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 responsible for the day-to-day operations of the department as well as the appointment of deputies including the Chief of Department and subordinate officers. Commissioners are civilian administrators, and they and their subordinate deputies are civilians under an oath of office, not sworn members of the force. This is a separate position from the Chief of Department, who is the senior sworn uniformed member of the force. The First Deputy Commissioner is the Commissioner and department's second-in-command. The office of the Police Commissioner is located at the NYPD Headquarters, One Police Plaza. Both the commissioner and first deputy commissioner outrank all uniformed officers, including the chief of department. Theodore Roosevelt, in one of his final acts as

Governor of New York The governor of New York is the head of government of the U.S. state of New York. The governor is the head of the executive branch of New York's state government and the commander-in-chief of the state's military forces. The governor has ...

before becoming Vice President of the United States in March 1901, continued reforms he began when he was police superintendent by signing legislation that replaced the police commission and office of the police chief (previously the superintendent) with a single police commissioner. The current police commissioner is

Keechant Sewell Keechant L. Sewell (born April 2, 1972) is an American police officer and administrator who is currently serving as the 45th New York City Police Commissioner, the first woman to serve in the position. Early life Sewell was raised in the Long I ...

, who had previously been Chief of Detectives for the Nassau County Police Department. On December 14, 2021, the mayor-elect Eric Adams confirmed that he would appoint Sewell as the first female police commissioner of the NYPD. She took office on January 1, 2022. The Commissioner's responsibilities include: * To ensure the effective day-to-day operation of the department * To appoint the board of Commissioners, the Chief of the Department and all subordinate officers * To ensure the safety and protection of New York City and its population * To ensure the department enforces city, state and federal law

List of superintendents, chiefs, and commissioners

Pre-1901

Prior to 1901, the New York City Police Department was run by a board of four to six commissioners. The following is a list of some of the most famous members of the Police Commission: ;Presidents of the Board of Commissioners ;Members of the Board of Commissioners *

George Washington Matsell George Washington Matsell (October 26, 1811 New York City – July 25, 1877 in Manhattan, New York) was the first New York City Police Commissioner. Biography Matsell was born in New York City to George Joshua Matsell, an immigrant from Walsingham, ...

, 1845–1857, Superintendent *

John Alexander Kennedy John Alexander Kennedy (August 9, 1803 – June 20, 1873) was the superintendent of police for New York City, from 1860 to 1863. He was in charge of the police response to the New York City draft riots in 1863, until he was badly beaten by the mo ...

, 1860–1863, Superintendent * Abram Duryée, 1873–1874, Commissioner * George Washington Walling, 1874–1885, Superintendent * William Farrar Smith, 1875–1881, President of the Board of Commissioners * Fitz John Porter, 1884–1888, Commissioner *

Frederick Dent Grant Frederick Dent Grant (May 30, 1850 – April 12, 1912) was a soldier and United States minister to Austria-Hungary. Grant was the first son of General and President of the United States Ulysses S. Grant and Julia Grant. He was named after his ...

, 1894–1898, Commissioner * Theodore Roosevelt, 1895–1897, President of the Board of Commissioners *

John McCullagh John H. McCullagh (1842 – March 6, 1893) was an American law enforcement officer and police captain in the New York City Police Department. Popularly known as "Farmer John", he was a protégé of Captains Jeremiah Petty and George W. Walli ...

, 1897–1898, Superintendent *

John B. Sexton John is a common English name and surname: * John (given name) * John (surname) John may also refer to: New Testament Works * Gospel of John, a title often shortened to John * First Epistle of John, often shortened to 1 John * Second E ...

, 1898–1901, Commissioner *

William Stephen Devery William Stephen Devery (January 9, 1854 – June 20, 1919), nicknamed "Big Bill". was the last superintendent of the New York City Police Department police commission and the first police chief in 1898. Devery and Frank J. Farrell later co-ow ...

, May 21, 1898 – June 30, 1898 (acting), June 30, 1898 – February 22, 1901. The superintendent title was changed to Chief of Police in 1898. Devery was the Police Department's last superintendent, and first chief.

Post-1901

Since 1901, a single commissioner has been in charge of the New York Police Department. The following is a list of the commissioners:

In popular culture

In the

police procedural The police show, or police crime drama, is a subgenre of procedural drama and detective fiction that emphasizes the investigative procedure of a police officer or department as the protagonist(s), as contrasted with other genres that focus on eith ...

television show '' Blue Bloods'', the fictional New York City Police Commissioner Frank Reagan is played by Tom Selleck. His father,

Henry Reagan This is an overview of the regular, recurring, and other characters of the CBS TV crime drama series '' Blue Bloods''. Reagan family Family tree Frank Reagan Commissioner Francis Xavier Reagan, portrayed by former ''Magnum, P.I ...

, played by Len Cariou, is a former Commissioner.

Salary

The public disclosure of salary as of 2020 is approximately $205,180.00 base, which is considered in line with what most large US cities pay their respective chief of police, and a bit lower than that of the chief of the Los Angeles Police Department.

Gallery

File:Simeon Draper, Collector of the Port of New York.jpg, Simeon Draper, who was one of the original 1857 Board of Police Commissioners File:John Alexander Kennedy by Brady.jpg, New York Police Department Superintendent

File:Duryee4s.jpg, Abram Duryée File:Joel B. Erhardt.jpg, Joel B. Erhardt File:Frederick Dent Grant.jpg, Frederick Dent Grant File:tr nyc police commissioner.jpg, Theodore Roosevelt File:William S. Devery.gif, William S. Devery File:Michael C. Murphy, Obituary picture, March 4,1903 - The New York Evening World.jpg, Michael C. Murphy (New York politician), Michael Cotter Murphy File:Francis Vinton Greene.jpg, Francis Vinton Greene File:Frederick Hamilton Bugher (1876-1924) in 1918.jpg, Frederick Hamilton Bugher in 1918 File:Ray Kelly US Commissioner of Customs.jpg, Raymond W. Kelly File:Bill Bratton at the seminar on his new book Collaborate or Perish! Lessons for Politics, Business and Public Services.jpg, William J. Bratton File:BernardKerik.JPG, Bernard Kerik

References

External links

Police Commissioner page on the New York Police Department website
{{Theodore Roosevelt 1845 establishments in New York (state) Theodore Roosevelt New York City Police Commissioners,