New York City Police Department

New York City Police Department
File:Nypdpatch.jpg
Motto	Fidelis ad Mortem
Operational structure
Sworn members	36,127 (11/2007)
Facilities
Stations	76
Website
official site

The New York City Police Department (NYPD) which was established in 1845 , is currently the largest police force in North America, with primary responsibilities in law enforcement and investigation within the five boroughs of New York City. The NYPD is considered to be one of the first "modern" style police department in the United States along with the Boston, Massachusetts Metropolitan Police Department. The NYPD has a broad array of specialized services, including tactical operations, K-9, harbor patrol, air support, 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. According to the department, its mission is to "enforce the laws, preserve the peace, reduce fear, and provide for a safe environment."

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. As of November 2007, it had increased to slighly over 36,000 with the graduation of several clases from the Police Academy. The NYPD's current authorized uniformed strength is 37,838. There are also about 4,500 Auxiliary Police Officers, about 5,000 School Safety Agents, 2,327 Traffic Agents, and 371 Traffic Agent Supervisors.

File:Nypd flag.jpg

The NYPD flag

History

The New York City Police Department was established in 1845. 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. 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.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. 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. The Tompkins Square Riot occurred on January 13, 1874 when police crushed a demonstration involving thousands of unemployed in Tompkins Square Park. 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.

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. 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".

Allegations of police misconduct: corruption, brutality and excessive use of force

Over the years, NYPD officers have come under public scrutiny with allegations of corruption, brutality, excessive use of force, and poor firearm discipline. Individual incidents have tended to receive more publicity; a portion of which have been substantiated while others have not. The Knapp Commission in the 1970s, and the Mollen Commission in 1994 have led to reforms within the NYPD aimed to improve police accountability. However in recent years, likely due to low salaries and declining morale, many more off-duty NYPD officers are being arrested and charged in and outside the city for crimes ranging from drunk driving to homicide.

NYPD Crime Laboratory Scandal

The New York state inspector general said Monday that the New York City Police Department's crime lab cut corners analyzing evidence and submitted results in drug cases without having done the required tests in 2002.

Serious errors were made by the police lab under since-reformed practices, Inspector General Kristine Hamann said in referring her report to the Queens District Attorney's office for possible criminal investigation. She said past officials failed to appropriately monitor some lab workers' performance and enforce standards.

"The integrity of evidence is a cornerstone of law enforcement," Hamann said. "These lapses were a threat not only to the prosecution of drug crimes, but to the public's trust in our criminal justice system."

She noted that the city has made significant improvements since the improper practices in 2002.

City police Deputy Commissioner Paul Browne noted that the police department made the failures public and the lab workers involved have been removed or left their positions. The lab staff has been increased and more rigorous safeguards are in place, Browne said. He said the crime lab received a 98.4 percent grade in its most recent accreditation assessment by the American Society of Crime Laboratory/Laboratory Assessment Board, which was done in October.

Browne said former lab director W. Mark Dale retired in 2004 and his successor, Dr. Peter Pizzola, found "the lapse in notification and made the necessary notifications in April to state officials, district attorneys and a national accreditation body."

Hamann said her investigation began after the state Division of Criminal Justice Services asked her to investigate allegations of "dry labbing" - sending results to police and prosecutors without doing the actual lab tests - in 2002.

She said her investigators found that lab officials were told in April 2002 an assistant chemist skipped steps when analyzing narcotics evidence and many others did the same. But the lab staff wasn't questioned and the claim wasn't investigated. She said a double check of two lab workers' results found incorrect answers, but no immediate action was taken against the employees.

The lab is now searching past cases for any erroneous reports, Hamann said. The prosecutors in all five boroughs have been alerted.

Knapp Commission

Main article: Knapp Commission

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 reforms within the department, developed by Commissioner Patrick Murphy. Reforms included decentralizing corruption control, within Field Investigative Units, which were intended to be closer and more in touch with the streets where the problems were.

