New York City Police Department

The City of New York Police Department, also known as the New York City Police Department (NYPD), is the main law enforcement agency in New York City. It was started on May 23, 1845, making it one of the oldest and largest police departments in the United States.

The NYPD is headquartered at 1 Police Plaza in Lower Manhattan, close to City Hall. It has many special units to help with different kinds of situations, such as the Emergency Service Unit, K-9 unit, harbor patrol, highway patrol, air support, bomb squad, and units that focus on safety in public transportation and public housing. Unlike in many other places, the NYPD is also responsible for emergency water rescues.

The NYPD has more than 40,000 workers, including over 30,000 police officers. Each year, the NYPD deals with many reports of crime and makes thousands of arrests. In 2020, its budget was over US$6 billion. The NYPD has appeared in many stories, movies, and TV shows because of its important role in America’s biggest city.

History

Main article: History of the New York City Police Department

The New York City Police Department, or NYPD, began in 1845 when the city replaced an old night watch system. Mayor William Havemeyer helped create the NYPD. Over the years, the department made many changes. In 1911, it appointed its first Black officer, and in 1918, its first female officer.

In 1924, during Richard Enright’s time as commissioner, the NYPD started the country’s first Shomrim Society, a group for Jewish police officers. In 1961, Officer Mario Biaggi became the first NYPD officer to join the National Police Officers Hall of Fame. In the mid-1980s, the NYPD focused more on stopping drug sales on streets, which led to many people being arrested.

In 1992, Mayor David Dinkins started an independent group to review complaints about the NYPD. Some officers disagreed and protested, blocking traffic and demonstrating. In 1994, the NYPD created the CompStat system to track crime using computers. Throughout the 1990s, several departments joined the NYPD, including the Transit Police and the Housing Authority Police.

In 2021, the NYPD stopped enforcing laws about marijuana, except for driving under the influence. In 2024, the NYPD updated its motto to “Fighting Crime, Protecting the Public”.

Organization and structure

Main article: Organization of the New York City Police Department

The New York City Police Department is led by a police commissioner, who is chosen by the city’s mayor. The commissioner appoints important leaders, including the chief of department, who is the top uniformed officer. The commissioner and their team focus on managing the department and important areas like public safety and legal matters.

The department has many bureaus, grouped into four main areas: Patrol, Transit & Housing, Investigative, and Administrative. Each bureau has its own leader, and they all work together to keep New York City safe.

Rank structure

See also: Organization of the New York City Police Department

After finishing training at the Police Academy, officers start as "Probationary Police Officers" or "rookies" for the first 18 months. The NYPD has three main paths for officers: supervisory, investigative, and specialist.

There are nine ranks in the supervisory path. To move up to become a sergeant, lieutenant, or captain, officers need to pass special tests. Higher ranks like deputy inspector and above are chosen by the NYPD commissioner. Officers can also become a detective based on their work or after doing great investigative work for a long time.

Badges

Badges in the NYPD are called "shields". Each rank has its own badge design, except for police officers and probationary officers. When officers move up in rank, they get a new badge. Lower-ranked officers are known by their shield numbers, while higher-ranked officers use tax registry numbers.

Some officers carry extra badges called "dupes" when patrolling, as losing a real badge can lead to losing pay.

^ †: Rank that has no police powers

Rank	Insignia	Badge design	Badge color	Badge number	Uniform
Police Commissioner		With requisite number of stars and rank	Gold, with silver star(s)	No	No uniform
First Deputy Commissioner
Chief of Department					White shirt, dark blue peaked cap, velvet cap band, gold hat badge, five gold leaves each side of the cap visor
Deputy Commissioner (has no operational command; however, has a rank equivalent to a bureau chief)
Bureau Chief & Bureau Chief Chaplain †
Assistant Chief & Assistant Chief Chaplain †
Deputy Chief & Deputy Chief Chaplain †		Chaplain and Surgeon badges differ
Inspector & Chaplain †		Chaplain and Surgeon badges differ	Gold		White shirt, dark blue peaked cap, velvet cap band, gold hat badge,
Deputy Inspector
Captain					White shirt, peaked cap, striped black cap band, gold hat badge
Lieutenant	(shoulder & collar)
Sergeant	(sleeve)			Yes	Navy blue shirt, peaked cap, gold hat badge
Detective	None
Officer			Silver	Yes, matching hat badge	Navy blue shirt, peaked cap, silver hat badge with matching number
Probationary Officer ("probie")
Recruit				Yes	Slate grey, black garrison cap
Cadet		None

Department composition

The New York City Police Department (NYPD) is made up of many people who work to keep the city safe. As of October 2023, there are 33,536 uniformed officers and 19,454 civilian employees. These civilians include traffic enforcement agents, auxiliary police officers, and school safety agents who help keep schools secure.

The NYPD is very diverse, with about half of its officers coming from minority groups. This includes people who are black, Latino, Asian, or Asian-American. The department also has detectives, sergeants, lieutenants, captains, and police chiefs, all working together to serve the community.

The NYPD has special groups like the Police Benevolent Association, which represents over 50,000 active and retired police officers.

Many NYPD officers live outside of New York City, in nearby areas such as Westchester, Rockland, Orange, Putnam, Suffolk, and Nassau counties. However, officers cannot live in Northern New Jersey, even though many people from there work in NYC.

