New Jersey Transit Police Department

Last updated
New Jersey Transit Police Department
Common nameNew Jersey Transit Police
AbbreviationNJTPD
Agency overview
Formed1983
Employees300+
Jurisdictional structure
Operations jurisdiction New Jersey and New York, U.S.
Legal jurisdiction New Jersey and New York
General nature
Operational structure
Headquarters Newark, New Jersey, U.S.
Police Officers250+
Non Sworn Employees70+
Agency executive
  • Christopher Trucillo, Chief of Police
Parent agency New Jersey Transit
Website
New Jersey Transit Police

The New Jersey Transit Police Department (NJTPD) is a transit police agency of the New Jersey Transit Corporation in the state of New Jersey. As provided by NJS Title 27:25-15.1, New Jersey Transit Police Officers have "general authority, without limitation, to exercise police powers and duties, as provided by law for police officers and law enforcement officers, in all criminal and traffic matters at all times throughout the State and, in addition, to enforce such rules and regulations as the NJ Transit Corporation shall adopt and deem appropriate."

Contents

The primary focus of NJTPD is providing police services to the numerous bus depots, rail and light rail stations throughout New Jersey. The New Jersey Transit Police Department is the only transit police agency in the United States with statewide authority and jurisdiction.

History

The NJ Transit Police Department was created on January 1, 1983, and it evolved as a result of the passage of the Public Transportation Act of 1979 and subsequent legislation on the state and federal levels. At that time, the original complement included thirty-nine Commissioned Rail Police Officers. On January 12, 1990, NJS 27:25-15.1 was enacted into law, and it established the New Jersey Transit Police Department as a sworn law enforcement agency with the "general authority, without limitation, to exercise police powers and duties, as provided for police officers and law enforcement officers, in all criminal and traffic matters at all times throughout the State..." The authorized strength of the Department includes 250+ sworn officers and 70+ non-sworn members (which include Fare Enforcement Officers) serving the more than 500,000 commuters who use the NJ Transit system daily. In addition to NJT's rail and bus network, the New Jersey Transit Police is responsible for policing NJT's Hudson-Bergen Light Rail, Newark Light Rail, and River Line systems.[ citation needed ]

Districts

The New Jersey Transit Police Department has its headquarters located at One Penn Plaza East in Newark. However, the department has seven different districts to provide coverage to New Jersey Transit's extensive system of railways and bus terminals.

District 1:

District 2:

District 3:

District 4:

District 5:

District 6:

District 7:

Organization and operations

Each of the regional commands provide different police services for their geographical area they cover, the different divisions within the department can be categorized as the following,

Rank structure

The NJTPD has the following rank structure, in descending order:

TitleInsigniaUniform Shirt Color
Chief
4 Gold Stars.svg
White
Deputy Chief
2 Gold Stars.svg
White
Inspector
Colonel Gold-vector.svg
White
Captain
Captain insignia gold.svg
White
Lieutenant
US-OF1B.svg
White
Sergeant
Army-USA-OR-05.svg
LAPD Navy
Detective / Police Officer
LAPD Navy

Counter-terrorism

New Jersey Transit Police K-9 Officer and Lieutenant at Hoboken Terminal. NJTPD K-9 and Lieutenant.jpg
New Jersey Transit Police K-9 Officer and Lieutenant at Hoboken Terminal.

One of the primary missions of the New Jersey Transit Police Department is the prevention of terrorism on all of New Jersey Transit's trains and buses. This is especially relevant since the 2004 terrorist attacks of the transit system in Madrid, Spain.[ citation needed ]

After September 11, 2001, the Essex County, New Jersey Sheriff's Office had a tenfold increase in requests for bomb detection. This caused a problem for New Jersey Transit, according to the agency's then police chief, Mary F. Rabadeau. At Penn Station in Newark, the transit authority had been dependent on the Essex County Sheriff's bomb squad to respond to every bomb threat or suspicious parcel. That disrupted the station, sometimes for hours, having an immense impact on transportation in the area, because the station is host to hundreds of daily Amtrak and New Jersey Transit trains, plus two rapid transit lines and intercity and local buses. The best resource the agency could provide with the most apparent and immediate impact was canine bomb-detection teams. After interviewing people at other agencies that had their own canine bomb-detection squads, New Jersey Transit chose the Essex County, New Jersey Sheriff's Department to train the Transit Police on New Jersey Transit property—on trains and buses and in stations and other facilities where the teams would be working. The program was fairly inexpensive, using dogs that had washed out of seeing-eye training but were calm and obedient, which were fine for bomb detection. New Jersey Transit customized three road vehicles so that the teams could operate statewide, presenting themselves without notice. By patrolling Penn Station, the teams have "hardened it as a target and are welcomed by passengers, said Rabadeau". Because a large percentage of bomb alerts turn out to be false, the fast response minimizes disruption to the flow of trains and passengers. The teams also give demonstrations at schools and terminals and provide assistance to other agencies. [1]

During his tenure, former Governor James McGreevy helped dramatically expand the counter-terrorism capabilities of the New Jersey Transit Police. The governor allowed the purchase of a Police Mobile Command Vehicle, which is a 40-foot (12 m) transit bus converted into a mobile response unit for the New Jersey Transit Police Department. The vehicle contains outside phone lines, a fax machine, portable computers and printers, and an on-board radio system with several frequency bands to communicate with other law-enforcement agencies, as well as other regional transit agencies. The following measures were also enacted: [2]

Uniform and equipment

The New Jersey Transit Police uniform is a traditional dark blue uniform, LAPD Navy in color, similar to the uniforms of the NYPD, Newark Police Department, Boston Police Department, Baltimore City Police Department, and numerous other northeast police departments.