Other incidents

Some of the higher-profile incidents involving allegations of police misconduct within the NYPD are summarized as follows:

• In 1962, the future convicted Bonanno crime family mobster Frank Lino was arrested for his alleged involvement in the shootings of two Brooklyn police detectives. The detectives, aged 28 and 56, were shot dead during a holdup of a tobacco store in Gravesend, Brooklyn, where Lino and two others netted $5,000. Lino was charged with the murders after supplying a getaway vehicle for one of the "stick-up men" so that he could then flee to Chicago. Lino was one of the five men charged after being taken to the 66th Precinct for an interrogation. During Lino's interrogation, he claimed that police officers drove staples into his hands and a broomstick up his rectum. He alleged that the abuse resulted in a broken leg and arm. Lino was later released with three years probation after he threatened to sue the city for police brutality. He also claimed that the uncontrollable blinking of his eyes was a direct result of the alleged beating.

• 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 clashed with police on the night of August 6 and the early morning of the following day. In a report released by Commissioner Benjamin Ward, the police department's actions were "not well planned, staffed, supervised or executed... which culminated in a 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 at Livoti's trial.

• On August 9, 1997, Police Officer Justin Volpe in Brooklyn sodomized 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 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, to purchase drugs. He attacked the undercover officer and 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 Zongo family $3 million to settle a wrongful death suit.

• 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. Stansbury was unarmed but had apparently startled Neri upon opening the roof door coming upon the officer. At that point, Neri discharged his service firearm and mortally wounded Stansbury. Although Commissioner Kelly stated that the shooting appeared "unjustified", a Brooklyn jury found that no criminal act occurred and that the event was a tragic accident. Neri was thus cleared of all charges. The city later agreed to pay $2 million to settle a lawsuit filed by the Stansbury family. A grand jury declined to indict Neri but Kelly later suspended him for 30 days without pay and permanently stripped him of his weapon.

• 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. No weapon was recovered. According to the police, Bell rammed his vehicle into an undercover officer and hit an unmarked NYPD minivan twice, prompting undercover officers to fire fifty rounds into Bell's car. A bullet piercing the nearby AirTrain JFK facility startled two Port Authority patrolmen stationed there. An undercover officer claims he heard one of the unarmed man's companions threaten to get his gun to settle a fight with another individual.

• On November 12, 2007, five NYPD police officers shot and killed 18-year-old Khiel Coppin. The officers responded to a 911 call where Coppin could be heard saying he had a gun. When the officers arrived at the scene, Khiel approached officers with a black object, which was later identified as a hairbrush, in his hand and repeatedly ignored orders to stop. This prompted officers to open fire at Coppin. Of the 20 shots fired, 8 hit Khiel, who died at the scene. This shooting has been ruled to be with both NYPD rules for the use of deadly force and the New York State Penal Law provisions, so no charges, criminal or administrative, will be filed against these officers.

Salary and retention issues

NYPD graduation ceremony in Madison Square Garden, July 2005.

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. 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.

Top pay for experienced officers is $59,588, not including overtime and other forms of compensation. Nearby departments pay considerably more, up to $50,000 for new hires or over $100,000 for experienced. 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. 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.

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. 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.

Some NYPD officers charge that the department's leadership is seeking to stem the flow of officers to other jurisdictions by administrative means. 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.

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.

Ranks of the NYPD

NYPD Patches

NYPD Crown Victoria police car

NYPD Ford Explorer SUV

NYPD Parking Enforcement vehicle

NYPD officers on horseback

There are twelve sworn titles (referred to as ranks) in the New York City Police Department:

• Police Officer
• Detective Specialist (Note: Rank and pay awarded for special merit or technical competence, with grades from 3rd to 1st and higher pay with each. These are not criminal investigators.)
• Detective Investigator (Note: These are the traditional criminal investigators, with grades from 3rd to 1st and higher pay with each.)
• 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). Note: Bureau Chiefs are also referred to as "Super-Chiefs" by members of the service.
• 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. However, a police commissioner who comes up from the ranks of the sworn members, will retain that status while serving as police commissioner. This has ramifications on their police pensions and the fact that any police commissioner who is considered sworn does not need a pistol permit to carry a firearm, and does retain the statutory powers of a police officer. Some police commissioners (like Ray Kelly) do carry a personal firearm, but they also have a full-time security detail from the Police Commissioner's (Detective) Squad. A First Deputy Police Commissioner may have a security detail when he/she acts as commissioner or under other circumstances as approved by the police commissioner.

