Officer Neri when he opened the roof door and came upon Neri. Neri discharged his service firearm mortally wounding Mr. Stansbury. Although Commissioner Kelly, in a rush to judgment in order to appease the black community, stated that the shooting appeared "unjustified", a Brooklyn jury found that no criminal act occurred and that the event was, in fact, a tragic accident. Officer Neri was cleared of all charges.
[25]
The city has agreed to pay $2 million (€1.48 million) to settle a lawsuit filed by the family of an unarmed teenager who was shot by police while atop a housing project
Though Police Commissioner Ray Kelly said the shooting appeared to be unjustified, a grand jury declined to indict Neri.
Kelly later suspended Neri for 30 days without pay and permanently stripped him of his weapon. The victim’s mother said the 30-day suspension was too light a punishment.
[26]
★ On
December 17,
2005, an article in ''
The New York Times'' revealed that it had obtained videotapes showing the New York Police Department conducting surveillance by planting undercover officers to secretly infiltrate and monitor anti-war protests, bike rallies, and even a vigil for a dead cyclist. The footage the Times obtained showed officers holding protest signs, carrying flowers with mourners, riding their bicycles – and videotaping people at events.
[27]
★ On
November 25,
2006, plainclothes police officers shot and killed
Sean Bell and wounded two of his companions, one critically, outside of the Kalua Cabaret in Queens. None of the civilians were armed.
[28] Mr. Bell was attending his bachelor party the night before his wedding. According to the police,
Mr. Bell allegedly rammed his vehicle into an undercover officer and hit an unmarked NYPD minivan, prompting undercover NYPD officers to fire fifty rounds into Bell's car. A bullet piercing the nearby
AirTrain JFK facility startled two Port Authority patrolmen there.
[29] An undercover officer claims he heard one of the unarmed man's companions threaten to get his gun to settle a fight with another person.
[30]
Salary and retention issues
Pay for new officers fell precipitously in the latest contract negotiations as the result of a state arbitration panel judge's decree in 2005, During training, new hires earn $25,100 a year. Upon the completion of the Police Academy (six months), the annual salary increases to $32,700. Adjusted for inflation, this is the lowest pay in history for rookie NYPD officers. Given that conventional wisdom purports an inverse relationship between salary and corruption, the judicial decision to lower starting pay for new officers during the time they are most impressionable seems particularly unwise to many. Also, NYPD officers are expected to purchase virtually all of their own uniforms and equipment, an outlay that can easily run into thousands of dollars. In 2007, the Municipal
Credit Union began issuing Visa credit cards to Police Academy recruits, as a way to borrow the money needed for mandatory equipment purchases.
[31]
Top pay for experienced officers is $59,588, not including overtime and other forms of compensation.
[32] Nearby departments pay considerably more, up to $50,000 for new hires or over $100,000 for experienced.
[33] Over the years, hundreds of city officers have left for higher paying jobs with other agencies, notably the
Nassau County Police Department, the
Suffolk County Police Department, and the
Port Authority Police of New York and New Jersey.
[34]
Discontent over pay issues has become so widespread and so well-known that higher-paying departments in lower cost-of-living areas, such as the
Rochester, New York Police, are actively recruiting NYPD officers to join their forces.
[35]
Large numbers of NYPD officers have also migrated to the
New York City Fire Department, where, even though pay is almost the same, work schedules are more attractive and relations with the public more amicable.
[36] Contract changes in 2006, however, now forbid the prior practice of allowing police officers who join the fire department to transfer their seniority for compensation purposes. With all new firefighters now compelled to begin working at the same starting pay, the number of NYPD officers "rolling over" to the FDNY is likely to fall considerably.
[37]
Some NYPD officers charge that the department's leadership is seeking to stem the flow of officers to other jurisdictions by administrative means.
[38]
In January 2006, 35 NYPD officers seeking to move to the Port Authority Police sued the New York department, claiming that it was refusing to make their personnel records available to PAPD background investigators. The plaintiffs won an injunction at the trial level, but the Appellate Division in January 2007 overturned that ruling and ordered the case to trial.
For its part, the NYPD claims its actions are merely in line with the personnel practices of other employers and that there is no "stealth" effort to prevent officers from moving elsewhere. Nonetheless, it is a fact that no NYPD officers have been included in the last two PAPD police academy classes as a result.
[39]
Despite these obstacles, there are signs that the exodus from the NYPD may be accelerating. In 2006, 902 officers resigned before becoming eligible for retirement, on top of 867 who left in 2005 and 635 in 2004, which makes for an attrition rate of around two percent. While Police Commissioner
Raymond Kelly insists that figure compares positively with turnover rates in private industry, police union officials note that the proper comparison should be with prior years on the NYPD. In 1991, for example, only 159 officers left early, for an attrition rate of less than one half of one percent.
