New York State Police

New York State Police
Common name	New York State Troopers
Abbreviation	NYSP
Patch
Seal
Badge
Motto	Excellence Through Knowledge
Agency overview
Formed	April 11, 1917
Employees	6,423 (as of 2007)[1]
Annual budget	$727,000,000.00 (2009-10)
Legal personality	Governmental: Government agency
Jurisdictional structure
Operations jurisdiction*	State of New York, United States
Troops of the New York State Police
Size	54,556 sq mi (141,300 km2).
Population	19.4 Million
Legal jurisdiction	New York
General nature	Law enforcement Civilian police
Operational structure
Headquarters	Building 22 W. Averell Harriman State Office Building Campus Albany, New York
Troopers	4,676 (as of 2007)[1]
Civilians	1,747 (as of 2007)[1]
Agency executive	Joseph D'Amico, Superintendent
Facilities
Troops	12
Website
Official Site
Footnotes
* Divisional agency: Division of the country, over which the agency has usual operational jurisdiction.

A Troop L patrol car in New York City, in September 2010.

The New York State Police (NYSP) is the state police force of the U.S. state of New York, and employs over 4,600 sworn state troopers.

History

The New York State Police was first established on April 11, 1917 by the New York Legislature, in response to the 1913 murder of a construction foreman named Sam Howell in Westchester County, which at that time did not have a local police department.

The department's first superintendent was George Fletcher Chandler, who was responsible for much of the department's early organization and development. Chandler coined the term "New York State Troopers" and was an early advocate of officers carrying their weapons exposed on a belt, which was not common practice at the time.^[2] The State Police is also responsible for protecting the Governor of New York and the Lieutenant Governor of New York.

Superintendent

Joseph D'Amico became superintendent of the New York State Police in January, 2011.^[3] He replaced John Melville, who was acting superintendent replacing Harry J. Corbitt. Corbitt, who was nominated by former New York State Governor David Paterson, replaced acting superintendent Preston Felton. Felton had replaced the retired Wayne E. Bennett. Corbitt announced his resignation on March 2, 2010, amid controversy. The interim Superintendent has also stepped down citing unease among labor unions. Two superintendents stepped down from the state police in 6 days.

Structure and organization

General

The State Police is headed by the Superintendent of the State Police, who is appointed by the Governor of New York.

• Superintendent
  • Field Command
    • Uniform Force
      • Field Troops
      • Uniform Special Services
        • Emergency Management Unit
        • School and Community Outreach Unit
        • Bomb Disposal Unit
        • Canine Unit
        • SCUBA Teams
        • Special Operations Response Team
        • Marine Unit
        • Mountain Bicycle Patrol
        • Snowmobile Unit
        • All-Terrain Vehicle Patrol
      • Highway Safety and Traffic Enforcement Services
    • Bureau of Criminal Investigations
      • Gaming Detail
      • Narcotics Enforcement Unit
      • Computer Crime Unit
      • Violent Felony Warrant Squad
      • Community Narcotics Enforcement Teams / Gun Investigative Unit
      • Forensic Investigation Support Services
    • Office of Counter Terrorism
      • State Police Intelligence Center
      • Border Intelligence Unit
      • CALEA Intercept Unit
      • Criminal Gun Clearinghouse
      • Criminal Intelligence Unit
      • Counter Terrorism Center
      • Electronic Surveillance Unit
      • Financial Crimes Unit
      • Gang Intelligence Unit
      • Narcotics Intelligence Unit
      • Source Development Unit
      • Special Investigation Unit
  • Division Headquarters
    • Administration
    • Technology and Planning
    • Employee Relations
    • Human Resources
    • Internal Affairs Bureau

Troops

The NYSP divides New York state geographically into ten "Troops," each comprising a specific geographic area, usually several counties. Each is supervised by a "Troop Commander" usually of the rank of Major.

• Troop A - Counties: Allegany, Cattaraugus, Chautauqua, Erie, Genesee, Niagara, Orleans and Wyoming
• Troop B - Counties: Clinton, Essex, Franklin, Hamilton and St. Lawrence
• Troop C - Counties: Broome, Chenango, Cortland, Delaware, Otsego, Tioga and Tompkins
• Troop D - Counties: Herkimer, Jefferson, Lewis, Madison, Oneida, Onondaga and Oswego
• Troop E - Counties: Cayuga, Chemung, Livingston, Monroe, Ontario, Schuyler, Seneca, Steuben, Wayne and Yates
• Troop F - Counties: Greene, Orange, Rockland, Sullivan and Ulster
• Troop G - Counties: Albany, Fulton, Hamilton, Montgomery, Rensselaer, Saratoga, Schenectady, Schoharie, Warren and Washington
• Troop H - Headquarters Troop (Albany) and Legislative Branch Offices
• Troop K - Counties: Columbia, Dutchess, Putnam and Westchester
• Troop L - Counties: Nassau and Suffolk
• Troop NYC - Counties: Bronx, Kings, New York, Richmond, and Queens
• Troop T - New York State Thruway and the Erie Canal System^[4]

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.

