New York City Transit Police

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Established in 1935, the New York City Transit Police Department was responsible for the protection of New York City Subway lines for 60 years. It was made famous in several films including The Taking of Pelham One Two Three and Money Train. 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 Rudolph W. Giuliani. It is now largely incorporated into the New York City Police Department's Transportation Bureau. Headquarters for the NYPD Transit Bureau are located at 370 Jay Street in Brooklyn Heights.

One task of the Transit Police was its defense of the subway system from defacement. Graffiti was very prominent throughout the subway system by the mid-1980s and the city government took a hard line in response, though some saw it instead as a "social trend" and a sign of diversity. The Transit Police, and specifically a new unit called the Vandal Squad began to fine and arrest those painting graffiti. They also made a policy to remove any work of graffiti within 24 hours of its creation. By the end of the 1980s, the Transit Police had effectively solved the problem of graffiti in the subway system.

After the September 11, 2001 attacks, the NYPD Transit Bureau responsibilities broadened and became more obvious. The New York City Transit System, primarily the subway system was vulnerable to terrorist attacks. Afterwards the NYPD Transit Bureau implemented the "Random Bag Checks". Police Officers usually will set up a table in a station by a token booth. Then one of every five people will be chosen to show the contents of their bag or package. The program came under fire because some believed "Random Bag Checks" violated the people of their rights. Regardless, the "Random Bag Checks" are implemented at stations all across the subway system.

In November 2006, the NYPD Transit Bureau deployed the first K-9 troops devoted exclusively to the subways of New York City. Four German shepherds began work, with five more expected by mid-December. The unit is expected to grow to 27, bringing the total number of NYPD K-9s to 61, making it the largest K-9 unit in the country.

[edit] See also


This law enforcement-related article is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it.
In other languages