[40]
Ranks of the NYPD
NYPD Parking Enforcement vehicle
There are eleven sworn uniformed ranks of the New York City Police Department:
★ Police Officer (Note: The title "Patrolman" was phased out in the early 1970s)
★
Detective (Note: considered to be the same rank as a Police Officer)
★
Sergeant (symbol of rank: 3 chevrons)
★
Lieutenant (symbol of rank: 1 gold bar)
★
Captain (symbol of rank: 2 gold bars)
★ Deputy Inspector (symbol of rank:
gold oak leaf)
★
Inspector (symbol of rank:
gold eagle)
★ Deputy Chief (symbol of rank: 1 gold star)
★ Assistant Chief (symbol of rank: 2 gold stars)
★ Bureau Chief (symbol of rank: 3 gold stars)
★
Chief of Department (symbol of rank: 4 gold stars)
The Department is ultimately administered and governed by the
Police Commissioner, who is appointed by the
Mayor and technically serves a five-year term; however as a practical matter and custom, the Police Commissioner serves at the Mayor's pleasure. The Police Commissioner also appoint numerous Deputy Commissioners. The Police Commissioner and his subordinate Commissioners are civilians under an oath of office, as opposed to the uniformed members of the force who are sworn officers of the law.
Commissioner titles:
★
Police Commissioner (symbol of title: 5 gold stars)
★ First Deputy Commissioner (symbol of title: 4 gold stars and is acting Police Commissioner during his absence.)
★ Deputy Commissioners (symbol of title: 3 gold stars)
These individuals are administrators who supersede the Chief of Department, and they usually specialize in areas of great importance to the Department, such as counter-terrorism, operations, training, public information, legal matters, intelligence, and information technology. Despite their role, as civilian administrators of the Department, they are prohibited from taking operational control of a police situation (with the exception of the First Deputy Commissioner).
Within the rank structure, there are also designations, which are further specifications within a rank that connote differences in duties, experience, and pay. However, supervisory functions are only reserved for the rank sergeant and above. For example, the title "Detective" is not a supervisory rank within the New York City Police Department—it is an equivalent rank. A "Detective" has the equivalent rank of a police officer with the specification of "Detective Specialist" (specialty task oriented, such as a police sketch artist), "Detective First Grade" (highest), "Detective Second Grade", and "Detective Investigator (Third Grade)". Movies and TV have only perpetuated this misunderstanding by portraying detectives as having supervisory powers. For example, the Spike Lee film ''The Inside Man'' portrays an NYPD detective (Denzel Washington) barking orders at an Emergency Service Unit captain (Willem Dafoe), with the captain respectfully obeying them. Not only would a captain outrank the lieutenant who supervises the sergeant who supervises this detective, but the detective would likely be suspended from duty for doing such a thing more than once.
Thus, a detective does not outrank a police officer (they are the equivalent ranks, but have different roles) and a sergeant outranks a detective. Detectives, specifically "Detective Investigators" are those members of the Department that generally perform investigatory duties in detective squads in local precincts and specialized units. "Detective Investigators" also perform investigatory functions in narcotic operations, vice, and anti-terrorists efforts.
Common designations of the various ranks are listed below:
★ Police Officer - First Grade: "Grades" are actually only used to refer to pay "steps" or annual salary increasing gradually until the final "step" which is a large raise. Pay steps for a police officer are predetermined through service time and determined through a negotiated contract. Currently there are six "grades" including a substantial pay reduction for the first six months while training in the Police Academy. After graduating from the academy, the probationary police officer will receive small raises of one to two thousand dollars annually until they have completed five full years whereupon they will receive a large raise (10 to 15 thousand dollars) to "top pay". All police officer "grades" are the same rank, though seniority is respected.
★ Detectives can be one of two types: "Detective Specialist", who is an officer in a specialized unit that might be more dangerous (ESU) or requiring more technical knowledge (Aviation); or "Detective Investigator", who investigates cases in precinct detective squads or narcotics operations. Either "Detective Specialists" or "Detective Investigators" can be awarded pay increases known as "grades". All "Detective Investigators" start at Detective Third Grade, which has a pay rate roughly between that of Police Officers and Sergeants; they can then get "promoted" to Detective Second Grade which has roughly the salary of Sergeants or Detective First Grade which has a pay rate roughly that of Lieutenants. All detectives hold the same authority as that of police officers, in that none outrank the other. Grades are given out through a merit-based system where a supervisor feels his subordinate deserves recognition and if accepted then makes grade. Detective First Grades are generally the most experienced and capable investigators in the Department.
