The New York City 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 A law enforcement agency (LEA) is any government agency responsible for the enforcement of the laws. Jurisdiction LEAs which have their ability to apply their powers restricted in some way are said to operate within a jurisdiction. LEAs ...

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

whose duties are to protect and preserve the New York City water supply system maintained by the New York City Department of Environmental Protection, the nation's largest single source water supply. The department has protected and preserved the water supply system for over 100 years.

History

The Bureau of Water Supply (BWS) Police was created through legislation enacted in the 1906 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 Peekskill is a city in northwestern Westchester County, New York, United States, from New York City. Established as a village in 1816, it was incorporated as a city in 1940. It lies on a bay along the east side of the Hudson River, across fr ...

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, 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 Rhinelander Waldo (May 24, 1877 – August 13, 1927) was appointed the seventh New York City Fire Commissioner by Mayor William Jay Gaynor on January 13, 1910. He resigned on May 23, 1911, less than two months after the deadly Triangle Shirtwaist ...

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 A non-commissioned officer (NCO) is a military officer who has not pursued a commission. Non-commissioned officers usually earn their position of authority by promotion through the enlisted ranks. (Non-officers, which includes most or all enli ...

in the

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, cla ...

or the National Guard (with a preference for

Spanish–American War , partof = the Philippine Revolution, the decolonization of the Americas, and the Cuban War of Independence , image = Collage infobox for Spanish-American War.jpg , image_size = 300px , caption = (clock ...

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. During World War One, American involvement in the war brought the historic DEP Police to duties protecting the NYC water supply. As of the current today 2019, the DEP Police today still has the same mission guarding the water supply, and is a participant of the annual First Provisional Regiment memorial services, held at the Village of Sleepy Hollow, NY. This Aqueduct Defense Memorial Service honors and remembers 40 soldiers who died while serving New York State during World War I. DEP Police provides an honor guard, cooperates with the NY state defense force, and local government officials to remember those perished while on aqueduct duties. In 1983, the Bureau of Water Supply became the

Department of Environmental Protection This article lists subnational environmental agencies in the United States, by state. Agencies with a variety of titles and responsibilities are included, e.g. Department of Environment, Department of Environmental Conservation, Department of E ...

and the

New York State Legislature The New York State Legislature consists of the two houses that act as the state legislature of the U.S. state of New York: The New York State Senate and the New York State Assembly. The Constitution of New York does not designate an official ...

revised the Criminal Procedure Law, part of the New York State Laws, to include DEP police officers. 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. Members of the DEP Police are New York State worn''police'' officers (not NYS ''peace'' officers, which many other NYC law enforcement agencies are).

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 they investigate waste water treatment plant and septic system failures as well as dumping complaints.

Jurisdiction

The DEP department maintains jurisdiction in 14 counties including the 5 counties in New York City.

Department Units

The department has a full-time Aviation Unit, as well as: * ESU Team, * Marine Patrol, *UTV Patrol, * K-9 Patrol *and

Detective A detective is an investigator, usually a member of a law enforcement agency. They often collect information to solve crimes by talking to witnesses and informants, collecting physical evidence, or searching records in databases. This leads th ...

Bureau.

Rank structure

There are seven titles (referred to as ranks) in the New York City Department of Environmental Protection Police:Note there is no civil service exam for these titles. Instead an officer must go through an interview with the department heads who choose who will be promoted.

Training

Training takes place in Kingston, NY for 6 months and 1-month at the precinct assigned to the trainee. Recruits are expected to move to Kingston, NY for the duration of the academy. Class sizes vary between 20 and 40 recruits and there is a new academy class every few years.

References

External links

NYC DEP Website

NYC DEP PBA
{{Authority control 1906 establishments in New York City Specialist police departments of New York (state) Law enforcement agencies of New York City Environmental agencies in New York (state) Water infrastructure of New York City