The New York City Police Department (NYPD), the largest police department in the United States, has primary responsibility for law enforcement and investigation within the five boroughs of New York City. It is considered to be the first "modern" style police department in the United States; when it was created in the 19th century, it was modeled after London's Metropolitan Police.
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.
The Compstat program, introduced under then-Commissioner Bill Bratton and Mayor Rudolph Guiliani in the 1990s, uses statistics about crime rates and arrests to evaluate police precincts and commands. As with many large metropolitan police forces, accusations of corruption and mismanagement have dogged the NYPD.
The size of the force has fluctuated, depending on crime rates, politics, and available funding. In June 2004, there were about 40,000 sworn officers plus several thousand support staff.
Organization
The NYPD is headed by the New York City Police Commissioner with the senior sworn officer being titled the Chief of Department. It is divided into 10 bureaus. Each is headed by a Bureau Chief, with the Detective Bureau being headed by the Chief of Detectives.
Ranks of the NYPD
- Sergeant: 3 blue chevrons
- Lieutenant: 1 gold bar
- Captain: 2 gold bars
- Deputy Inspector: gold oak leaf
- Inspector: gold eagle
- Deputy Chief: 1 gold star
- Assistant Chief: 2 gold stars
- Bureau Chief: 3 gold stars
- Chief of Department: 4 gold stars
- Police Commissioner: 5 gold stars on the badge
See also
External link