Metropolitan Transportation Authority Police Department
The Metropolitan Transportation Authority Police Department (MTAPD)[2] is the law enforcement agency of New York's Metropolitan Transportation Authority. MTA Police Officers are fully empowered under the New York State Public Authorities Law and are commissioned in the state of Connecticut. Their geographic area of employment extends to all counties in New York served by the Metropolitan Transportation Authority, giving the MTA Police the ability to exercise full police authority within the counties of Dutchess, Putnam, Orange, Rockland, Westchester, Nassau, Suffolk, and in New York City.
Metropolitan Transportation Authority Police Department | |
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Abbreviation | MTAPD |
Agency overview | |
Formed | January 1, 1998[1] |
Preceding agencies |
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Jurisdictional structure | |
Operations jurisdiction | New York City, New York, USA |
Legal jurisdiction | New York and Connecticut |
General nature | |
Operational structure | |
Police Officers | 646 |
Agency executive |
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Parent agency | Metropolitan Transportation Authority |
Units | List
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Facilities | |
Districts | 9
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Website | |
web |
The MTA Police Department is not responsible for the New York City Subway. The subways are patrolled by the NYPD Transit Bureau under contract since 1994, with assistance from 500 MTAPD officers which have been stationed in transit since 2019 to address farebeating and homelessness.
History
The department was formed on January 1, 1998, with the consolidation of the Long Island Rail Road Police Department and the Metro-North Railroad Police Department. Since 9/11, the department has expanded in size and has ramped up dramatically its counter-terrorism capabilities, adding canine teams and emergency services officers. There are 1 lieutenant, 4 sergeants, and 44 police officers who are assigned to the K-9 Unit and serve as handlers with their canine partners. The department now 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.[3]
Currently, training for new recruits is conducted at the New York City Police Academy. After successfully completing the academy curriculum; officers are further trained in Connecticut law and law enforcement procedures.
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 (SIRT) in the Staten Island borough of 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.[4]
On September 12, 2019, the MTA announced the addition of 500 MTAPD officers to patrol the New York City Subway, 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.[5] 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.[6][7]
Ranks of Department
![](../I/Staten_Island_Rapid_Transit_Police_Patch.jpg.webp)
The following is a list of all of the ranks of the MTA Police Department:
Title | Insignia | Uniform Shirt Color |
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Chief of Police | ![]() |
White |
Chief of Operations | ![]() |
White |
Deputy Chief | ![]() |
White |
Assistant Deputy Chief | ![]() |
White |
Inspector | ![]() |
White |
Deputy Inspector | ![]() |
White |
Captain/Detective Captain | ![]() |
White |
Lieutenant/Detective Lieutenant | ![]() |
White |
Sergeant/Detective Sergeant | ![]() |
Dark Blue |
Police Officer/Detective | ![]() |
Dark Blue |
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.
Districts
![](../I/MTA_Police_Crown_Victoria_Cruiser.JPG.webp)
District # | Location[8] |
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1 | Central Islip |
2 | Bethpage |
3 | Jamaica |
4 | Penn Station |
5 | Grand Central Terminal |
6 | Mount Vernon |
7 | Beacon |
8 | Stamford, Connecticut |
9 | Staten Island |
10 | East Side Access |
Specialized Units
The department has the following specialized units (details):
- Detective Division
- Inter-agency Counterterrorism Task Force (ICTF)
- Executive Protection Unit
- Emergency Services Unit (ESU) [9]
- Hybrid Threat Unit
- Homeless Assistance Unit
- Fare Evasion Task Force
- Canine Unit (K-9)
- Highway Patrol [10]
- Communications Unit
- Internal Affairs Bureau
- Technology & System Development (TSD)
- Right of Way Task Force (ROW)
- Applicant Investigations
See also
- List of law enforcement agencies in New York
References
- "PBA History | MTA Police Benevolent Association".
The two departments began the task of merging the departments immediately and on January 1, 1998 the two departments officially became the Metropolitan Transportation Authority Police Department.
- "MTA.info | MTA Police". web.mta.info. Retrieved November 20, 2017.
The Metropolitan Transportation Authority Police Department is the police agency of New York's Metropolitan Transportation Authority. Officers of the MTAPD are fully empowered under the New York State Public Authorities Law and are commissioned in the state of Connecticut.
- "2013 United States Police Canine Association National Detector Trials" (PDF). United States Police Canine Association. Archived from the original (PDF) on October 8, 2013.
- MTA Newsroom Archived November 25, 2005, at the Wayback Machine
- staff/stephen-nessen (September 12, 2019). "The MTA Is Hiring 500 New Cops To Fix 'Quality Of Life' Issues In The Subway System". Gothamist. Archived from the original on November 12, 2019. Retrieved November 15, 2019.
- staff/jake-offenhartz (November 12, 2019). "MTA Board Members Reconsider New Subway Cops: 'What Is The Strategy Here?'". Gothamist. Archived from the original on November 15, 2019. Retrieved November 15, 2019.
- staff/jake-offenhartz (November 14, 2019). "Video: Police Arrest Man Selling Candy In Harlem Subway Station". Gothamist. Archived from the original on November 15, 2019. Retrieved November 15, 2019.
- "Contact Us". Metropolitan Transportation Authority Police Department. Retrieved October 28, 2016.
- Emergency Services Unit Truck
- Highway Patrol Car
External links
Media related to Metropolitan Transportation Authority Police at Wikimedia Commons
- Official website