The Metropolitan Transportation Authority Police Department (MTAPD) is the police agency of New York's

Metropolitan Transportation Authority The Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) is a public benefit corporation responsible for public transportation in the New York City metropolitan area of the U.S. state of New York. The MTA is the largest public transit authority in th ...

Officers of the MTAPD are fully empowered under the New York State Public Authorities Law and are commissioned in the state of Connecticut.is the law enforcement agency of

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

. MTA police officers are fully empowered under the New York State Public Authorities Law and are commissioned in the state of

Connecticut Connecticut () is the southernmost state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It is bordered by Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, New York (state), New York to the west, and Long Island Sound to the ...

. Their geographic area of employment extends to all counties in New York served by the Metropolitan Transportation Authority, giving officers the ability to exercise full police authority within the counties of Dutchess, Putnam, Orange, Rockland, Westchester,

Nassau Nassau may refer to: Places Bahamas *Nassau, Bahamas, capital city of the Bahamas, on the island of New Providence Canada *Nassau District, renamed Home District, regional division in Upper Canada from 1788 to 1792 *Nassau Street (Winnipeg), ...

Suffolk Suffolk () is a ceremonial county of England in East Anglia. It borders Norfolk to the north, Cambridgeshire to the west and Essex to the south; the North Sea lies to the east. The county town is Ipswich; other important towns include ...

, and 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 ...

. The MTA Police Department is the primary railroad police agency in New York State and Connecticut. The New York City subways are patrolled by the NYPD Transit Bureau under contract since 1994. Since 2019, the MTA Police has officers conducting daily subway patrols in New York City in an effort to assist the NYPD in addressing quality of life issues, like homelessness, that affect commuters.

History

The department was formed on January 1, 1998, with the consolidation of the

Long Island Rail Road The Long Island Rail Road , often abbreviated as the LIRR, is a commuter rail system in the southeastern part of the U.S. state of New York, stretching from Manhattan to the eastern tip of Suffolk County on Long Island. With an average week ...

Police Department and the

Metro-North Railroad Metro-North Railroad , trading as MTA Metro-North Railroad, is a suburban commuter rail service run by the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA), a public authority of the U.S. state of New York and under contract with the Connectic ...

Police Department. Since 9/11, the department has expanded in size and has ramped up dramatically its counter-terrorism capabilities, adding

canine Canine may refer to: Zoology and anatomy * a dog-like Canid animal in the subfamily Caninae ** ''Canis'', a genus including dogs, wolves, coyotes, and jackals ** Dog, the domestic dog * Canine tooth, in mammalian oral anatomy People with the surn ...

teams and emergency services officers. There is one lieutenant, four sergeants, and 44 police officers who are assigned to the K-9 Unit and serve as handlers with their canine partners. The department has one of the best trained K-9 units in the United States. At a national competition in 2013, two MTA Police dogs took third and fourth place in explosives detection. Currently, training for new recruits is conducted at the

New York City Police Academy The New York City Police Academy is the police academy of the New York City Police Department (NYPD). Within the organization of the New York City Police Department, the Chief of Training oversees the Training Bureau, which includes the Police A ...

. After successfully completing the academy curriculum, officers are further trained in Connecticut law and law enforcement procedures.

Staten Island

On June 1, 2005, the Staten Island Rapid Transit Police Department, with 25 officers, was merged into the MTA Police Department. The Staten Island Rapid Transit Police Department was responsible for policing the Staten Island Rapid Transit System in the borough of

Staten Island Staten Island ( ) is a Boroughs of New York City, borough of New York City, coextensive with Richmond County, in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York. Located in the city's southwest portion, the borough is separated from New Jersey b ...

in New York City. This was the final step in consolidating MTA agency law enforcement, and increased the total workforce of the department to 716, including civilians.

New York City Subway

On September 12, 2019, the MTA announced the addition of 500 MTAPD officers to patrol the

New York City Subway The New York City Subway is a rapid transit system owned by the government of New York City and leased to the New York City Transit Authority, an affiliate agency of the state-run Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA). Opened on October ...

