New York State Police

Last updated
New York State Police
Patch of the New York State Police.png
Patch
Seal of the New York State Police.svg
Seal
Badge of the New York State Police.png
Shield of New York State Police
Flag of New York.svg
Flag of the State of New York
Common nameNew York State Troopers
AbbreviationNYSP
MottoExcellence Through Knowledge
Agency overview
FormedApril 11, 1917;107 years ago (1917-04-11)
Employees5,711 (as of 2018) [1]
Annual budget$926,123,000 (2018)
Jurisdictional structure
Operations jurisdictionNew York, U.S.
NYSP - Troop Map.jpg
Troops of the New York State Police
Size54,556 sq mi (141,300 km2)
Population19.4 million
Legal jurisdictionState of New York
Governing body New York State Executive Department
General nature
Operational structure
HeadquartersBuilding 22 W. Averell Harriman State Office Building Campus
Albany, New York, United States
Troopers5,009 [2]
Non-sworn members711
Agency executive
Facilities
Troops11
Website
Official Site

The New York State Police (NYSP) is the state police of the U.S. state of New York; it is part of the New York State Executive Department and employs over 5,000 sworn state troopers and 711 non-sworn members.

Contents

The New York State Police are responsible for patrolling state highways, rural communities, and providing law enforcement services across the state.

History

George Fletcher Chandler, the first Superintendent of the New York State Police Maj. Geo. F. Chandler.jpg
George Fletcher Chandler, the first Superintendent of the New York State Police

Like most U.S. states, New York did not establish a state police force until the early twentieth century. In part this reflected the pattern of settlement across a wide frontier. A number of proposals to create such a force during the early 1900s, but faced considerable opposition from trade union interests. They feared the police would be used against union organizing, as was happening in several other states. [3]

Following the 1913 murder of Sam Howell, a construction foreman in Westchester County, and failure of the local police to arrest suspects he had named before his death, the New York State Legislature passed a bill to establish a state police force. The New York State Police was officially established on April 11, 1917.

The division's first superintendent was George Fletcher Chandler, who was appointed by Governor Charles S. Whitman. Chandler is credited with much of the division's early organization and development. Chandler coined the term "New York State Troopers." He was an early advocate of officers carrying their weapons exposed on a belt, which was not common practice at the time.[ citation needed ]

On January 1, 1980, the Long Island State Parkway Police merged with the state police; this resulted in the official establishment of Troop L. In October 1997, the New York State Capital Police was consolidated and absorbed into the state police.

Since February 1994, the agency has accepted DNA evidence for forensic investigation and analysis. The New York State Police Forensic Investigation Center (FIC) opened in November 1996. The Crime Laboratory performs DNA analysis for state investigations and for local law enforcement. It includes a new DNA Data Bank Section that compiles DNA records from violent felons sentenced to prison in New York State. These records can be searched and compared by computer to other evidence collected in unsolved crimes. [4]

In December 2019, Governor Andrew Cuomo announced that the New York State Park Police was to be merged with the New York State Police. The merger was expected to take about six months. [5] Cuomo resigned in August 2021, and by January 2022, New York officials announced that the two police forces would remain separate. [6]

Since the establishment of the New York State Police, 140 troopers have died while on duty. [7]

Structure and organization

New York State Police building, Guilderland, New York New York State Police, Guilderland, New York.jpg
New York State Police building, Guilderland, New York
NY State Police unit at the scene of a motor vehicle accident, Delaware County, New York NY-SP Chevy Tahoe on MVA.jpg
NY State Police unit at the scene of a motor vehicle accident, Delaware County, New York

The NYSP divides New York state geographically into eleven "Troops," each comprising a specific geographic area, usually several counties. Each is supervised by a "Troop Commander" usually of the rank of Major. [8] NYSP Troops cover the following counties and regions as listed:

