The New Jersey Transit Police Department (NJTPD) is a

transit police Transit police (also known as transport police, railway police, railroad police and several other terms) are specialized police agencies employed either by a common carrier (a transit district, railway, railroad, bus line, or any other mass tran ...

agency of the

New Jersey Transit New Jersey Transit Corporation, branded as NJ Transit, and often shortened to NJT, is a state-owned public transportation system that serves the U.S. state of New Jersey, along with portions of New York State and Pennsylvania. It operates bu ...

Corporation in the state of

New Jersey New Jersey is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York; on the east, southeast, and south by the Atlantic Ocean; on the west by the Delaware ...

. As provided by NJS Title 27:25-15.1, New Jersey Transit Police Officers have "general authority, without limitation, to exercise police powers and duties, as provided by law for police officers and law enforcement officers, in all criminal and traffic matters at all times throughout the State and, in addition, to enforce such rules and regulations as the NJ Transit Corporation shall adopt and deem appropriate." The primary focus of NJTPD is providing police services to the numerous bus depots,

rail Rail or rails may refer to: Rail transport *Rail transport and related matters *Rail (rail transport) or railway lines, the running surface of a railway Arts and media Film * ''Rails'' (film), a 1929 Italian film by Mario Camerini * ''Rail'' ( ...

and light rail stations throughout New Jersey. The New Jersey Transit Police Department is the only transit police agency in the United States with statewide authority and jurisdiction.

History

The NJ Transit Police Department was created on January 1, 1983, and it evolved as a result of the passage of the Public Transportation Act of 1979 and subsequent legislation on the state and federal levels. At that time, the original complement included thirty-nine Commissioned Rail Police Officers. On January 12, 1990, NJS 27:25-15.1 was enacted into law, and it established the New Jersey Transit Police Department as a sworn law enforcement agency with the "general authority, without limitation, to exercise police powers and duties, as provided for police officers and law enforcement officers, in all criminal and traffic matters at all times throughout the State..." The authorized strength of the Department includes 250+ sworn officers and 70+ non-sworn members (which include Fare Enforcement Officers) serving the more than 500,000 commuters who use the NJ Transit system daily. In addition to NJT's rail and bus network, the New Jersey Transit Police is responsible for policing NJT's Hudson-Bergen Light Rail,

Newark Light Rail The Newark Light Rail (NLR) is a light rail system serving Newark, New Jersey and surrounding areas, operated by New Jersey Transit Bus Operations. The service consists of two segments, the original Newark City Subway (NCS), and the extension t ...

, and River Line systems.

Districts

The New Jersey Transit Police Department has its headquarters located at One Penn Plaza East in

Newark Newark most commonly refers to: * Newark, New Jersey, city in the United States * Newark Liberty International Airport, New Jersey; a major air hub in the New York metropolitan area Newark may also refer to: Places Canada * Niagara-on-the ...

. However, the department has seven different districts to provide coverage to New Jersey Transit's extensive system of railways and bus terminals. District 1: *

Headquarters Headquarters (commonly referred to as HQ) denotes the location where most, if not all, of the important functions of an organization are coordinated. In the United States, the corporate headquarters represents the entity at the center or the to ...

Newark, New Jersey Newark ( , ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of New Jersey and the seat of Essex County and the second largest city within the New York metropolitan area.Penn Station Command -

District 3: * Hoboken Command -

Hoboken Hoboken ( ; Unami: ') is a city in Hudson County in the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2020 U.S. census, the city's population was 60,417. The Census Bureau's Population Estimates Program calculated that the city's population was 58,69 ...

District 4: *

Secaucus Junction Secaucus Junction (known as Secaucus Transfer during planning stages and signed simply as Secaucus) is a NJ Transit Rail Operations commuter rail hub in Secaucus, New Jersey. The $450 million, station opened on December 15, 2003, and was ded ...

Secaucus Secaucus ( ) is a town in Hudson County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 United States census, the town's population was 16,264,Trenton Command - Trenton District 6: * Camden Command - Camden District 7: * Atlantic City Command -

Atlantic City Atlantic City, often known by its initials A.C., is a coastal resort city in Atlantic County, New Jersey, United States. The city is known for its casinos, Boardwalk (entertainment district), boardwalk, and beaches. In 2020 United States censu ...

Organization and operations

Each of the regional commands provide different police services for their geographical area they cover, the different divisions within the department can be categorized as the following, *Patrol - By far the largest operation within the department. The patrol division provides general law enforcement services to those utilizing the New Jersey Transit System as well as providing a presence to deter crime. Patrol officers are responsible for enforcing criminal and motor vehicle infractions. A bike patrol unit was established to supplement on foot officers. *Detective Bureau - Investigates threats directed towards the transit system and crimes committed on transit property. *Special Operations - Encompasses different units such as the Emergency Service Unit, Conditions Tactical Unit, and the K-9 unit. *Emergency Service Unit - This unit was formerly the JUSTICE Team (renamed in 2011), which was NJTPD's high visibility enforcement unit who were assigned to "Impact" zones, which are New Jersey Transit properties and stations that have experienced a surge in crime. ESU has extensive training in numerous fields such as Special Weapons and Tactics, to include high risk warrant service, barricaded subject, hostage rescue, rope/high angle rescue, train/vehicle extrication, firefighting duties, SCUBA diving, and are all HAZ-MAT technicians. The Emergency Service Unit operates a number of heavy duty rescue type trucks. *Administration / Support Services - The higher-ranking officers who are responsible for reporting the daily operations to the New Jersey Transit Corporation itself, as well as the responsibility for overseeing the day-to-day functions of the department. Includes the Training Unit, Intel Unit, and Information Technology Unit. *K9 Unit - New Jersey Transit Police has multiple K9 Teams that are deployed statewide daily, conducting proactive K9 sweeps and maintaining high visibility at New Jersey Transit facilities.