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, known as "grades", that connote differences in duties, experience, and pay. However, supervisory functions are generally reserved for the rank of sergeant and above. The title "Detective" is not a chain of command supervisory rank within the New York City Police Department. A "Detective-Investigator" has the equivalent rank of a police officer with the specification "Detective First Grade" (highest), "Detective Second Grade", and "Detective Third Grade". Movies and TV have only perpetuated this misunderstanding by portraying detectives as having supervisory powers. While a First Grade Detective may supervise other detectives in his/her squad, he/she is still outranked in the chain of command by a uniformed police sergeant.

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.

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 "Detective-Specialists" start at third grade, but can be promoted to second or first grade status. It is common knowledge in the NYPD that detective investigators resent the detective specialist rank as these officers are not "detecting" crimes. NYPD is the only police force in the world that uses this rank. Most other reward technical skills or special merit with ranks such as senior patrol officer, technical sergeant or corporal. The detective specialist title was created during the Edward I. Koch mayoralty and has been controversial ever since. They carry the same "gold" shield as detective investigators, further adding to the resentment for the title.

• 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 grades within the detective rank is also discretionary.

Badges in the New York City Police Department are referred to as "shields" (traditional term). Lower rank police officers are identified by their shield number, and tax registry number. Lieutenants and above do not have shield numbers and are identified by tax registry number. All sworn members of NYPD have their I.D. card photos taken against a red background. ID's all have an expiration date.

Organization

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NYPD headquarters in downtown Manhattan.

An NYPD boat patrols the New York Harbor.

NYPD officers patrol on scooters.

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 First Deputy Commissioner:
  • Support Services
  • Personnel
• Reporting to the Chief of Department:
  • Patrol Services
  • Detective
  • Organized Crime Control
  • Transportation
  • Housing

• Reporting to the Deputy Commissioner of Training:
  • Training
• Reporting to the Deputy Commissioner of Legal Matters:
  • Criminal Justice

Aviation Unit

Founded in 1928, it claims the distinction of being the oldest police aviation unit in the world, but there is a competing claim from the London Metropolitan Police ("The Met"). Based in Brooklyn, the Aviation Unit responds to various emergencies and tasks, supporting other units of the N.Y.P.D. Among its capabilities are the deployment of divers for water rescues. From a standing start, the unit claims it can be anywhere in the five boroughs within 15 minutes, but this has been disputed and is dependent on weather conditions and air traffic congestion..

Since 9/11 the department has undertaken a major overhaul of the Aviation Unit. Once equipped exclusively with Bell helicopters, it recently re-equipped its fleet with seven Agusta A 119 Koala helicopters. The centerpiece is a $9.8 million "unmarked" helicopter, which can fly at night without lights. However, this function will require approval from the Federal Aviation Administration and local Air Traffic Control on a case-by-case basis, due to the hazards it could present in the heavily congested New York air corridors. The department has also purchased a state-of-the-art helicopter flight simulator, so officers can practice flying without actually having to take up a helicopter.

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 Emergency Service Unit Hummer.

The Emergency Service Unit, a component of the Special Operations Division, provides specialized support and advanced equipment to other NYPD units. For example, its Canine Unit helps with searches for perpetrators and missing persons. The Emergency Service Unit also functions as a Special Weapons and Tactical Unit (SWAT) and assists and secures the safety of NYPD hostage negotiators. Members of "ESU" are cross trained in multiple disciplines for police and rescue work. They are always on patrol (all three tours, 365 days a year) with 10 Large Trucks, each manned by a police officer and a sergeant, and often more than twice as many smaller "Adam" and "Boy" vehicles containing two ESU police officers. There are also two or more patrol lieutenants in unmarked vehicles on duty at all times to supervise ESU operations where needed. These are called "E-Cars on the NYPD radio, for example, "E-5". ESU vehicles operate on the "SOD (Special Operations Division)" radio frequency, but they also have the capabilities to transmit on local precinct frequencies.

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 prostitution. 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 Division (the largest FBI office in the US).

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.

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 detailed to the team temporarily during the busy summer months.) In addition to the normal duties of evidence recovery, the Scuba Team's mission has expanded since 9/11 to include a counter-terrorism role. 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. These divers will work with their counterparts in the FDNY, who arrive at incidents by fireboat or rescue company.