, nearly doubling the 783 officers previously employed by the MTAPD. This came shortly after Governor Andrew Cuomo directed the MTA to solve the issue of homelessness in the subway system. After criticism of multiple high-profile arrests, multiple MTA board members expressed concerns over the added police presence, citing the high cost of personnel, estimated at $249 million over four years.

Acceditation

On the 3 March 2016 the MTAPD attained accreditation status from th
New York State Department of Criminal Justice Services
Accreditation Council.

Structure

On June 29, 2022, former Yonkers Police Department Commissioner John Mueller was appointed as the sixth Chief of Police. The structure of the MTA Police is made up of the following senior officers: # Chief of Police ("4-star" rank) - head of the MTAPD # Chief of Operations, Administration ("3-star" rank) - second in command and in charge of operations # Assistant Chief of Special Services ("2-star" rank) - third in command and in charge of special services Below them rank the rest of the department (see rank structure below) of approximately 1000 police officers. Officers serve across the transit system and in various departments (see below).

Ranks of Department

The following is a list of all of the ranks of the MTA Police Department: Rank insignia for Sergeant and Detective Sergeant (when in uniform) is worn on the upper sleeves of the shirt and jacket while rank insignia for Lieutenant through Chief of Department is worn on the collars of the shirt and the shoulders of the jacket.

Power and authority

MTAPD officers are New York State police officers according to New York State Criminal Procedure Law, §1.20(34). This means they have police powers powers, within New York State. Officers are also commissioned officers in

, as MTAPD works in Connecticut (see above section).

Uniforms and equipment

Despite being a state (or inter-state) law enforcement agency, MTAPD officers wear similar uniform to NYPD personnel. This includes: *dark blue shirt with metal badge and collar pins *dark blue trousers *tie *jacket and coat *eight-point blue peaked cap, with cap-badge *duty belt *bullet-resistant vest *equipment vest *boots The ESU and Hybrid Threat Unit wears a less formal version without metal badges and pins, and with writing on their shirts and jackets, with no "shield". A variety of vests, gloves and other appropriate gear for the season/duty can be worn, such as traffic vests. MTAPD officers are all armed with a pistol and also carry: *Taser *Expandable baton *OC spray *Handcuffs *Radio that is linked with central despatch and other officers *notebooks and pens. All officers wear a police badge (known in New York as a "shield") on their left chest, in regular and ceremonial uniform. The colour and style changes with rank.

Districts

There are currently 11 police districts within the MTA Police Department:

Specialized units

The department has the following specialized units (details): * Canine (K-9) Unit - provides special police dog support * Computer Crimes Unit * Emergency Services Unit - police officers, with special equipment, who are trained for a variety of serious emergencies. Similar to the units of the

Port Authority Police The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey Police Department, or Port Authority Police Department (PAPD), is a law enforcement agency in New York and New Jersey, the duties of which are to protect and to enforce state and city laws at all th ...

and

New York City Police 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 New York City, City of New York, the largest and one of ...

. * Detective Division - investigates serious crimes to do with MTA * Highway Unit ''also known as "Highway Patrol"'' - patrols and protects the MTA bridges, highways, tunnels and other roads. * Homeless Assistance Unit * Interagency Counterterrorism Task Force - works with other New York state and city agencies. * Discovery Unit * Executive Protection Unit * Hybrid Threat Unit * Fare Evasion Task Force * Body Worn Camera Unit * Communications Unit * Emergency Operations * Internal Affairs Bureau * Technology & System Development * Right of Way Task Force * Training Unit * Applicant Investigations

Patrolman's Benevolent Association

The MTAPD has a Patrolman's Benevolent Association, which is a union for the MTA Police officers, from the ranks of "Officer" to "Lieutenant" inclusive. The MTA website states:

Social media

The MTAPD has
Twitter
account, that it uses to disseminate useful information for users of the MTA.

References

External links

* * {{Portal bar, New York City, New York (state), Connecticut Transit police departments of the United States Metropolitan Transportation Authority Specialist police departments of New York (state) Specialist police departments of Connecticut Law enforcement agencies of New York City