Rank structure

The NJTPD has the following rank structure, in descending order:

Counter-terrorism

One of the primary missions of the New Jersey Transit Police Department is the prevention of terrorism on all of New Jersey Transit's trains and buses. This is especially relevant since the 2004 terrorist attacks of the transit system in

Madrid Madrid ( , ) is the capital and most populous city of Spain. The city has almost 3.4 million inhabitants and a metropolitan area population of approximately 6.7 million. It is the second-largest city in the European Union (EU), and ...

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , i ...

. After September 11, 2001, the Essex County, New Jersey Sheriff's Office had a tenfold increase in requests for

bomb detection Explosive detection is a non-destructive inspection process to determine whether a container contains explosive material. Explosive detection is commonly used at airports, ports and for border control. Detection tools Colorimetrics & automated c ...

. This caused a problem for

, according to the agency's then police chief, Mary F. Rabadeau. At Penn Station in Newark, the transit authority had been dependent on the Essex County Sheriff's bomb squad to respond to every bomb threat or suspicious parcel. That disrupted the station, sometimes for hours, having an immense impact on transportation in the area, because the station is host to hundreds of daily

Amtrak The National Railroad Passenger Corporation, Trade name, doing business as Amtrak () , is the national Passenger train, passenger railroad company of the United States. It operates inter-city rail service in 46 of the 48 contiguous United Stat ...

and

trains, plus two rapid transit lines and intercity and local buses. The best resource the agency could provide with the most apparent and immediate impact was canine bomb-detection teams. After interviewing people at other agencies that had their own canine bomb-detection squads, New Jersey Transit chose the Essex County, New Jersey Sheriff's Department to train the Transit Police on

property—on trains and buses and in stations and other facilities where the teams would be working. The program was fairly inexpensive, using dogs that had washed out of seeing-eye training but were calm and obedient, which were fine for bomb detection. New Jersey Transit customized three road vehicles so that the teams could operate statewide, presenting themselves without notice. By patrolling Penn Station, the teams have "hardened it as a target and are welcomed by passengers, said Rabadeau". Because a large percentage of bomb alerts turn out to be false, the fast response minimizes disruption to the flow of trains and passengers. The teams also give demonstrations at schools and terminals and provide assistance to other agencies. During his tenure, former

Governor A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political ...

James McGreevy helped dramatically expand the counter-terrorism capabilities of the New Jersey Transit Police. The governor allowed the purchase of a Police Mobile Command Vehicle, which is a 40-foot (12 m) transit bus converted into a mobile response unit for the New Jersey Transit Police Department. The vehicle contains outside phone lines, a

fax machine Fax (short for facsimile), sometimes called telecopying or telefax (the latter short for telefacsimile), is the telephonic transmission of scanned printed material (both text and images), normally to a telephone number connected to a printer o ...

, portable computers and printers, and an on-board radio system with several frequency bands to communicate with other law-enforcement agencies, as well as other regional transit agencies. The following measures were also enacted: *New Jersey Transit has increased uniformed and plainclothes police train patrols *New Jersey Transit has created special operations units which specifically focus on high visibility patrol and counter terrorism *New Jersey Transit significantly increased the number of New Jersey Transit Police K-9 units – which are trained to detect explosive devices. *New Jersey Transit purchased belt clip-on radiation detectors as well as other explosive and radiological material detecting equipment to ensure that all of its regional police commands and officers throughout the state are equipped to detect explosives and radiological matter. *The New Jersey Transit Police Department launched the "If you see something say something" campaign and has activated telephone and text message hotlines to accept anonymous calls and text messages of suspicious activity and/or persons on New Jersey Transit equipment or property. *The New Jersey Transit Police Department provides counter terrorism and behavioral analysis training to all its officers. * Significantly increased the number of its uniformed and plainclothes police officers at stations, on board trains and in road patrol units. Officers ride trains randomly at any given time during the day. New Jersey Transit Police are protecting passenger facilities, maintenance facilities and infrastructure. * The New Jersey Transit Police Department has established vehicular checkpoints at several stations and terminals, particularly where deliveries are accepted. * New Jersey Transit Police are alternating patrolling methods and locations on a daily basis to include uniformed and plainclothes officers, facility checks conducted by officers on motor patrol and proactive sweeps by special operations units .New Jersey State Legislature
March 2003, Accessed August 29, 2007.

