New York City Department of Environmental Protection Police

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New York City Department of Environmental Protection Police

Established	1906
Jurisdiction	New York City Water Supply System
Sworn	Approx. 156 Officers
Chief	Mark Benedetto
Website	NYC DEP Website

The Department of Environmental Protection Police, also known as DEP Police, and formerly known as the Bureau of Water Supply Police and the Aqueduct Police, is a law enforcement agency in New York that's duties are to protect and preserve the New York City water supply system, the nation's largest single source water supply. The department has protected and preserved the water supply system for over 100 years.

1 History
2 Today
3 Departamental issues
4 See also
5 External links

[edit] History

The Bureau of Water Supply (BWS) Police was created through legislation enacted in 1906 known as the Water Supply Act. It was not until 1907 that the first provisional appointees were hired and assigned. On July 9, 1908, the first permanent police officers were appointed and assigned to the precincts in Peekskill, Garrison, Browns Station, and High Falls. The Bureau of Water Supply Police was the first police agency in upstate New York with a multiple county police jurisdiction.

In 1908, Rhinelander Waldo was appointed as Chief of the Board of the Aqueduct Police. At this time, there were approximately 60 men assigned to the force. After a few months of service, Rhinelander was appointed Fire Commissioner of the City of New York. He was succeeded by Captain Douglas I. McKay.

Captain McKay selected a number of qualified individuals from the civil service list with the intention of making them Aqueduct Police Sergeants. He created stringent requirements, including that all members must be qualified horseman, and have experience as an officer or non-commissioned officer in the United States Army or the National Guard (with a preference for Spanish-American War Veterans). Approximately two hundred men passed these rigid qualifications and were appointed as sergeants.

At this time, the newly formed Aqueduct Police, a force of 350 officers (300 of these being mounted units) were tasked with ensuring order in the unruly construction site work camps. The first Board of Water Supply Police Precinct was built in Spout Brook, approximately two miles from Peekskill, New York. Other Precincts were built shortly after, each being manned by five sergeants and thirty officers and horses.

In 1983, the Bureau of Water Supply became the Department of Environmental Protection and the New York State Legislature revised the CPL to include police officers and the DEP police officers (in section 1-34-0). In 1999, the DEP jurisdiction was extended to include the five boroughs of New York City. In 2004, the highest court in the state, the New York State Court of Appeals, affirmed the DEP Police Department's jurisdiction throughout the watershed.

[edit] Today

The NYC Department of Environmental Protection Police investigate over 4000 complaints per year, 500 of these related to environmental crimes. Environmental crimes include storm water complaints, water pollution and the illegal transportation, storage, and disposal of hazardous waste. Additionally the NYC DEP Police investigate waste water treatment plant and septic system failures as well as dumping complaints. The DEP Police Department maintains jurisdiction in 14 counties including the 5 counties in New York City. The Department has a full time ESU Team, Marine Patrol, K-9 Patrol, and Detective Bureau. The Department currently employs only about 154 Police Officers for an area roughly the size of the State of Maryland. DEP officers are represented by LEEBA (Law Enforcement Employees Benevolent Association).

[edit] Departamental issues

The NYC Department of Environmental Protection Police is severly short manned, with only 156 officers. Many people, including DEP officers and the LEEBA union president say that the low salary is one of the reasons for this. The salary for DEP Police Officer is $25,631 for the first 26 weeks while in training, which jumps to $29,405 after that. The salary rises up to $30,355 after one year, and reaches the top salary of $44,742 after 6 years. [1] Because of this, the department is not attracting enough recruits, and current officers are leaving to go to better paying departments nearby, including the New York City Police Department, Port Authority Police Department, Metropolitan Transportation Authority Police Department, Triborough Bridge and Tunnel Authority Police Department, Suffolk County Police Department, and Nassau County Police Department.