| New York City Police Department School Safety Division | |
| Common name | NYPD School Safety |
| Abbreviation | NYPD SSD |
| Patch of the New York City Police Department School Safety Division. | |
| Shield of the New York City Police Department School Safety Division | |
| Flag of the New York City Police Department | |
| Motto | Fidelis ad Mortem |
| Faithful till Death | |
| Agency overview | |
|---|---|
| Formed | 1998 |
| Preceding agency | Municipal Police |
| Annual budget | $243,335,196 |
| Legal personality | Governmental: Government agency |
| Jurisdictional structure | |
| Operations jurisdiction* | City of New York in the state of New York, United States |
| Map of New York City Police Department School Safety Division's jurisdiction. | |
| Size | 468.9 square miles (1,214 km2) |
| Population | 8,274,527 |
| Legal jurisdiction | New York City |
| General nature |
|
| Specialist jurisdiction | Buildings and lands occupied or explicitly controlled by the educational institution and the institution's personnel, and public entering the buildings and immediate precincts of the institution. |
| Operational structure | |
| Headquarters | One Police Plaza |
| School Safety Agents | 5,147 |
| Police Commissioner responsible | Raymond W. Kelly |
| Agency executive | Assistant Chief Brian J. Conroy, Commanding Officer |
| Parent agency | New York City Police Department |
| Boroughs |
List
|
| Facilities | |
| Schools | 1500+ |
| Police cars | Approx. 150 |
| Website | |
| Official Site | |
| Footnotes | |
| * Divisional agency: Division of the country, over which the agency has usual operational jurisdiction. | |
The New York City Police Department School Safety Division is the school police force for New York City Department of Education schools. The agency is a division of the New York City Police Department, and is one of the largest law enforcement agencies in New York City and the United States with approximately 5,000 School Safety Agents and 200 Police Officers.
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The New York City Police Department School Safety Division was formed in 1998 when the School Safety force was transferred from the New York City Department of Education to the New York City Police Department. Since then, the School Safety force has expanded in duties and in number of officers. In 2006, NYPD School Safety Agents were classified Civil Service Status with the first DCAS Civil Service exam given on June 9, 2007.
The mission of the NYPD School Safety Division is to provide a safe environment, conducive to learning, where students and faculty can be free from hostility and disruptions which could negatively impact on the educational process.
School Safety Agents are designated as New York City Special Patrolman, which gives them the status of a New York State peace officer both on and off duty. With peace officer powers, School Safety Agents can make warrantless arrests, carry and use handcuffs, and use physical and deadly force. According to the penal law, School Safety Agents have peace officer powers through the entire state of New York, and may make arrests anywhere in the state both on and off duty.[1]
School Safety Agents wear uniforms that look identical to the uniform worn by police officers except for the color of the shirt, which is light blue in contrast to dark blue shirts worn by police officers and Auxiliary Police officers. Their badge is oval with an eagle on top, in contrast to the shield worn by police officers and the seven point star worn by Auxiliary Police officers. School Safety vehicles are either dark blue with white decals or white with light blue decals.[2][3][4]
There are ten different ranks within the New York City Police Department School Safety Division:
The NYPD has never specifically stepped forward and delineated where the civilian rank structure of the School Safety Division fits vis-a-vis the Department's uniformed rank structure. For instance, a "School Safety Agent III" wears the insignia of a uniformed sergeant, but is compensated at a rate roughly half that of a uniformed police officer.
This problem runs throughout the entire rank structure.
| Title | Insignia |
|---|---|
| Director | |
| Deputy Director | |
| Associate Supervisor II | |
| Associate Supervisor | |
| Supervisor | |
| School Safety Agent III | |
| School Safety Agent II | |
| School Safety Agent I |
The commands follow the Patrol Boroughs, but with one exception the Bronx is split. The Commands are Manhattan South, Manhattan North, Bronx East, Bronx West, Brooklyn South, Brooklyn North, Queens South, Queens North and Staten Island.
The mission of the School Safety Training Unit (SSTU) is to provide entry-level School Safety Agents with a fundamental understanding of Department procedures, policies, and the limits of their authority. The basic course for Peace Officers without Firearms is a 14-week program geared to instructing School Safety Agents on the fundamentals of law enforcement. Topics include behavioral science, police science, law, powers of a peace officer, physical training and tactics, CPR, and first aid.
In 2004, SSTU conducted three entry-level courses for a total of 551 School Safety Agents. Assistance was also provided to the NYPD School Safety Division’s In-Service Training Unit. Another 1,107 Agents were trained during these sessions.
Also in 2004, continued emphasis was placed on counter terrorism training. School Safety Agents received instruction on current events and conditions that are directly related to terrorism. Other additions to the curriculum included the introduction of facilitated role-play exercises on bomb/explosive device recognition and gang-related incidents.
As of 2008, the School Safety academy has been moved to the police academy facility where police officers are trained.
The School Safety Division maintains 10 task forces. There is one task force per borough command, and a citywide task force. The duties of the borough task force's are to patrol around schools in the borough to reduce crime and find students who are skipping school or class, provide assistance to school safety agents assigned to schools in the borough when they need additional manpower, assist with details at schools in the borough, and respond to emergencies at schools in the borough where additional manpower is needed. The duties of the citywide task force are to assist the borough task force's, patrol around high crime schools to reduce crime and find students who are skipping school or class, provide assistance to school safety agents assigned to schools when they need additional manpower, assist with details at schools, and respond to emergencies at schools where additional manpower is needed.
There are also two police task forces covering the schools. One covers Manhattan and The Bronx and the other covers Brooklyn, Queens, and Staten Island. Each of these task forces has roughly 90 police officers assigned.
Since the establishment of the New York City Police Department School Safety Division, 2 officers have died in the line of duty.[6]
| Officer | Date of Death | Details |
|---|---|---|
| School Safety Agent Orville M. Williams |
|
Heart Attack |
| School Safety Agent Vivian A. Samuels-Benjamin |
|
Heart Attack |