Uniform and equipment

The New Jersey Transit Police uniform is a traditional dark blue uniform, LAPD Navy in color, similar to the uniforms of the

NYPD The New York City Police Department (NYPD), officially the City of New York Police Department, established on May 23, 1845, is the primary municipal law enforcement agency within the City of New York, the largest and one of the oldest in ...

Newark Police Department Established in April 1857, the Newark Police Department (NPD) is the primary law enforcement agency serving Newark, New Jersey, and the largest municipal law enforcement agency in New Jersey. As of December 2017 the force had 1,146 officers. I ...

Boston Police Department The Boston Police Department (BPD), dating back to 1854, holds the primary responsibility for law enforcement and investigation within the city of Boston, Massachusetts. It is the oldest municipal police department in the United States. The ...

Baltimore City Police Department The Baltimore Police Department (BPD) is the municipal police department of the city of Baltimore, Maryland. Dating back to 1784, the BPD, consisting of 2,935 employees in 2020, is organized into nine districts covering of land and of waterway ...

, and numerous other northeast police departments. Officers in Special Operations wear a B.D.U. uniform and tactical outer vest. Patrol Officers wear a traditional police uniform with leather duty gear. All sworn Police Officers are issued the Axon Body 2 body-worn camera for use while in uniform on patrol. The standard issue firearm for New Jersey Transit Police is the

Sig Sauer P320 The SIG Sauer P320 is a modular semi-automatic pistol made by SIG Sauer, Inc., SIG Sauer's American branch. It is a further development of the SIG Sauer P250, utilizing a striker-fired mechanism in lieu of a double action only hammer system. Th ...

chambered in 9mm. Transit Police also utilize the Heckler and Koch UMP 40 submachine gun, Remington 870 Police Magnum shotgun, and

Colt M4 The M4 carbine (officially Carbine, Caliber 5.56 mm, M4) is a 5.56×45mm NATO, Gas-operated reloading, gas-operated, Magazine (firearms), magazine-fed carbine developed in the United States during the 1980s. It is a shortened version of the M1 ...

Police Carbine rifle. The SIG MCX VIRTUS in the SBR configuration has also been seen issued as of early 2020. Department snipers assigned to the Emergency Service Unit utilize the

Remington 700 The Remington Model 700 is a series of bolt-action centerfire rifles manufactured by Remington Arms since 1962. It is a development of the Remington 721 and 722 series of rifles, which were introduced in 1948. The M24 and M40 military sniper ...

Sniper rifle.

Vehicles

New Jersey Transit Police utilize several different models of vehicles in their fleet. Among the vehicles, referred to as an "RMP" (Radio Motor Patrol), are the

Chevrolet Caprice The Chevrolet Caprice is a full-sized automobile produced by Chevrolet in North America for the 1965 to 1996 model years. Full-size Chevrolet sales peaked in 1965 with over a million sold. It was the most popular car in the U.S. in the 1960s ...

Ford Explorer The Ford Explorer is a range of SUVs manufactured by Ford Motor Company since the 1991 model year. The first four-door SUV produced by Ford, the Explorer was introduced as a replacement for the two-door Bronco II. Within the current Ford light ...

Ford Taurus The Ford Taurus is an automobile that was manufactured by the Ford Motor Company in the United States from the 1986 to 2019 model years. Introduced in late 1985 for the 1986 model year, six generations were produced over 34 years; a brief hiat ...

Chevrolet Tahoe The Chevrolet Tahoe, and its badge engineered GMC Yukon counterpart, are full-size SUVs from General Motors, offered since 1994 and 1991, respectively. Since 1982, Chevrolet and GMC sold two different-sized SUVs under their 'Blazer' and 'Jimmy ...

Ford Expedition The Ford Expedition is a full-size three-row SUV, manufactured by Ford. Introduced for the 1997 model year as the successor of the Ford Bronco, the Expedition was the first full-size Ford SUV sold with a four-door body. For its entire production l ...

Ford F-150 The Ford F-Series is a series of light-duty trucks marketed and manufactured by Ford since the 1948 model year. Slotted above the Ford Ranger in the Ford truck model range, the F-Series is marketed as a range of full-sized pickup trucks. ...

and the

Chevrolet Suburban The Chevrolet Suburban is a series of automobiles built by the Chevrolet division of General Motors. The name started in 1934 for the 1935 U.S. model year, making it the longest continuously used automobile nameplate in production. It has tra ...

. Transit Police officers also ride the buses and railways to provide more direct policing. In addition, NJTPD has several mobile command centers and mobile processing vehicles at strategic locations. In 2011, the agency received a Pierce Rescue/Pumper truck, known as ESU 7 (197), which is capable of going off-road (Hi-Rail) and onto the rails where needed and is capable of extinguishing fires. It has a 1500 gpm pump, 350 gallon water tank, and 30 gallon foam tank. The Emergency Service Unit operates a number of heavy duty rescue type trucks.NJTPD Minibus
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References

External links

New Jersey Transit Police website
{{New Jersey Transit Transit police departments of the United States NJ Transit Specialist police departments of New Jersey Government agencies established in 1983 1983 establishments in New Jersey Law enforcement in the New York metropolitan area