Trump election protest - NYPD Strategic Response Group

The Strategic Response Group (SRG) is a

rapid reaction force A rapid reaction force is a military or police unit designed to respond in very short time frames to emergencies. When used in reference to police forces such as SWAT teams, the time frame is minutes, while in military applications, such as with t ...

of the

New York City Police Department 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 ...

(NYPD) tasked with immediate intervention duties during periods of

civil unrest Civil disorder, also known as civil disturbance, civil unrest, or social unrest is a situation arising from a mass act of civil disobedience (such as a demonstration, riot, strike, or unlawful assembly) in which law enforcement has difficulty m ...

, terrorist incidents, or other citywide emergencies. It was established in 2015.

History

Prior to 2015, situations in

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 ...

that required the rapid response of police forces in a certain section of the city would be handled through a system of mobilization and redistribution of specially designated patrol units from the city's precincts. In 2014,

New York City Police Commissioner The New York City Police Commissioner is the head of the New York City Police Department and presiding member of the Board of Commissioners. The commissioner is appointed by and serves at the pleasure of the mayor. The commissioner is responsib ...

William Bratton William Joseph Bratton CBE (born October 6, 1947) is an American law enforcement officer and businessman who served two terms as the New York City Police Commissioner (1994–1996 and 2014–2016). He previously served as the Commissioner of the ...

determined this was an inefficient system and that a special force of dedicated police officers would offer certain advantages, including the ability to operate and train as a cohesive unit. The NYPD announced plans to create the Strategic Response Group in January 2015, and the unit became active in May of that year. Initial plans called for 350 officers in the SRG, but by the end of 2015 the number of officers had increased to 800. Funding has been provided both by city appropriation and grants from the

U.S. Department of Homeland Security The United States Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is the U.S. federal executive department responsible for public security, roughly comparable to the interior or home ministries of other countries. Its stated missions involve anti-terr ...

Operations

The Strategic Response Group is designed to provide a large, rapidly deployable force of police for situations such as civil unrest, large-scale terrorist attacks, and special high-profile events such as the

Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade The Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade is an annual parade in New York City presented by the U.S.-based department store chain Macy's. The Parade first took place in 1924, tying it for the second-oldest Thanksgiving parade in the United States with ...

or meetings of the

United Nations General Assembly The United Nations General Assembly (UNGA or GA; french: link=no, Assemblée générale, AG) is one of the six principal organs of the United Nations (UN), serving as the main deliberative, policymaking, and representative organ of the UN. Curr ...

. When not otherwise responding to one of these critical incidents, the SRG is used to conduct emphasis patrols in neighborhoods which have experienced recent spikes in crime. The SRG is housed within the NYPD's Special Operations Bureau, which also includes the

Emergency Service Unit In American law enforcement (municipal, county, or state), the Emergency Service Unit, or ESU, is a multi-faceted element within a law enforcement agency’s Special Operations Command. Structure The NYPD is credited with establishing the conce ...

, Harbor Patrol, Mounted Patrol and NYPD Aviation. The Strategic Response Group operates 119

Ford Police Interceptor Utility 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 ...

SUV A sport utility vehicle (SUV) is a car classification that combines elements of road-going passenger cars with features from off-road vehicles, such as raised ground clearance and four-wheel drive. There is no commonly agreed-upon definitio ...

s. Its officers are equipped with ballistic helmets,

M4 carbine The M4 carbine (officially Carbine, Caliber 5.56 mm, M4) is a 5.56×45mm NATO, gas-operated, magazine-fed carbine developed in the United States during the 1980s. It is a shortened version of the M16A2 assault rifle. The M4 is extensively ...

s, SR16 CQB and

riot shield A riot shield is a lightweight protection device, typically deployed by police and some military organizations, though also utilized by protestors. Riot shields are typically long enough to cover an average-sized person from the top of the head to ...

s in addition to standard police equipment.

References

{{New York City Police Department New York City Police Department Organizations established in 2015 Law enforcement in the New York metropolitan area

History

Operations

See also

References