In 2022, Keechant Sewell became the first woman to serve as the NYPD Commissioner. Later, in 2024, Jessica Tisch was appointed as the second woman to hold this important position.

Line of duty deaths

The New York City Police Department (NYPD) has had many officers who sadly passed away while protecting the city. Since 1849, 932 officers have died in these situations. Some were hurt by people they were trying to stop, and others were hurt in different ways. A large number of officers were lost during the September 11, 2001, attacks. The NYPD has had more officers pass away in this way than any other police group in the United States.

Services

The NYPD offers many special services to keep people safe, including an Emergency Service Unit, K9 (which uses trained dogs), harbor patrol, air support, a bomb squad, and units that fight gang activity, organized crime, and narcotics. They also have teams for public transportation and public housing. The NYPD has officers in eleven cities around the world to help prevent attacks.

In 2019, the NYPD answered over 480,000 calls about crimes and made more than 210,000 arrests. That year, there were about 95,000 major felonies, which is much less than the high numbers from the 1980s and 1990s when crime in New York City was very high during the crack epidemic.

Public opinion

The Quinnipiac University Polling Institute has been checking how people feel about the NYPD since 1997. At first, about half of the people approved of the job the NYPD was doing. After the World Trade Center terrorist attacks in September 2001, approval went up to 78%, but it has generally stayed between 52% and 72% since then. Approval depends on race and ethnicity, with black and Hispanic people often less likely to approve compared to white people.

In 2017, a poll found that 67% of New York City voters approved of the NYPD, with 79% of white voters, 52% of black voters, and 73% of Hispanic voters approving. In 2020, another poll showed 53% of the public approved, with differences among racial groups. Many people also felt that crime, police brutality, and police corruption were serious problems.

Brutality, corruption, and misconduct cases

The New York City Police Department has faced many challenges over the years, including concerns about fairness and proper behavior. Some people have said that officers have sometimes been too rough or treated people unfairly. There have also been times when officers did not follow the rules.

In the past, there have been reports about officers not telling the whole truth about certain events. There are groups that look into these concerns, and people can share their worries about an officer's behavior in different ways. In 2020, new rules were created to make sure officers follow safety guidelines, especially during big events and protests. Even with these rules, there have been times when officers did not act as they should have.

Sometimes, officers have made mistakes in how they handle people, and there have been discussions about how to improve these situations. There have also been talks about spending and how money is used within the department. It's important for everyone to work together to make sure all officers act fairly and with respect.

Technology

In the 1990s, the New York City Police Department created a special management system called CompStat, which many other cities now use. The NYPD has tools to study crime scenes and labs to help solve mysteries. They also have teams that work on solving crimes involving computers.

In 2005, the NYPD started a "Real Time Crime Center." This center is like a big digital library that helps police find clues by looking at records such as traffic tickets, court papers, and past reports.

The NYPD also uses the Domain Awareness System, a network that gathers information from many places. This includes license plate readers, surveillance cameras, and sensors. This system helps police keep an eye on important places and people.

In 2020, the NYPD introduced a robotic dog named Digidog, made by Boston Dynamics. This robot has cameras and can move on its own. Some people were worried about privacy, but the NYPD said it would only be used in special situations like dangerous threats. Later, the city decided to stop using Digidog, but in 2023, they brought it back with two new robots.

Surveillance Practices

The NYPD uses many different technologies to watch over the city. Some of these methods have been questioned because they might not be fair to everyone. Experts say these watching methods have roots going back to old rules from the 1700s that treated certain groups unfairly.

Omnipresence Program

In 2014, the NYPD started a plan called “Omnipresence.” This plan put officers in fixed spots and added very bright lights in some neighborhoods, especially in public housing areas like Brownsville, Brooklyn. People living there said the lights shined into their homes and made it hard to sleep. The plan was part of a bigger safety project that cost $140 million and included many security cameras and special doors. While this project did help lower some types of crime, many people felt it was too harsh and didn’t consider better options.

Facial Recognition and Surveillance Infrastructure

A report in 2019 showed that the NYPD has many advanced watching tools, such as face-recognition tech and tools that can read car numbers quickly. These tools were often added without telling the public or getting approval from city leaders. Some of these tools have been used in thousands of cases. The NYPD also works with private companies to get more video from security cameras, which helps them solve crimes but also raises questions about privacy.

Fusus Camera Integration Program

In 2023, the NYPD began testing a new way to connect security cameras from businesses with their systems. This test happened in a part of Queens and helped solve several burglaries. After the test, the NYPD made a bigger plan to use this system in more areas of the city. Some people worry that using so many cameras might not be fair to everyone, especially in poorer neighborhoods.

Vehicles

Main article: List of vehicles of the New York City Police Department

Firearms

New York City Police Department officers can choose between two types of 9mm pistols for their work: the Glock 17 Gen4 and the Glock 19 Gen4. In the past, officers used other handguns like the Smith & Wesson 5946 and Sig Sauer P226, but these are no longer given to new officers. Some officers who already have these can still use them.

Special officers in units like the Emergency Service Unit carry more powerful weapons, including rifles and submachine guns, for very difficult situations.

Affiliations

The NYPD works with the New York City Police Foundation and the New York City Police Museum. It has special programs like the Youth Police Academy to help young people learn about police work in a positive way. The NYPD also supports a Law Enforcement Explorer Program through Scouting America, and runs the Citizens Police Academy to teach the public about basic laws and how police officers do their jobs.