New York City Police Department

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.

History

Early years

The first law enforcement patrols began in New York (then New Amsterdam) in 1625. The first law enforcment officer was Johann Lampo.

Related Topics:
New Amsterdam - 1625 - Johann Lampo

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After New York became an English settlement (rather than a Dutch one), constables patrolled the streets and maintained order.

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In 1844, the governor of New York State gave the mayor permission to establish a police department. In July 1845, a police force of about 800 men began patrolling the streets. George Matsell was the first Chief of Police.

Related Topics:
1844 - Governor - New York State - Mayor - July - 1845 - George Matsell - Chief of Police

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Some believe that the term "cop" to refer to a police officer originated in New York City because of the copper shields patrolmen wore.

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Many New Yorkers associate the police department with the green lights that are found outside every station. It is believed that the green light originated with the Rattle Watch patrols who monitored the streets during the Dutch Era. These patrolmen carried lanterns with green glass slides in them, and placed them outside their station houses when they returned.

Related Topics:
Rattle Watch - Dutch Era

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Modern era

Difficulties

The economic downturn of the 1970s led to some extremely difficult times for the city. The Bronx, in particular, was plagued by arson, and an atmosphere of lawlessness permeated the city. In addition, there was a hiring freeze on all city departments, including the NYPD, from 1976 to 1980.

Related Topics:
Bronx - Arson

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This was followed by the crack epidemic of the late 1980s and early 1990s that caused the city's homicide rate to soar to an all-time high. Petty thefts associated with drug addiction were also increasingly common.

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On September 11, 2001, 23 NYPD officers were killed when the World Trade Center collapsed due to terrorist attacks. That was more lives lost than in any other year in the NYPD's history.

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Successes

In recent years, the NYPD has overseen a great reduction in the amount of crime in the city. While there are many theories on why the city's and the nation's crime rate has dropped so substantially (see legalized abortion and crime effect and crime prevention through environmental design for examples of alternate theories) many credit the NYPD's CompStat (computerized database of crime statistics) approach. COMPSTAT assists the department in understanding where most crimes occur, which allows them to dedicate extra resources to that area. Some also credit a dramatic change in approach to preventing crime begun by Mayor Rudolph Giuliani in the 1990s. Giuliani used the department to crack down on minor "quality of life" crimes such as turnstile jumping, squeegee men, panhandling, etc. He believed that a crackdown on these types of crime would give the police an opportunity to search more suspects, thereby taking guns and drugs off the street and contribute to the public perception that New York City was a lawful environment where crime was not tolerated. Supporters of this approach say that the reduced crime rate shows his approach to be correct, however others point to the nationwide reduction in crime over the same time period as evidence that demographic changes in the United States caused crime rates to drop, not NYPD specific approaches like COMPSTAT.

Related Topics:
Legalized abortion and crime effect - Crime prevention through environmental design - CompStat - Rudolph Giuliani - Turnstile jumping - Squeegee men - Panhandling

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Scandals and corruption

Throughout its history, the NYPD has occasionally been tainted by corruption. In 1971, legendary police officer Frank Serpico broke the Blue Wall of Silence and, along with other officers, testified before the Knapp Commission about the corruption he witnessed in the department. The Commission's findings led to sweeping changes within the department.

Related Topics:
1971 - Frank Serpico - Blue Wall of Silence - Knapp Commission

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In 1993, Mayor David Dinkins appointed the Mollen Commission, chaired by Milton Mollen, to investigate corruption in the department. The commission found that "Today's corruption is not the corruption of Knapp Commission days. Corruption then was largely a corruption of accommodation, of criminals and police officers giving and taking bribes, buying and selling protection. Corruption was, in its essence, consensual. Today's corruption is characterized by brutality, theft, abuse of authority and active police criminality."

Related Topics:
1993 - David Dinkins - Mollen Commission - Milton Mollen

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Corruption in the department is investigated by the Internal Affairs Bureau.

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In the late 1990s and early 2000s, corruption seemed to be less of a public concern than several instances of unnecessary or illegal use of force. Many of these incidents involved black victims, which led to allegations of racism within the department.

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On August 9, 1997, police officers in Brooklyn brutalized Abner Louima with a plunger in a precinct bathroom. Officer Justin Volpe, the apparent leader of the attack, pled guilty and received a sentence of 30 years.

Related Topics:
August 9 - 1997 - Brooklyn - Abner Louima - Justin Volpe

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On February 4, 1999, an undercover anti-street crime unit shot Amadou Bailo Diallo, an unarmed man, 19 times in the lobby of an apartment building. The shooting stemmed from a misunderstanding in which officers believed Diallo was reaching for a weapon (he was merely reaching for his wallet) while a member of the unit tripped and appeared to be shot as he fell down the stairs. As a result, the four officers involved in the shooting were acquitted of wrongdoing on February 25, 2000.

Related Topics:
February 4 - 1999 - Amadou Bailo Diallo - February 25 - 2000

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On March 16, 2000, undercover narcotics detectives shot Patrick Dorisman to death during a scuffle on Eighth Avenue in Manhattan. The detectives had approached Dorisman, an unarmed security guard, and asked to purchase drugs. He told the undercover officer that he did not sell drugs, but the persistance of the officer asking again, enraged him and a fight ensued, and he was killed with one shot by the officer in self-defense.

Related Topics:
March 16 - 2000 - Patrick Dorisman - Eighth Avenue - Manhattan

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On January 24, 2004, police in Bedford-Stuyvesant shot to death Timothy Stansbury, a 19-year-old black man whom they encountered on the roof of a housing project building. Stansbury was unarmed, and apparently startled Richard Neri, the officer who shot him.

Related Topics:
January 24 - 2004 - Bedford-Stuyvesant - Timothy Stansbury - Housing project - Richard Neri

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