TroopRegion(s) CoveredCounties Covered
A Buffalo Niagara Region
Eastern Great Lakes Region
Finger Lakes
Genesee Valley
Western New York
Western Southern Tier 		Allegany, Cattaraugus, Chautauqua, Erie, Genesee, Niagara, Orleans, Wyoming'
B Adirondack Mountains
Champlain Valley
North Country
Thousand Islands 		Clinton, Essex, Franklin, Upper Hamilton, St. Lawrence
C Catskill Mountains
Central New York Region
Eastern Southern Tier
Finger Lakes
Mohawk Valley region
Penn-York Valley 		Broome, Chenango, Cortland, Delaware, Otsego, Tioga, Tompkins
DCentral New York
Mohawk Valley region
North Country
Tug Hill 		Herkimer, Jefferson, Lewis, Madison, Oneida, Onondaga, Oswego
ECentral Southern Tier
Eastern Great Lakes Region
Finger Lakes
Genesee Valley
Western New York		 Cayuga, Chemung, Livingston, Monroe, Ontario, Schuyler, Seneca, Steuben, Wayne, Yates
FCatskill Mountains
Hudson Valley (west) and Highlands
New York metropolitan area 		Greene, Orange, Rockland, Sullivan, Ulster
GAdirondack Mountains
Capital District 		Albany, Fulton, Lower Hamilton, Montgomery, Rensselaer, Saratoga, Schenectady, Schoharie, Warren, Washington
KHudson Valley (east) and Highlands
New York metropolitan area		 Columbia, Dutchess, Putnam, Westchester
L Long Island
New York metropolitan area		 Nassau, Suffolk
NYCLong Island
New York City
New York metropolitan area		New York City (Bronx, Kings (Brooklyn), New York (Manhattan), Richmond (Staten Island), Queens)
TCapital District
Catskills
Central New York
Finger Lakes
Hudson Valley (west)
New York metropolitan area
Western New York		 New York State Thruway, (Interstate 84, 1991–2010) [9] [notes 1]

Each Troop encompasses 2–4 "Zones" which are referred to simply by a Zone number. There are up to several "sub-stations" located within each zone.

Ranks

Rank Superintendent First Deputy SuperintendentDeputy Superintendent (Colonel)Assistant Deputy Superintendent (Lieutenant Colonel)Staff Inspector Major Captain Lieutenant Technical Lieutenant Chief Technical SergeantStaff SergeantFirst SergeantSenior Investigator (plainclothes)Zone SergeantSergeant Station CommanderTechnical Sergeant Sergeant Investigator (plainclothes) Trooper
Insignia US-O8 insignia.svg US-O7 insignia.svg Colonel Silver.png US-O5 insignia.svg Colonel Gold-vector.svg US-O4 insignia.svg US-O3 insignia.svg US-O2 insignia.svg US-OF1B.svg NYSP Chief Technical Sergeant Stripes.png NYSP Staff Sergeant Stripes.png NYSP - 1st Sergeant Stripes.png No insignia NYSP Zone Sergeant Stripes.png NYSP Sergeant Station Commander Stripes.png NYSP Technical Sergeant Stripes.png NYSP Sergeant Stripes.png No insignia

Uniforms

Trooper uniforms are made of grey wool, with the exception of the Gore-Tex jacket. Prior to 1958, uniforms (shirts, jackets and britches) were woven of equal parts white fiber and black fiber to symbolize the impartiality of justice.[ citation needed ] The NYSP do not wear a badge on their uniform shirts. [10] [ self-published source? ]

Equipment

As of January 2018, New York State Troopers are issued the Glock 21 Gen 4 .45 ACP semiautomatic pistol as their service pistol. New York State Troopers previously used the Glock 37 .45 GAP semiautomatic pistol from 2007 to 2018. The New York State Police used the Glock 17 9mm semiautomatic pistol from 1990 to 2007, the Glock 17 replaced the Smith & Wesson Model 686 (NYSP issued the Model 681). [11]

The New York State Police is one of only five state police agencies in the United States that, as of 2019, does not equip its state police vehicles with dashboard cameras. New York State Troopers starting on April 5, 2021 have started receiving body-worn cameras. [12]

Aviation

New York State Police helicopter parked at a helipad in New York City 2020 StatePoliceHelicopter-nyc-2020.png
New York State Police helicopter parked at a helipad in New York City 2020

The New York State Police has three Bell 407 single engine utility helicopters, six Bell 430 twin engine helicopters, three Bell UH-1 “HUEY 2” Single engine utility helicopters and one UH-1H “HUEY 1” Single engine utility helicopter. Their other aircraft are two Cessna 206 Stationair Single engine airplanes, one Cessna 172 Single engine airplane, one Partenavia 68 Twin engine observation airplane, one Sikorsky S-76 (used for transporting the governor), and two Beech King Air twin engine turboprop airplanes. All of these aircraft operate under the call sign “GrayRider”. [13]

See also

Notes

  1. ↑ NYSP Troop T was responsible for protecting Interstate 84 from 1991 to 2010 because the New York State Thruway Authority (NYSTA) maintained Interstate 84. However, due to the transfer of maintenance from NYSTA back to the NYSDOT in October 2010, NYSP Troop T no longer patrols Interstate 84 as patrolling duties were reassigned to Troop F and Troop K.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Connecticut State Police</span> Law enforcement agency