★ Sergeant: Supervisor Detective Squad, Special Assignment
★ Lieutenant: Commander Detective Squad, Special Assignment
Promotion from Police Officer to Sergeant, Sergeant to Lieutenant, and Lieutenant to Captain all occur via a civil service formula that factors: performance on the civil service written examination for that rank, length of service, citations awarded, optional physical fitness test (for extra points). Promotion beyond the rank of Captain is discretionary.
Promotion to the designations within the ranks is also discretionary.
Badges in the New York City Police Department are referred to as "shields" (traditional term).
Organization
The NYPD is headed by the
New York City Police Commissioner, a civilian administrator appointed by the Mayor of New York City, with the senior sworn uniformed member of the service titled "Chief of Department". The Police Commissioner appoints a number of Deputy and Assistant Commissioners. The Department is divided into several major bureaus, each sub-divided into sections, divisions and units, and into patrol boroughs, precincts and detective squads. Each Bureau is commanded by a Bureau Chief (such as the Chief of Patrol, the Chief of Housing, Chief of Internal Affairs). There are also a number of specialized units (such as the Operations Unit and
Compstat) that are not part of any of the Bureaus and report to the Chief of the Department.
The following is an example of the Department's bureau hierarchy:
★ Reporting to the Commissioner:
★
★
Internal Affairs
★ Reporting to the Chief of Department:
★
★ Patrol Services
★
★
Detective
★
★
Organized Crime Control
★
★
Transportation
★
★ Housing
★ Reporting to the First Deputy Commissioner:
★
★ Support Services
★
★ Personnel
★ Reporting to the Deputy Commissioner of Training:
★
★ Training
★ Reporting to the Deputy Commissioner of Legal Matters:
★
★ Criminal Justice
Aviation Unit
Founded in 1928, it has the distinction of being the oldest police aviation unit in the world. Based at
Floyd Bennett Field in Brooklyn, the Aviation Unit responds to various emergencies and tasks, supporting Patrol as well as other units of the N.Y.P.D. From deploying divers during air-sea rescues to placing officers atop high-rise buildings during emergencies, the Aviation Unit is vital to the NYPD in providing New York City with the fastest and most professional response available. From a standing start, the unit says it can be anywhere in the five boroughs within 10 minutes.
Once equipped with
Bell helicopters, the Aviation Unit recently re-equipped its fleet with seven
Agusta A 119 Koala helicopters. Also, for the first time in its history, the department boasts an "unmarked" helicopter. Not unlike unmarked police cars, it avoids alerting criminals or terrorists that police might have them under surveillance.
Famed
US cyclist Mile-a-Minute Murphy claimed to be the first police officer able to fly a plane in the US (possibly the entire world) as of 1914 as a member of the NYPD. He envisioned the use of airplanes to fight crime around the same time, though the Aviation Unit came into being 11 years after Murphy retired.
Emergency Service Unit
New York City Police Department Hummer.
The
Emergency Service Unit provides specialized support and advanced equipment to other NYPD units, and the Canine Unit helps with searches.
[41] The NYPD does not have a traditional
S.W.A.T. unit as most law enforcement agencies in the United States have. The Emergency Service Unit qualifies in the role of a S.W.A.T. unit and much more. The "ESU" is the multifaceted and multitalented element of the NYPD. Members of "ESU" are some of the most highly trained experts of the Department, with abilities that include handling heavy weapons to securing dangerous animals such as full grown tigers kept in public housing apartments. They are also trained in ROCO high angle rope rescue as well as tactical
rappelling and
fast rope use. 14 of the 23 NYPD officers who died on
September 11th, 2001 were from ESU.
Organized Crime Control Bureau
The Organized Crime Control Bureau (O.C.C.B.) is charged with the investigation and prevention of
organized crime within
New York City. This is mainly done through standard police investigation and the use of confidential informants. The Organized Crime Control Bureau has numerous units and sub-units that investigate matters such as organized auto larceny rings, unlawful firearms, and prositution. The Organized Crime Control Bureau utilizes undercover police officers to infiltrate various criminal organizations. The Organized Crime Control Bureau has been effective against the
Five Families of the
Sicilian Mafia, "the westies" of the
Irish mob, and
Russian organized criminal elements. The Organized Crime Control Bureau's Joint Organized Crime Task Force works in cooperation with the
Federal Bureau of Investigation's New York field office. The Emergency Service Unit regularly assists the units of the Organized Crime Control Bureau when executing high risk arrests or warrants.
