Abbreviation MTA Police | Formed 1998 | |
 | ||
Legal personality Governmental: Government agency Operations jurisdiction* City of New York in the state of New York, USA Legal jurisdiction New York and Connecticut General nature Law enforcement
Local civilian police | ||
The Metropolitan Transportation Authority Police, or MTA Police, is the police agency of New York's Metropolitan Transportation Authority. Officers of the MTA Police 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 the city of New York,
Contents
The MTA Police is not responsible for the New York City Subway. The subways are patrolled by the New York City Police Department (NYPD)'s Transit Bureau.
History
The department was formed in 1998, with the consolidation of the Long Island Rail Road Police and the Metro-North Railroad Police Departments. 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.
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 MTA Staten Island Railway Police Department, with 25 officers, was merged with the MTA Police. The MTA Staten Island Railway 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.
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.
Specialized Units
The department has the following specialized units (details):