Special Victims Squad

The Special Victims Squad is housed in the detective borough commands of the NYPD. The Special Victims Squad is part of the Detective Bureau and 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

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 Law & Order: Criminal Intent, 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.

It was basically the re-establishment of the police Hack Bureau which had overseen yellow cabs in New York before the Taxi and Limousine Commission (TLC) was formed in the 1970's. Today the TLC Police only enforce laws concerning livery cars and other cars for hire that are not yellow cabs with medallions.

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

File:NYPDMovieUnit.jpg

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.

Until the election of Mayor Rudolph Giuliani in 1994, the Unit occasionally assisted with Porn productions. The Mayor put a stop to this as part of his effort to clean up the streets of New York City. In 1997, Porn producer Michael Lucas filed a lawsuit against the Police Departmant and Rudy Giuliani citing discriminating practices used by the Movie / TV Unit against Porn productions. The lawsuit was dropped in September of 1998 when a district Judge granted a motion to dismiss on behalf of the NYPD.

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. The Program is run using facilities at Brooklyn Technical High School.

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.

Auxiliary Police

Further information: New York City Police Department Auxiliary Police

The NYPD has an unpaid reserve police force known as the Auxiliary Police program. It is composed of citizens who volunteer as Auxiliary Police Officers 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 Officers, 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 Officer patrols were an effective means to deter crime. After completing their training, they are Certified by New York State as "Part-Time" Peace Officers

Auxiliary Police Officers usually ride in parol cars (called RMPs for Radio Mobile Patrols), but primarily conduct foot patrol. They are equipped with a baton, flashlight, and a radio. Auxiliary Police Officers are permitted to carry handcuff's on and off-duty. Although given authority to enforce the law if a crime is committed in their presense, they are primarily the "eyes and ears" of the Police Department. If Officers see a crime in progress, they report it to the radio dispatcher using their portable police radio. Depending on the condition they may take action or await the response of regular police "back-up" to arrive.

Before becoming Auxiliary Cops, recruits go through 53 hours of training, which is spread throughout 16 weeks. Recently, a directive dated July 14 2005, 2 weeks after the 2005 London bombings, stated that the City would institute a citywide Transit Auxiliary Police program. This will help reduce crime and fight terrorism in the Transit System. Transit Auxiliary Police is the youngest Auxiliary Police addition and one of the most highly trained units.

Auxiliary Police Officer 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 Officers is serving as a citizen ready reserve officer 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 hazardous incidents.

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A NYPD Auxiliary Highway Patrol RMP.

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A brand new NYPD Auxiliary 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

Further information: New York City Transit Police

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

Further information: New York City Police Department 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

Further information: New York City Police Department Highway Patrol

Structure

NYPD patrol mounted on horseback (New Year's Eve 2005/06)

Patrol Boroughs

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.

Queens South began operating a satellite for the large 105 Precinct in the southern part of the precinct next to the Rosedale LIRR station in July, 2007. This building was, until then, the quarters for the Queens South Task Force, the Q.S. Auto-Larceny Unit, the Q.S. Anti-Crime Unit, the Q.S. Evidence Collection Team and the Detective Bureau's Queens Major Case Squad.

Line of duty deaths

From Dec 25, 1806 to March 19, 2007, the NYPD has 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. The NYPD lost 23 officers on September 11 2001

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. 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. 2005 marked the first academy class that was majority minority where only 45.2% of the graduates were non-Hispanic Whites.

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.

Service Pistols

Officers of the NYPD are issued a 9mm Service pistol that fires in DAO (Double Action Only). Currently authorized pistols for new officers to select from include the SIG P226 (DAO), Smith & Wesson 5946 (DAO), and Glock 19 (All modified to a nominal 12 pound trigger pull). Senior officers who joined prior to 1993 are still authorized to carry Smith & Wesson Model 64 .38 Special Revolvers.

Fictional portrayals

Further information: List of fictional portrayals of the NYPD

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
• New York City Police Department Auxiliary Police
• NYPD Rodman's Neck Firing Range
• PAPD (Port Auth.)
• Real time crime center
• Police memorabilia collecting
• Thomas F. Byrnes

External links

• On the Front Line in the War on Terrorism, City Journal, Summer 2007
• 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