The Connecticut State Police (CSP) is the state police and highway patrol of the U.S. state of Connecticut, responsible for statewide traffic regulation and law enforcement, especially in areas not served by municipal police. It is a division of the Connecticut Department of Emergency Services and Public Protection. The CSP currently has about 875 troopers as of June 28, 2022 and is headquartered in Middletown, Connecticut. The Connecticut State Police is also responsible for protecting the Governor of Connecticut, Lieutenant Governor of Connecticut, and their families.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Thomas A. Constantine</span>

Thomas A. Constantine served as the 6th Administrator of the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) from March 1994 to July 1999.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pennsylvania State Police</span> Statewide law enforcement agency of Pennsylvania

The Pennsylvania State Police (PSP) is the state police agency of the U.S. state of Pennsylvania, responsible for statewide law enforcement. The Pennsylvania State Police is a full service law enforcement agency which handles both traffic and criminal law enforcement. The Pennsylvania State Police was founded in 1905 by order of Governor Samuel Pennypacker, by signing Senate Bill 278 on May 2, 1905. The bill was signed in response to the Great Anthracite Strike of 1902. Leading up to the Anthracite Strike, private police forces were used by mine and mill owners to stop worker strikes. The inability or refusal of local police or sheriffs' offices to enforce the law directly influenced the signing of Bill 278. The Anthracite Strike lasted from May 15 to October 23, 1902, and was ended with the help of Theodore Roosevelt, the sitting president at the time.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">West Virginia State Police</span> Law enforcement agency

The West Virginia State Police (WVSP) is a state law enforcement agency in the United States that provides police services to the residents of West Virginia. It is the fourth-oldest state police agency in the US. The WVSP was disbanded due to their involvement in quelling of the uprisings on behalf of the coal and mine companies which were surrounding the concept of organized labor in the coal and mine industries. The WVSP was then reorganized as the Department of Public Safety in the second extraordinary session of the West Virginia Legislature on June 19, 1919, as a result of their involvement.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">New Jersey State Police</span> State law enforcement agency of New Jersey

The New Jersey State Police (NJSP) is the official state police force of the U.S. state of New Jersey. It is a general-powers police agency with statewide jurisdiction, designated by troop sectors.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Delaware State Police</span> Police force of Delaware, U.S.

The Delaware State Police (DSP) is a division of the Delaware Department of Public Safety and Homeland Security and is responsible for traffic regulation and law enforcement across the US State of Delaware, especially in areas underserved by local police departments. The DSP is headquartered in the capital Dover, Delaware.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Wisconsin State Patrol</span> State Police Force for the State of Wisconsin

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">Kansas Highway Patrol</span> Traffic police and de facto state police in the US state of Kansas

The Kansas Highway Patrol (KHP) is the highway patrol agency for the U.S. state of Kansas. While the patrol's primary focus is maintaining the safety of State, Federal and Interstate highways, it also is charged with providing support for county agencies when tactical, aerial or other specialized services are needed. The Kansas Highway Patrol has statewide jurisdiction, and frequently assists other agencies with emergency calls for service.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Florida Highway Patrol</span> Law enforcement agency in Florida, United States

The Florida Highway Patrol (FHP) is a division of the Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles. It is Florida's highway patrol and is the primary law enforcement agency charged with investigating traffic crashes and criminal laws on the state's highways.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Illinois State Police</span> State police force of Illinois, US

The Illinois State Police (ISP) is the state police agency of the U.S. state of Illinois. The Illinois State Police is responsible for traffic safety on more than 300,000 miles of total roadway, including 2,185 miles of interstate highways and 15,969 miles of state highways. Currently, almost 3,000 sworn and civilian personnel make up the Illinois State Police.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nebraska State Patrol</span> Law enforcement agency in Nebraska, USA

The Nebraska State Patrol is Nebraska's only statewide full-service law enforcement agency. Serving Nebraska since 1937, State Patrol troopers perform a wide variety of duties. Those include working with communities to improve public safety, enforcing traffic laws and drug laws, investigating crimes, and enforcing the laws and regulations pertaining to motor carriers.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Louisiana State Police</span> Law Enforcement Agency

The Louisiana State Police is the state police agency of Louisiana, which has jurisdiction anywhere in the state, headquartered in Baton Rouge. It falls under the authority of the Louisiana Department of Public Safety & Corrections. It is officially known in that organization as the Office of State Police.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Virginia State Police</span> State police force for Virginia, US

The Virginia State Police, officially the Virginia Department of State Police, conceived in 1919 and established in 1932, is the state police force for the U.S. state of Virginia. The agency originated out of the Virginia Department of Motor Vehicles as an inspector and enforcer of highway laws. It is currently one of fourteen agencies within the Cabinet Secretariat of Public Safety. On January 18, 2018, Gary T. Settle was sworn in as Superintendent of the Virginia State Police. Colonel Settle replaced retiring Colonel W. Steven Flaherty, who had served since 2003.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kentucky State Police</span> Law enforcement agency