Harbor Unit and Scuba Team
On March 15, 1858 five members of the New York City Police Department rowed out into New York Harbor to combat piracy aboard merchant ships lying at anchor. The NYPD Harbor Unit has existed ever since, protecting life and property. With hundreds of miles of inland waterways to cover, the unit operates 27 boats from three bases.
[42]
For underwater work, the department used to contract with private diving companies when weapons or other evidence had to be recovered from the bottom of New York's many rivers and waterways. In the early 1970s, however, the Harbor Unit formed a specialized scuba team that today numbers around 30 officers. Unlike many police dive units, whose members dive only part-time, NYPD divers are assigned to the unit full-time. (The exception are some scuba-trained officers in regular patrol units who are assigned to the unit temporarily during the busy summer months.)
[43] In addition to the normal duties of evidence recovery, the Scuba Team's duties have expanded to include a counter-terrorism role since the attacks of 9/11. For
air-sea rescue work, the Harbor Unit keeps two divers assigned to the Aviation Unit 24 hours a day, seven days per week, all year round.
Special Victims Squad
The Special Victims Squad is housed in Borough Patrols. The Special Victims Squad only investigates the following types of cases:
★ Any child under 13 years of age that is the victim of any sex crime or attempted sex crime by any person.
★ Any child under 11 years of age who is the victim of abuse by a parent or person legally responsible for the care of the child.
★ Any victim of Rape (all degrees) or Attempted Rape (all degrees)
★ Any victim of Criminal Sexual Act (all degrees) or Attempted Criminal Sexual Act (all degrees)
★ Victims of Aggravated Sexual Abuse (all degrees)
★ Victims of
sexual abuse 1st Degree
Unlike in , the Special Victims Squad does not investigate any murder or robbery cases. Murders and robberies are investigated by precinct detective squads. If a sex crime is involved, the Special Victims Squad may assist in the investigation.
Major Case Squad
The Major Case Squad is located at One Police Plaza in Manhattan. It handles the following cases.
★ Kidnappings as directed by the Chief of Detectives
★ Burglary or Attempted Burglary of a bank or bank safe
★ Larceny by extortion or attempt, from a bank
★ Robbery or attempted of a bank by a perpetrator not armed
★ Burglary of a truck contents over $100,000
★ Larceny of a truck contents over $100,000
★ Robbery of a truck and contents by hijacking
★ All robberies in warehouse depots or similar locations where the objects of the crime is a truck or its contents
★ All commercial burglaries in which the value of the property stolen exceeds $100,000
★ Art Theft
Unlike the Major Case Squad portrayed in , the Squad does not investigate homicides. All homicide investigations are conducted by precinct detective squads and borough homicide squads.
Taxi Squad
On October 19, 1999, the S.O.D. Taxi Squad was established as a separate unit that reports directly to the Special Operations Division of the New York City Police Department. The general mission of the Taxi Squad is of plainclothes, anti-crime assignment.
Task Forces
The task forces are organized within each Patrol Borough and specialize in rapid mobilization for disorder control. The task forces can quickly respond to an incident location and mobilize to a precision suppression force to disperse disorderly groups and provide perimeter security. The task forces also assist patrol units in a variety of different elements such as in wide area searches for missing persons, DWI vehicle checkpoints, and supplemental patrol in high crime areas.
Movie and Television Unit
Founded in 1966, the NYPD Movie/TV Unit was the first of its kind in the country. Because of its relationship with the NYPD, the Unit has the greatest knowledge on how to assist productions, particularly with complex shooting situations, in a City that is dense with vehicular and pedestrian traffic. In addition to this expertise, their services are free to productions filming in the City.
Whether it's filming on bridges, highways, or busy intersections, the Unit controls traffic to ensure that companies can get shots that may otherwise be impossible. In addition, the City's many police related shows, such as
Law & Order and
Third Watch, generate
"crime scenes" which are supervised by the Movie/TV Unit. The Unit's responsibilities do not end there; they also monitor child work permits, stunts, prop firearms, placement of equipment, pedestrian safety and parking.
While filming on busy
New York City streets presents countless challenges, the Unit has, over the years, developed a strong working relationship with the film industry. The unit makes an effort to ensure that New York City remains a popular location for filming.
School Safety Division
The mission of the School Safety Division is to provide a safe environment, conducive to learning, where students and faculty can be free from hostility and disruptions which could negatively impact on the educational process.
School Safety Training Unit
The mission of the School Safety Training Unit (SSTU) is to provide entry-level School Safety Agents with a fundamental understanding of Department procedures, policies, and the limits of their authority. The Basic Course for Peace Officers without Firearms is a 14-week program geared to instructing School Safety Agents on the fundamentals of law enforcement. Topics include Behavioral Science, Police Science, Law, and Physical Training/Tactics (including CPR/First Aid Training.)