Officers in Special Operations wear a B.D.U. uniform and tactical outer vest. Patrol Officers wear a traditional police uniform with leather duty gear.

All sworn Police Officers are issued the Axon Body 2 body-worn camera for use while in uniform on patrol.

The standard issue firearm for New Jersey Transit Police is the Sig Sauer P320 chambered in 9mm. Transit Police also utilize the Heckler and Koch UMP 40 submachine gun, Remington 870 Police Magnum shotgun, and Colt M4 Police Carbine rifle. The SIG MCX VIRTUS in the SBR configuration has also been seen issued as of early 2020. Department snipers assigned to the Emergency Service Unit utilize the Remington 700 Sniper rifle.

Vehicles

New Jersey Transit Police Dodge Durango Unit NJ Transit Police Dodge Durango 318.jpg
New Jersey Transit Police Dodge Durango Unit

New Jersey Transit Police utilize several different models of vehicles in their fleet. Among the vehicles, referred to as an "RMP" (Radio Motor Patrol), are the Chevrolet Caprice, Ford Explorer, Ford Taurus, Chevrolet Tahoe, Ford Expedition, Ford F-150 and the Chevrolet Suburban. Transit Police officers also ride the buses and railways to provide more direct policing. In addition, NJTPD has several mobile command centers and mobile processing vehicles at strategic locations. In 2011, the agency received a Pierce Rescue/Pumper truck, known as ESU 7 (197), which is capable of going off-road (Hi-Rail) and onto the rails where needed and is capable of extinguishing fires. It has a 1500 gpm pump, 350 gallon water tank, and 30 gallon foam tank. The Emergency Service Unit operates a number of heavy duty rescue type trucks. [5] [6]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">New York City Transit Police</span> Former law enforcement agency in New York City

The New York City Transit Police Department was a law enforcement agency in New York City that existed from 1953 to 1995, and is currently part of the NYPD. The roots of this organization go back to 1936 when Mayor Fiorello H. La Guardia authorized the hiring of special patrolmen for the New York City Subway. These patrolmen eventually became officers of the Transit Police. In 1949, the department was officially divorced from the New York City Police Department, but was eventually fully re-integrated in 1995 as the Transit Bureau of the New York City Police Department by New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">NJ Transit</span> Public transportation system

New Jersey Transit Corporation, branded as NJ Transit or NJTransit and often shortened to NJT, is a state-owned public transportation system that serves the U.S. state of New Jersey and portions of the state of New York and Pennsylvania. It operates bus, light rail, and commuter rail services throughout the state, connecting to major commercial and employment centers both within the state and in its two adjacent major cities, New York City and Philadelphia. In 2022, the system had a ridership of 175,960,600.

Railroad police or railway police are people responsible for the protection of railroad properties, facilities, revenue, equipment, and personnel, as well as carried passengers and cargo. Railroad police may also patrol public rail transit systems.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Transit police</span> Law enforcement personnel employed by a transit agency

Transit police are specialized police agencies employed either by a common carrier, such as a transit district, railway, railroad, bus line, or another mass transit provider or municipality, county, district, or state.

Special police usually describes a police force or unit within a police force whose duties and responsibilities are significantly different from other forces in the same country or from other police in the same force, although there is no consistent international definition. A special constable, in most cases, is not a member of a special police force (SPF); in countries in the Commonwealth of Nations and often elsewhere, a special constable is a voluntary or part-time member of a national or local police force or a person involved in law enforcement who is not a police officer but has some of the powers of a police officer.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">New York City Police Department Auxiliary Police</span> Auxiliary policin New York City

The New York City Police Department Auxiliary Police is a volunteer reserve police force which is a subdivision of the Patrol Services Bureau of the New York City Police Department. Auxiliary Police Officers assist the NYPD with uniformed patrols, providing traffic control, crowd control, and other services during major events.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Metropolitan Transportation Authority Police Department</span>

The Metropolitan Transportation Authority Police Department (MTAPD) is the police agency of New York's Metropolitan Transportation Authority

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Transit Enforcement Unit</span> Special constabulary in Ontario, Canada