Rank Structure

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 not grey, but made of equal parts white fiber and black fiber to symbolize the impartiality of justice. Like a U.S. Flag, trooper uniforms are burned when no longer serviceable. The black stripe down the leg of the trouser is worn in remembrance of fallen comrades. The purple color of the tie and hat band represents an elite unit, and is similar to those worn by the Praetorian Guard.^[5] Troopers wear a tan felt stetson hat with a leather security strap and purple band around it.

Rank insignia

Title	Insignia
Superintendent
First Deputy Superintendent
Deputy Superintendent/Colonel
Assistant Deputy Superintendent/Lieutenant Colonel
Staff Inspector
Major
Captain
Lieutenant
Technical Lieutenant
Chief Technical Sergeant
Staff Sergeant
First Sergeant
Senior Investigator (plainclothes)
Zone Sergeant
Sergeant Station Commander
Technical Sergeant
Sergeant
Investigator
Trooper

Chevrons are black on a gray background and are worn on the upper sleeves of both the shirt and the jacket. Rank insignia for Technical Lieutenant through Superintendent are worn on the collars of the shirt and the shoulder loops of the Gore-Tex jacket.

Car Numbers

A patrol car number will contain the Troop and Zone or group prefix: for example, car 1A30 would be a patrol car in Zone 1 of Troop A. Prefix numbers 1 through 4 are used for geographic patrol zones, while 5 is used by BCI Investigators, 6 by Portables, 7 by other local agencies dispatched by NYSP, 8 by special state units (e.g. State Park Police), and 9 by dispatchers. Cars not carrying prefixes, for instance K55, are Troop Headquarters cars. The New York State Police also use a standard number-blocking system to identify the type of unit carrying a particular number:

ADMINISTRATIVE

• L1 - Major
• L2-L4 - Captains
• L5 - Bureau of Criminal Investigation Captain
• L10-L49 - Troop Administration - Marked cars
• L50-L69 - Troop Administration - Unmarked cars
• L70-L89 - Miscellaneous Administration
• L90-L99 - Troop Communications
• L101-L109 - Traffic Incident Management Team

UNIFORMED TROOPERS

• 1L1 - Lieutenant
• 1L10-1L49 - Marked Cars
• 1L50-1L79 - Unmarked Cars
• 1L80-1L89 - Miscellaneous Units

BUREAU OF CRIMINAL INVESTIGATION (BCI)

• L5 - BCI Captain
• 5L1 - BCI Lieutenant
• 51L5-5L24 - BCI Senior Investigators
• 51L25-5L199 - BCI Investigators

PORTABLES

• 6L1-6L99 - Administrative Portables
• 6L100-6L499 - Trooper Portables
• 6L500-6L599 - BCI Portables

SPECIAL UNITS

• Henry (H) - State P.D. Headquarters Division
• John (J) - State P.D. Narcotics Units
• Mary (M) - State P.D. Major Crimes Units
• Nora (N) - State Environmental Conservation P.D.
• Paul (P) - Department of Corrections
• Robert (R) - State P.D. Communications Division
• Sam (S) - State P.D. Special Investigations Units
• Victor (V) - State P.D. Violent Felony Warrant Squad
• X-Ray (X) - State P.D. Governor's Protection Unit

Training

Recruits must complete a twenty-six week training academy prior to being appointed as a Trooper. The residential school is located at the NYSP Academy in Albany, New York. Recruits must then complete 10 weeks post academy field training with a trained field training officer (FTO) holding the rank of trooper prior to permanent troop assignment.

Equipment

Officers of the New York State Police are issued the Glock 37 chambered in .45 GAP as the service pistol. The New York State Police previously used the Glock 17 from 1989 to 2007.^[6] The Glock 37 was chosen after the shooting death of Trooper Andrew Sperr in Chemung County on March 1, 2006.^[7]

The State Police's vehicle fleet is primarily made up of Ford Crown Victoria Police Interceptors. It also uses for routine patrol, Dodge Chargers, Chevrolet Caprice PPV, Ford Expeditions and Chevrolet Tahoes. For special occasions they use Chevrolet Camaros, Ford Mustangs, and Harley Davidson motorcycles. All marked cars are painted dark blue with yellow reflective decals.^[8]

Effective Spring 2011, New York State Troopers were trained and issued Tasers for patrol purposes. The tasers were donated by the NYS Trooper Foundation to give Troopers, who almost always patrol alone, yet another alternative than deadly force to subdue combatants.

Fallen officers

Since the establishment of the New York State Police, 120 officers have died in the line of duty. Recent deaths include:^[9]

See also

• List of law enforcement agencies in New York
• State Police (United States)
• State Trooper
• Highway Patrol

References

1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 USDOJ Statistics Table 7
2. ↑ NYSP site http://www.troopers.ny.gov/Introduction/History/1917-1929/
3. ↑ Syracuse.com, Jan 2011 Joseph Damico is confirmed as Superintendent
4. ↑ NYSP site http://www.troopers.ny.gov/Contact_Us/Troop_Information/
5. ↑ NYSP Uniform
6. ↑ New York State Police to Purchase New Glock Pistol
7. ↑ GunWeek.com
8. ↑ NYSP Vehicles
9. ↑ The Officer Down Memorial Page

External links

• New York State Police Website
  • In depth NYSP History
• NYSP Recruitment Center Website
• Union representing Troopers and Supervisors
• Union representing Investigators
• New York State Police collected news and commentary at The New York Times