In 2004, SSTU conducted three entry-level courses for a total of 551 School Safety Agents. Assistance was also provided to the NYPD’s School Safety Division’s In-Service Training Unit. Another 1,107 Agents were trained during these sessions.
Also in 2004, continued emphasis was placed on Counter Terrorism Training. School Safety Agents received instruction on current events and conditions that are directly related to terrorism. Other additions to the curriculum included the introduction of facilitated role-play exercises on Bomb/Explosive Device recognition and gang-related incidents.
In 2005, SSTU plans to implement a new curriculum for School Safety Agents that more accurately reflects the day-to-day functions of a School Safety Agent. A pilot program for baton training for School Safety Agents Level 2 assigned to the Mobile Task Force has also been approved and training will commence during 2005.
Real Time Crime Center
Located on the eighth floor of Police Headquarters, at One Police Plaza, the Real Time Crime Center is essentially a data warehouse and search engine operated by a staff of detectives that assists in providing relevant and timely information to officers conducting an investigation. The computer network stores facts about convicted persons, suspects, encounters, nicknames and items of seemingly trivial value whose correlation could assist in an investigation. The computer network's control room can display real-time satellite and surveillance camera images and hosts a wireless link to police vehicles equipped to generate sketches at crime scenes and transmit them for comparison to stored data.
[1]
Auxiliary Police
The NYPD has an unpaid force known as the Auxiliary Police program. It is composed of citizens who volunteer time to help their neighborhoods by providing a uniformed presence.
In
1950, the 81st Congress passed the Public Law #920, entitled ''The Civil Defense Act of 1950'' authorizing a Federal Civil Defense Program. In
1951, the New York State Legislature enacted ''The Defense Emergency Act'' requiring New York City to recruit, train, and equip volunteer Auxiliary Police, who would then act as a liaison to the NYPD in the event of an emergency or natural disaster.
In
1967, A Mayoral Executive Order closed the Civil Defense Headquarters and placed full responsibility of the Auxiliary Police Program with the NYPD. During the
1960s when crime was on the rise, uniform Auxiliary Police patrols were an effective means to deter crime.
Auxiliary officers sometimes ride in squad cars (called RMPs for Radio Mobile Patrols), but usually patrol on foot. They are equipped with a baton, flashlight, and a radio. Auxiliary officers are permitted to carry handcuffs if they so choose, which must be purchased themselves. If officers see a crime in progress, they report it to Central Dispatch using the radio. Auxiliaries act primarily as the eyes and ears of the police department. Before becoming auxiliaries, recruits go through 53 hours of training. Recently, a directive dated
July 14 2005, 2 weeks after the
2005 London bombings, stated that the City would institute a citywide transit auxiliary program. This will help reduce crime and fight terrorism in the Transit System.
[45][46]
Their patrol presence and keen observation and reporting of incidents requiring regular police response, as well as interaction with the public, aides in crime reduction and enhances police-community relations. Another important function of Auxiliary Police volunteers is serving as a citizen ready reserve in the event of an emergency or natural disaster. Generally, however, Auxiliaries are used for
omnipresence and as a
force multiplier to assist regular police in non-weapon/minimal danger incidents.
A NYPD Auxiliary Police Highway Patrol RMP.
Shooting of 2 Auxiliary Police Officers
On March 14, 2007, two Auxiliary officers were killed. Auxiliary Officer Marshalik and Auxiliary Police Officer Nicholas Pekearo were shot and killed while following a suspect who had just murdered a pizza shop employee in Greenwich Village. The suspect had entered the shop, asked for a menu, and then shot the employee in the back fifteen times after the man turned around.
Auxiliary Officer Pekearo and Auxiliary Officer Marshalik, both of whom were unarmed and on foot patrol in the area of the shooting heard the description of the suspect that had been transmitted over the radio. They spotted the suspect and immediately began to follow him. After a short distance the man suddenly turned and opened fire, fatally wounding both officers.
Several plainclothes officers who were responding to the scene encountered the suspect, who fled on foot and began firing at them. The suspect was killed in an exchange of gunfire with the officers. The suspect was found to be carrying two handguns and over 100 rounds of ammunition.
Crime Scene Unit
The Crime Scene Unit (CSU) is a part of the NYPD Detective Bureau's Forensic Investigations Division, responsible for
forensic investigations of all
homicides and
sexual assaults, as well as other crimes as deemed necessary by an investigating supervisor. Members of the Crime Scene Unit assist the
precinct detectives in the processing of a
crime scene as well as determining the proper routing of
evidence between the NYC Office of the Chief Medical Examiner, the NYPD Police Lab and the NYPD Property Clerk.