The Transit Enforcement Unit is a special constabulary maintained by the Toronto Transit Commission (TTC) in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. First established in 1997, the Unit consists of special constables and provincial offences officers, referred to internally as transit fare inspectors. The unit's special constables have the full powers of a police power on or in relation to TTC property, and, as of 2023, the unit employs 101 special constables out of an authorized complement of 145.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Wisconsin State Patrol</span>

The Wisconsin State Patrol is the state patrol for the state of Wisconsin and is a division of the Wisconsin Department of Transportation. The Wisconsin State Patrol enforces traffic and criminal laws, oversees the motor carrier safety and weight facilities (SWEFs), inspects and regulates motor carriers, school buses and ambulances, and assists local law enforcement agencies with traffic safety, civil disturbances and disasters.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Maryland State Police</span> Official state police force of the U.S. state of Maryland

The Maryland State Police (MSP), officially the Maryland Department of State Police (MDSP), is the official state police force of the U.S. state of Maryland. The Maryland State Police is headquartered at 1201 Reisterstown Road in the Pikesville CDP in unincorporated Baltimore County.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Port Authority of New York and New Jersey Police Department</span> Law enforcement agency in New York and New Jersey

The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey Police Department, or Port Authority Police Department (PAPD), is a law enforcement agency in New York and New Jersey, the duties of which are to protect and to enforce state and city laws at all the facilities, owned or operated by the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey (PANYNJ), the bi-state agency running airports, seaports, and many bridges and tunnels within the Port of New York and New Jersey. Additionally, the PAPD is responsible for other PANYNJ properties including three bus terminals, the World Trade Center in Lower Manhattan, and the PATH train system. The PAPD is the largest transit-related police force in the United States.

In American law enforcement, the Emergency Service Unit, or ESU, is a multi-faceted element within a law enforcement agency’s Special Operations Command.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Metro Transit Police Department</span>

The Metro Transit Police Department (MTPD) is the transit police agency of the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA), created by the WMATA Compact on June 4, 1976.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Amtrak Police Department</span> Private railroad police department of Amtrak

The Amtrak Police Department (APD) is a quasi-federal railroad police department and the law enforcement agency of Amtrak, the government-owned passenger train system in the United States. It is headquartered at Union Station in Washington, D.C., and as of 2023 has a force of 431 sworn police officers, most of whom are stationed within the Northeast Corridor, Amtrak's busiest route.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Airport police</span>

Airport police units are a security police agency assigned to perform law enforcement functions at airports. They provide a wide range of law enforcement duties and responsibilities including patrol, investigation, traffic flow management, and control and response to airport emergencies. Airport police provide enhanced safety to airport employees, and to passengers. Officers can be found at security gates, throughout the terminal area, and around the airport’s perimeter.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Organization of the New York City Police Department</span> Law enforcement command structure

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 Utah Transit Authority Police Public Safety Department is the law enforcement arm of the Utah Transit Authority (UTA) transit district in northern Utah, United States, with headquarters in Murray. UTA is a public transit district government agency made up of the participating municipalities, counties, and the State of Utah. The UTA Police Department is responsible for law enforcement services, crime investigations, crime prevention, and public safety throughout the light rail, commuter rail and bus transit systems, within the UTA transit district.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Visible Intermodal Prevention and Response team</span>

A Visible Intermodal Prevention and Response team, sometimes Visible Intermodal Protection and Response (VIPR) is a Transportation Security Administration program. Various government sources have differing descriptions of VIPR's exact mission. It is specifically authorized by 6 U.S.C. § 1112 which says that the program is to "augment the security of any mode of transportation at any location within the United States". Authority for the program is under the Secretary of Homeland Security. The program falls under TSA's Office of Law Enforcement/Federal Air Marshal Service. TSA OLE/FAMS shares responsibility for the program with the Office of Security Operations and Transportation Sector Network Management.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rutgers University Police Department</span>

The Rutgers University Police Department (RUPD) is a campus police agency responsible for law enforcement on the New Brunswick, Newark, and Camden campuses of Rutgers University. RUPD is a department of the university's Division of Administration and Public Safety, overseen by Rutgers Institutional Planning and Operations (IP&O) which also houses Rutgers University Emergency Services (RUES) which is responsible for Emergency Medical Services and emergency management on the campus as well as responding to fire and hazardous materials emergencies in coordination with local first responders. The Division of Administration and Public Safety also oversees the campus bus system, the Rutgers Golf Course, and other services on campus.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cocoa Police Department</span> City law enforcement agency in Cocoa, Florida

The Cocoa Police Department (CPD) is the primary law enforcement agency for the city of Cocoa, Florida, and is accredited through the state of Florida. The department services approximately 19,000 residents within 15.41 sq miles of the municipality. The department also serves roughly 2,500 daily non-residents who commute to the municipality for employment.

References

  1. Homelandsecurity.org, July 2002, Accessed August 29, 2007.
  2. New Jersey State Legislature, March 2003, Accessed August 29, 2007.
  3. NJTPD K9 Unit Patch
  4. New Jersey State Legislature, March 2003, Accessed August 29, 2007.
  5. NJTPD Minibus
  6. NJTPD Minibus