Law enforcement in New York

Law enforcement in New York State is the responsibility of a very large number of law enforcement agencies. Law enforcement is conducted by police departments and or peace officers agencies, fire departments, sections of other government departments, educational institutions, private companies, and charities at federal, state, county, city, town, and occasionally village levels.

Types of law enforcement officers

Members of city law enforcement agencies receive their powers and privileges from the state Criminal Procedure Law in one of three ways:

  • As Police Officers, under Article 2, §1.20,
  • As Peace Officers, under Article 2, §2.10, sub 25
  • As Special Patrolmen, under Article 2, §2.10 sub 27

Firearms

Designation as a special patrolman is unique to New York City, and is granted by the Commissioner of the NYPD under section 14-106 of the New York City Administrative Code in conjunction with the New York State Criminal Procedure Law Article 2 Section 2.10 Sub 27, and are governed by protocols of Chapter 11 Title 38 of the Rules of the City of New York. This designation provides non commissioned private sector Special Patrolmen Limited powers and privileges as peace officers while on-duty only, with five commissioned exceptions retaining their authority off-duty, which are - school safety officers, parking control specialists, taxi and limousine inspectors, urban park rangers and evidence and property control specialists.

The authorization to carry a firearm as a peace officer comes from the New York State Penal, and Criminal Procedure Law but in some cases peace officers are not permitted the use of firearms by their employers. Some agencies permit their peace officers to carry a firearm through their employment. Agencies that allow their peace officers to carry a firearm through their employment are MTA Bridges and Tunnels, New York City Department of Correction, New York State Department of Corrections and Community Supervision and New York State Court Officers. Peace Officers that are permitted to carry a firearm by New York State law. However, are unauthorized by their employers are the following Roosevelt Island Public Safety Department, New York City Department of Health and Hospitals Police, New York City Department of Homeless Services Police, City University of New York Public Safety Department, New York City Parks Enforcement Patrol. Some public safety agencies allow their Officer's to carry a firearm on duty only and with the permission and licensing from the NYPD Pistol Licensing Section like, Co-op City Department of Public Safety, Sea Gate Police Department, Hunts Point Department of Public Safety, Spring Creek Towers Public Safety,

Equipment

The equipment carried by peace officers depends on their duties and their agency's discretion. Most uniformed peace officers carry a baton, can of pepper spray, pair of handcuffs, a whistle, a flashlight, and a portable radio. In addition, certain agencies allow their officers to carry other equipment, such as firearms and tasers. Agencies can allow/ban certain equipment carried by officers. For example, NYPD Auxiliary Police officers are only equipped with a baton, handcuffs, flashlight, and whistle, while NYPD School Safety Agents only carry handcuffs, a flashlight, and a whistle.

Uniform

Uniforms worn by peace officers differ from agency to agency. Most peace officers wear a uniform that has a dark blue shirt and dark blue pants with black boots or shoes. Another popular uniform worn by officers has a light blue shirt with dark blue pants with black boots or shoes. However, there are other colors and types of uniforms worn by officers, including grey, green, and black shirts and grey, green, and black pants. Also, most officers wear a hat when on duty. The hats worn by officers differ in shape, size, type, brand, and color, ranging from a traditional eight-point cap to stetsons to a baseball style cap. In addition, officers in certain specialized units in departments may wear a different style uniform compared to the uniform worn by patrol officers. A major piece of the peace officer uniform is the badge, which is usually worn on the left or right chest of the shirt or jacket. The shape and color of badges differ between rank and department. For example, a police officers wear a shield shaped badge in silver, and other rank officers have different shape and color badges. Sergeants and above have gold badges with each rank having a different shape badge, and detectives wear an almost round badge.

Training

The amount and type of training given to peace officers differs between agencies. The requirement of training for police officers is 2000 hours as defined by New York State law, the requirement for full-time peace officers is 100 hours of training, and the requirement for part-time peace officers is a minimum of 10 hours of training.[1][2] However, each agency can give their officers as much training as they want as long as it meets the minimum requirement. For example, NYPD Auxiliary Police Officers go through 54 hours of training, exceeding the minimum requirement of 10 hours of training for part-time peace officers, and MTA Bridges and Tunnels Officers go through more than 500 hours of training, exceeding the minimum requirement of 100 hours of training for full-time peace officers. All training courses for peace officers include training in criminal law, police science, powers they have, what they can and can't do, some physical training, arrest procedures, how to properly make arrests, and how to properly use their equipment. Peace Officers who are armed must be trained and licensed with their firearm before they can carry it, and must re-qualify yearly.

See also

References

  1. ↑ Paterson Vetoes Bills Boosting Peace Officer Ranks; Cites Training
  2. ↑ Basic Course for Police Archived 2010-12-31 at the Wayback Machine.
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