The Crime Scene Unit is composed of NYPD detectives (or occasionally police officers that are awaiting their promotion to detective), not civilian technicians like crime scene units in other parts of the
U.S. Generally these detectives come from an Evidence Collection Team which is operated at the borough level.
The Crime Scene Unit covers all of the boroughs of
New York City, but is staffed with less than 1% of the total number of detectives in the NYPD. These detectives are dedicated to doing what is necessary to ensure that the precinct detectives and the
District Attorney have as much evidence to identify the perpetrator of the crime and convict them at trial.
The Crime Scene Unit has at its disposal many tools to process a crime scene including the materials needed to develop
fingerprints, cast footwear and tire impressions, follow the trajectory of bullets fired through windows and the chemicals necessary to observe blood under special lighting conditions that would otherwise be invisible to the naked eye. The unit is also trained to process a crime scene in a hazardous environment, for example following a nuclear, biological or chemical attack.
The NYPD Crime Scene Unit will handle in excess of 1,000 runs a year, a large drop from the busy days of the Crack-Wars in the 1980s where 3,000 runs a year was common. Although there are fewer runs, each crime scene involves much more work these days. The common use of modern equipment unavailable previously, as well as the increase in computer generated case work and sketches means the amount of time spent on each individual case has drastically increased. The modern-era case load of 1,000 also takes into account the fact that the patrol borough based Evidence Collection Teams handle the vast majority of burglaries and robberies as well as assaults where the victim is not likely to die, leaving the Crime Scene Unit to focus on more serious incidents.
Evidence Collection Teams
The Evidence Collection Teams are tasked with the collection of evidence at crime scenes in their respective boroughs that are not determined to be at the level necessary to require the Crime Scene Unit. Each patrol borough (Manhattan South, Manhattan North, Bronx, Staten Island, Queens North, Queens South, Brooklyn North and Brooklyn South) has their own Evidence Collection Team under the control of the respective borough commander. The Evidence Collection Teams are staffed by Police Officers, Sergeants and usually headed by a Lieutenant.
The Evidence Collection Teams were started in Manhattan South by Lt. James Robert (Ret.) to take some of the pressure off the Crime Scene Unit and the precinct detective squads by forming a forensic unit to bridge the gap between precinct latent print officers and the Crime Scene Unit. The Evidence Collection Team handles burglaries, robberies, assaults where the victim is not likely to die, suicides and any other crime determined by the borough commanders.
Many of the Police Officers that originally started in the Evidence Collection Team have gone on to transfer to the Crime Scene Unit and become Detectives. This transfer is difficult (due to the change from the Patrol Services Bureau to the Detective Bureau, as well as the fact that there are over 150 members of the various Evidence Collection Teams usually vying for one or two slots in Crime Scene.
Although Crime Scene is expected to handle many of the newsworthy or high-profile cases in the city quite often the Manhattan South Evidence Collection Team is called out to jobs in the Midtown Manhattan area that involve celebrities and wind up on the cover of national news papers. Recent examples of this include the shooting involving Remy Ma (the rapper) as well as the incident involving Sean "Puffy" Combs and Jennifer Lopez in December 1999. Here is a link to an evidence voucher prepared by a police officer in Manhattan South http://www.thesmokinggun.com/archive/puffyprop3.html
Transit Bureau
The NYPD Transit Bureau is a separate branch of the NYPD that patrols and responds to emergencies within the New York City transit system. Its responsibility includes the
NYC Subways in Manhattan, the Bronx, Brooklyn, and Queens. However, there are certain units that have citywide responsibilities such as the Homeless Outreach Unit and the Vandals Task Force.
The Transit Bureau is divided into Transit Borough Commands. These Borough Commands generally follow the boundaries of the City's geographical boroughs, although there are some notable exceptions. Since there are no subways on Staten Island, there are only four Transit Boroughs: Queens, Bronx, Brooklyn, and Manhattan. Each Transit Borough is further divided into Transit Districts.
As a general rule, each Borough is commanded by an Inspector while Transit Districts tend to be commanded by Captains. The NYPD Detective Bureau investigates all crimes that occur in Transit. Each borough office has assigned detectives from the Detective Bureau similar to the Precinct Detective Squad. As of June 15, 2006 all detectives assigned to investigate transit crimes will fall under a unified command [Central Robbery Section] of the Detective Bureau's Special Investigations Division.
Housing Bureau
The Housing Bureau is responsible for providing the security and delivery of police services to 420,000 residents, employees and guests of public housing (projects) throughout New York City. They are stationed in Police Service Areas (PSA), which are almost identical to police precincts, with nine PSAs in total located throughout the five boroughs. Officers often do vertical patrols, making sure illegal activity does not take place in the halls, stairways, or the roof.
