Law enforcement in New York
| Law enforcement in New York |
|---|
| Law enforcement in |
| Officers |
| Types of agency |
| Law |
| New York State Criminal Procedure Law |
Law enforcement in New York is the responsibility of a very large number of law enforcement agencies. Law enforcement is conducted by police departments, fire departments, sections of other government departments, educational institutions, private companies, and charities at federal, state, county, city, town, and occasionally village levels. There are two types of law enforcement agents: "police officers" and "peace officers".
Firearms
The authorization to carry a firearm as a peace officer comes from the New York State Penal, and Criminal Procedure Law and in most cases, depends on the discretion of the employing agency. Each agency decides whether their peace officers will be allowed to carry a firearm through their employment on duty and off duty, or not. Some agencies that do allow their peace officers to carry a firearm through their employment include the Triborough Bridge and Tunnel Authority, New York City Department of Correction, and the New York State Court System. Some agencies that do not allow their officers to carry a firearm through their employment include the following Roosevelt Island Public Safety Department, New York City Department of Health and Hospitals Police, New York City Department of Homeless Services Police, and the New York City Parks Enforcement Patrol. Agencies authorizing their peace officers to carry firearms on-duty also decide if those peace officers may carry their firearms off-duty. Some departments allow their peace officers to carry a firearm through their employment with the permission and licensing of the local police department for on-duty use only, such as the Co-op City Department of Public Safety and the Sea Gate Police Department.
Equipment
The equipment carried by peace officers depends on their duties and their agency's discretion. Most uniformed peace officers carry a baton, can of pepper spray, pair of handcuffs, a whistle, a flashlight, and a portable radio. In addition, certain agencies allow their officers to carry other equipment, such as firearms and tasers. Agencies can allow/ban certain equipment carried by officers. For example, NYPD Auxiliary Police officers are only equipped with a baton, handcuffs, flashlight, and whistle, while NYPD School Safety Agents only carry handcuffs, a flashlight, and a whistle.
Uniform
Uniforms worn by peace officers differ from agency to agency. Most peace officers wear a uniform that has a dark blue shirt and dark blue pants with black boots or shoes. Another popular uniform worn by officers has a light blue shirt with dark blue pants with black boots or shoes. However, there are other colors and types of uniforms worn by officers, including grey, green, and black shirts and grey, green, and black pants. Also, most officers wear a hat when on duty. The hats worn by officers differ in shape, size, type, brand, and color, ranging from a traditional eight-point cap to stetsons to a baseball style cap. In addition, officers in certain specialized units in departments may wear a different style uniform compared to the uniform worn by patrol officers. A major piece of the peace officer uniform is the badge, which is usually worn on the left or right chest of the shirt or jacket. The shape and color of badges differ between rank and department. For example, a police officers wear a shield shaped badge in silver, and other rank officers have different shape and color badges. Sergeants and above have gold badges with each rank having a different shape badge, and detectives wear an almost round badge.
Training
The amount and type of training given to peace officers differs between agencies. The requirement of training for police officers is a minimum of 635 hours, the requirement for full-time peace officers is a minimum of 100 hours of training, and the requirement for part-time peace officers is a minimum of 10 hours of training.[1][2] However, each agency can give their officers as much training as they want as long as it meets the minimum requirement. For example, NYPD Auxiliary Police Officers go through 54 hours of training, exceeding the minimum requirement of 10 hours of training for part-time peace officers, and Triborough Bridge and Tunnel Authority Officers go through more than 500 hours of training, exceeding the minimum requirement of 100 hours of training for full-time peace officers. All training courses for peace officers include training in criminal law, police science, powers they have, what they can and can't do, some physical training, arrest procedures, how to properly make arrests, and how to properly use their equipment. Peace Officers who are armed must be trained with their firearm before they can carry it, and must re-qualify yearly. Agencies may also give their officers additional types of training such as homeland security training and emergency vehicle operation.