The New York City Police Department (NYPD),officially the City of New York Police Department,is the primary law enforcement agency within New York City. Established on May 23,1845,the NYPD is the largest,and one of the oldest,municipal police departments in the United States.
Benjamin Ward was the first African American New York City Police Commissioner.
The New York City Police Department School Safety Division is the law enforcement agency for New York City Department of Education schools. The agency is a division of the New York City Police Department Community Affairs Bureau and is one of the largest school-based law enforcement agencies in New York City and the United States,with approximately 5,000 School Safety Agents (SSA's) and 200 police officers.
The New York City Police Department (NYPD) is structured into numerous bureaus and units. As a whole,the NYPD is headed by the Police Commissioner,a civilian administrator appointed by the Mayor,with the senior sworn uniformed officer of the service titled "Chief of Department". The Police Commissioner appoints the First Deputy Commissioner as the department's second-in-command and the Chief of Department as the department's highest ranking uniformed officer. The commissioner also appoints a number of deputy and assistant commissioners who do not have operational command and are solely for support and administrative function. The department is divided into twenty bureaus,six of which are enforcement bureaus. Each enforcement bureau is further subdivided into sections,divisions,and units,and into patrol boroughs,precincts,and detective squads. Each bureau is commanded by a bureau chief. There are also a number of specialized units that are not part of any of the bureaus and report to the Chief of the Department.
The New York City Police Department (NYPD) originates in the Government of New York City attempts to control rising crime in early- to mid-19th-century New York City. The City's reforms created a full-time professional police force modeled upon London's Metropolitan Police,itself only formed in 1829. Established in 1845,the Municipal Police replaced the inadequate night watch system which had been in place since the 17th century,when the city was founded by the Dutch as New Amsterdam.
Throughout the history of the New York City Police Department,numerous instances of corruption,misconduct,and other allegations of such,have occurred. Over 12,000 cases have resulted in lawsuit settlements totaling over $400 million during a five-year period ending in 2014. In 2019,taxpayers funded $68,688,423 as the cost of misconduct lawsuits,a 76 percent increase over the previous year,including about $10 million paid out to two exonerated individuals who had been falsely convicted and imprisoned.
Joseph J. Esposito is a former law enforcement officer and civil servant. He is currently the Deputy Commissioner of Enforcement for the New York City Department of Buildings and formerly the Commissioner of New York City Emergency Management from June 27,2014,until his controversial ousting in November 2018. Prior to that role he was the Chief of Department of the New York City Police Department (NYPD) from 2000 until his retirement from the NYPD in 2013.
The Detective Bureau is one of 20 bureaus that constitute the New York City Police Department and is headed by the three-star Chief of Detectives. The Detective Squad was formed in 1857 with the Detective Bureau later formed in 1882.
NYPD Chief of Patrol Nicholas Estavillo (Ret.),is a former member of the New York Police Department who in 2002 became the first Puerto Rican and the first Hispanic in the history of the NYPD to reach the three-star rank of Chief of Patrol.
Philip Banks III is the current Deputy Mayor of New York City for Public Safety and a retired law enforcement officer who served as NYPD chief of department in 2013 and 2014. As chief of department,Banks oversaw all patrol and specialty units. His brother,David C. Banks,has been appointed as New York City Schools Chancellor.
Rafael Piñeiro is the former First Deputy Commissioner of the New York City Police Department (NYPD) and at that time the highest ranking Hispanic American member of the NYPD. In November 2013,he was rumored to be on Mayor-elect Bill de Blasio's short list to replace Ray Kelly as NYPD Commissioner.
Carlos M. Gomez is a former Chief of Department of the New York City Police Department. A native of Cuba who emigrated to the United States as a young boy with his father,Gomez grew up in the New York City borough of Queens. He was designated Chief of Department of the NYPD on September 16,2016. The Chief of Department is the highest uniformed position,and Gomez was the 39th person to hold this post becoming the highest ranking Hispanic officer in the department.
Dermot Francis Shea is an American police officer who was the 44th New York City Police Commissioner. He assumed the position on December 1,2019,and was sworn in by Mayor Bill de Blasio in a public ceremony on December 2.
Rodney K. Harrison is an American police officer and administrator and currently serves as the Police Commissioner of the Suffolk County Police Department. He previously served in the New York City Police Department where he achieved every rank from police officer to the highest uniform rank,Chief of Department.
Fausto B. Pichardo is a Dominican American police officer and administrator,and is the former Chief of Patrol Bureau in the NYPD. In this capacity he oversees some 22,000 uniformed police officers in New York City and is the first Dominican American to reach his position.
Juanita N. Holmes is an American police officer and administrator who is the Commissioner of the New York City Department of Probation. Prior to that role,Holmes was the Chief of the Training Bureau in the NYPD. Before the appointment of Keechant Sewell as New York City Police Commissioner on January 1,2022,Holmes was the highest-ranking female in the NYPD.
Francis Xavier Reagan is a fictional character from the TV series Blue Bloods portrayed by former Magnum,P.I. star Tom Selleck. In the series,Reagan is the New York City Police Commissioner,the son of a former Commissioner,and the patriarch of a family of police officers and others involved in aspects of the city's criminal justice system. Selleck's performance in the role has been critically praised,but the character has been criticized by some for presenting an overly positive view of law enforcement administration.
The Mounted Unit is part of the Special Operations Bureau of the New York City Police Department (NYPD) and is one of the largest mounted police units in the United States. The Mounted Unit,referred to as "10 foot cops",is used as a crime deterrent and often deployed for crowd control at demonstrations,protests,concerts,sporting events,and parades throughout four of New York's five boroughs. Staten Island does not have a mounted unit troop.
Michael Joseph Codd was an American law enforcement officer who served as New York City Police Commissioner from 1974 to 1977.
Tania Kinsella is an American police officer and First Deputy Commissioner of the New York City Police Department appointed in July 2023 by Mayor Eric Adams. Kinsella previously served as executive officer of the Office of the Chief of Patrol,where she was promoted to deputy chief.
Promoted to Sergeant - 1987
Promoted to Lieutenant - 1989
Promoted to Captain - 1992
Promoted to Deputy Inspector - 1994
Promoted to Inspector - 1998
Promoted to Deputy Chief - 2003
Promoted to Assistant Chief - 2014
Promoted to Chief of Patrol - 2016
Chief of Department 2018