Highway Patrol
Structure
NYPD patrol mounted on horseback (New Year's Eve 2005/06)
Patrol Services Bureau
For management purposes, police precincts are grouped collectively based on their jurisdiction into the Patrol Boroughs. There are eight Patrol Boroughs. They are: Manhattan North, Manhattan South, Brooklyn North, Brooklyn South, Queens North, Queens South, Bronx, and Staten Island. Each Patrol Borough has a number of police precincts and the grand total of police precincts in
New York City is 76.
Police precincts
Each Patrol Borough is composed of
precincts. Each precinct is responsible for safety and law enforcement within a designated geographic area. Police units based in these precincts patrol and respond to emergencies.
Staten Island currently has three precincts: the 120, 122, and 123. A 122 satellite precinct opened in December 2005 adjacent to the
Staten Island Mall on Richmond Avenue.
Line of duty deaths
From Dec 25, 1806 to March 19, 2007, the NYPD lost 747 officers in the line of duty, including 343 (of whom 7 were assassinated) that were killed by gunfire, 50 in automobile accidents, 44 due to heart attacks, 37 struck by vehicles, 36 in motorcycle accidents, 30 in assaults, 24 stabbed, 20 by vehicular assault, and 12 in vehicle pursuits.
[47] The NYPD lost 23 officers on
September 11.
2001,
[48]
NYPD medals
The department presents a number of
medals to its members for meritorious service.
The medals the NYPD awards are as follows (from lowest medal to highest):
★ '''Excellent Police Duty''' (EPD)
★ 'Meritorious Police Duty' (MPD) & Meritorious Police Duty - Integrity
★ 'Commendation - Community Service' (Displayed wearing the MPD medal with a 'light blue' star in the middle)
★ 'Commendation or Commendation - Integrity' (Displayed wearing the MPD medal with a 'bronze' star in the middle)
★ 'Exceptional Merit' (Displayed wearing the MPD medal with a 'green' star in the middle)
★ 'Honorable Mention' (Displayed wearing the MPD medal with a 'silver' star in the middle)
★ '
Medal for Valor' (Solid blue bar)
★ '
Police Combat Cross' (Solid green bar)
★ '
Medal of Honor' (Solid green bar speckled tiny gold stars)
The department also awards a
Purple Shield to those injured or killed in the line of duty.
Demographics
The NYPD is majority white with an increasing number of minority officers. Amongst minorities 17.4% of the officers are
African American, 26.5%
Hispanic, and 3.8%
Asian American.
[17] This compares to a city population that is 27%
Hispanic, 26.6%
African American, and 9.8%
Asian American. In
1970, there were only 300 sworn Hispanic officers on the force, in today's department there are over 9,000 sworn Hispanic officers. The Police Departments' demographics match the City's demographics better than the Fire Department which is 92% white. 2005 marked the first academy class that was majority minority where only 45.2% of the graduates were non-Hispanic Whites.
[17]
Affiliations
★ The department is affiliated with the
New York City Police Museum.
★ The department also runs a Summer Youth Police academy to provide positive interaction with police officers and to educate young people about the challenges and responsibility of police work.
★ The department also provides a citizen Police Academy which educates the public on basic law and policing procedures.
Fictional portrayals
The NYPD is behind perhaps only cowboys and
gangsters in terms of public fascination, as measured by
movie and
television treatments. Over the years, countless fictional or fictionalized portrayals of the department have emerged into popular culture.
See also
★
New York City Police Commissioner
★
NYPD Auxiliary Police
★
NYPD Rodman's Neck Firing Range
★
PAPD (Port Auth.)
★
Real time crime center
★
Police memorabilia collecting
★
Thomas F. Byrnes
References
1. From database to crime scene
2. http://www.nyc.gov/html/nypd/html/misc/pdfaq2.html#41
3. American Metropolis: A History of New York City, Lankevich, George L., , , NYU Press, 1998, ISBN 0814751865
4. Randolph, Lewis Hamersly. ''Biographical Sketches of Distinguished Officers of the Army and Navy'', pp 82-88. Henry E. Huntington Library: New York, 1905.