The Kentucky State Police (KSP) is a department of the Kentucky Justice and Public Safety Cabinet, and the official State Police force of the Commonwealth of Kentucky, responsible for statewide law enforcement. The department was founded in 1948 and replaced the Kentucky Highway Patrol. The department's sworn personnel hold the title State Trooper, and its nickname is The Thin Gray Line.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Texas Highway Patrol</span> U.S. state law enforcement agency

The Texas Highway Patrol is a division of the Texas Department of Public Safety and is the largest state-level law enforcement agency in the U.S. state of Texas. The patrol's primary duties are enforcement of state traffic laws and commercial vehicle regulation, but it is a fully empowered police agency with authority to enforce criminal law anywhere in the state. Also, they respond to emergencies on Texas’s highways. Highway patrol troopers are also responsible for patrolling the state Capitol Complex in Austin and providing security to the governor. The current Chief is Lieutenant Colonel Dwight Mathis.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Georgia State Patrol</span> Highway patrol agency for Georgia, United States

The Georgia State Patrol (GSP) was established in March 1937 in the U.S. state of Georgia and is a division of the Georgia Department of Public Safety. It is the primary state patrol agency for the U.S. state of Georgia. Although focused primarily on the enforcement of traffic laws and investigation of traffic crashes, the Georgia State Patrol (GSP) supports the efforts of all public safety agencies to reduce criminal activity, apprehend those involved, and respond to natural and manmade disasters.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Indiana State Police</span> Statewide law enforcement agency for the U.S. state of Indiana

The Indiana State Police is the statewide law enforcement agency for the U.S. state of Indiana. Indiana was the 12th state to offer protection to its citizens with a state police force.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Missouri State Highway Patrol</span> Law enforcement agency

The Missouri State Highway Patrol(MSHP) is the highway patrol agency for Missouri and has jurisdiction all across the state. It is a division of the Missouri Department of Public Safety. Colonel Eric T. Olson has been serving as the 24th superintendent since March 15, 2019.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tennessee Highway Patrol</span> State Patrol organization for the U.S. state of Tennessee

The Tennessee Highway Patrol (THP) is the State Patrol organization for the U.S. state of Tennessee, responsible for enforcing all federal and state laws relating to traffic on the state's federal and state highways. The agency was created to protect the lives, property, and constitutional rights of people in Tennessee. The THP is a division of the Tennessee Department of Safety and Homeland Security.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Interstate 84 in New York</span> Segment of the eastern U.S. freeway in the state

Interstate 84 (I-84) is a part of the Interstate Highway System that runs from Dunmore, Pennsylvania, to Sturbridge, Massachusetts, in the eastern United States. In New York, I-84 extends 71.46 miles (115.00 km) from the Pennsylvania state line at Port Jervis to the Connecticut state line east of Brewster. As it heads east–west across the mid Hudson Valley, it goes over two mountain ranges and crosses the Hudson River at the Newburgh–Beacon Bridge.

References

  1. ↑ "NYS DOB: FY 2018 Executive Budget | Agency Appropriations | State Police, Division of". www.budget.ny.gov. Retrieved 2018-06-10.
  2. ↑ "208 troopers graduate from NY State Police Academy".
  3. ↑ Van de Water, Frederic Franklyn (1922). Grey Riders: The Story of the New York State Troopers. Putnam's Sons.
  4. ↑ , Troopers, NY
  5. ↑ Slattery, Denis (3 December 2019). "Gov. Cuomo says New York State Police will absorb State Park Police Officers in union-backed move". nydailynews.com.
  6. ↑ "Officials: New York State park police, troopers to stay separate". Newsday. 25 January 2022. Retrieved 2022-05-20.
  7. ↑ Down Memorial Page
  8. ↑ NYSP site http://www.troopers.ny.gov/Contact_Us/Troop_Information/
  9. ↑ Rife, Judy (October 11, 2010). "DOT takes over maintenance on I-84". Times Herald-Record. Middletown, NY. Retrieved October 13, 2010.
  10. ↑ Kidd, R. Spencer (2012). Uniforms of the U.S. State Police & Highway Patrols. lulu.com. p. 11. ISBN   978-1-4717-7729-5. OCLC   929822564.[ self-published source ]
  11. ↑ New York State Police to Purchase New Glock Pistol
  12. ↑ "N.Y. State Police lag behind agencies nationwide". Sentinel and Enterprise. Associated Press. 23 July 2019. Retrieved 19 September 2019.
  13. ↑ "Current Equipment". New York State Police. Retrieved 15 February 2019.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.