5. American Police Systems, Fosdick, Raymond, , , The Century Co., 1920,
6. History of the United States of America, Under the Constitution, Schouler, James, , , Dodd, Mead & Company, 1899,
7. The Orange Riots: Irish Political Violence in New York City, 1870-1871, Gordon, Michael Allen, , , Cornell University Press, 1993,
8. Street Justice: A History of Political Violence in New York City, Johnson, Marilynn S., , , Beacon Press, 2003,
9. Street Justice: A History of Political Violence in New York City, Johnson, Marilynn S., , , Beacon Press, 2003,
10. http://www.barrypopik.com/article/680/iron-pipeline-i-95
11. http://www.nycpolicemuseum.org/html/tour/aah/aahweb.htm
12. http://www.nycpolicemuseum.org/html/tour/aah/aahweb.htm
13. http://www.nyc.gov/html/nypd/html/dc_training/pdf/2005%20Police%20Students%20Guide/1st%20Trimester/01-Intro%20to%20the%20NYPD.pdf
14. http://www.nyc.gov/html/nypd/html/dc_training/pdf/2005%20Police%20Students%20Guide/1st%20Trimester/01-Intro%20to%20the%20NYPD.pdf
15. http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m1355/is_2_102/ai_88998920
16. http://www.nyc.gov/html/nypd/html/pchistory.html
17. http://www.michaelsaray.com/%20News%20Articles/NYPD.htm
18. http://www.ojp.usdoj.gov/bjs/pub/pdf/lemas00.pdf
19. AM New York, December 8, 2006
20. "Melee in Tompkins Sq. Park: Violence and Its Provocation," by Todd Purdham, The New York Times, August 14, 1988, Section 1; Part 1, Page 1, Column 4; Metropolitan Desk
21. http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9400EFDE1731F930A15756C0A9659C8B63&n=Top%2fReference%2fTimes%20Topics%2fPeople%2fB%2fBaez%2c%20Anthony%20Ramon
22. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/nation/specials/aroundthenation/nypd/
23. http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?sec=health&res=9506EFD61E38F93BA25752C1A9659C8B63&n=Top%2fReference%2fTimes%20Topics%2fPeople%2fB%2fBusch%2c%20Gidone
24. http://www.1010wins.com/pages/59330.php?
25. http://www.wsws.org/articles/2004/feb2004/nypd-f25_prn.shtml
26. http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2007/05/23/america/NA-GEN-US-Police-Shooting-Settlement.php
27. http://www.democracynow.org/article.pl?sid=05/12/27/1444202
28. http://www.guardian.co.uk/usa/story/0,,1957881,00.html
29. http://www.democracynow.org/article.pl?sid=06/12/14/1458229
30. http://www.cnn.com/2006/US/11/26/nyc.shooting.ap/index.html
31. NY Daily News March 12, 2007
32. Police See First Rise in Exam Applicants Since Recruit Pay Cut
33. 2005 Duties, 1985 Pay
34. They're Tried, They're True, But How Long Do They Stay?
35. Offers Higher Salary: Upstate City Makes Case to NYPD Cops
36. Protect and Serve On Another Front; In an Increasing Job Migration, Police Officers Make the Switch From Crime Fighter to Firefighter," by Kevin Flynn, The New York Times, May 31, 1999, Section B; Page 1, Column 2; Metropolitan Desk
37. Entering FDNY Back At Bottom on Pay; Council Enacts Deal Made Under UFA Wage Accord," by Ginger Adams Otis, ''The Chief-Leader'', April 14, 2006
38. "P.D. Holds Hostage Its PAPD Applicants," by Reuven Blau, ''The Chief-Leader'', Jan. 26, 2007, Page 1, Column 2;
39. "Rule NYPD Can Withhold Officer Files From PA; Has Effect of Blocking Transfers to Gain Higher Pay," by Reuven Blau, ''The Chief-Leader'', Jan. 26, 2007, Page 1, Column 4;
40. Over Cop Exodu$," by Larry Celona and Bill Sanderson, ''The New York Post'', Jan. 25, 2007, Page 4, Column 1;
41. Emergency Service Unit
42. "New York Police Department: Scuba Team"
43. "NYPD's Air-Sea Rescue Teams"
44. From database to crime scene
45. [1]
46. [2]
47. This figure includes officers from agencies that were absorbed or became a part of the modern NYPD in addition to the modern department itself.
48. 9/11 by the Numbers
49. http://www.michaelsaray.com/%20News%20Articles/NYPD.htm
50. http://www.michaelsaray.com/%20News%20Articles/NYPD.htm
External links
★
On the Front Line in the War on Terrorism, ''City Journal,'' Summer 2007
★
Official NYPD page
★
Auxiliary Police Benevolent Association
★
Unofficial School Safety Myspace Page
★
Full listing of NYPD Officers who have been killed in the line of duty
★
NYCPR and COPP NYC police misconduct organizations
★
NY Daily News March 12, 2007
★
From database to crime scene: Network is potent police weapon, by Thomas Lueck, New York Times, June 7, 2007
★
AM New York, December 8, 2006
★
Google Earth NYPD Car Model
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