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The Dutch Era
Dutch settlers were faced with fear, hunger, disease and poverty in Manhattan Island. They implemented a system of law and order to preserve that community. According to their European experience, they formed a council to make and interpret the law. In 1651, the first professional police department was created in New Amsterdam - the Rattlewatch. There was a volunteer patrol composed of citizens appointed by the council. They roamed the streets to discourage crime and search for offenders. -
Under British Rule
There were changes for the maintenance of peace when the British took New Amsterdam and its surroundings and named it New York. There was an English policeman whose job was to keep the peace, to suppress excessive drinking, gambling, prostitution and to prevent disturbances. -
The Revolutionary War
Dissatisfaction of New Yorkers against the protection of the British army, triggering movements for the seizure of power. -
Period of Independence
There was a need to implement a more competent and stronger police force because the city's population density increased and the police system weakened. -
New York’s Finest Finally Finds Its Way
Increased criminality due to the hostile phase the population and the immigrants of the city were going through, so it was necessary to copy a police model to protect the city. -
The London Police Model
In 1828, Sir Robert Peel, British Home Secretary, introduced a bill establishing a paid professional
police force - one that wore uniforms, was well drilled
and devoted itself full-time to protecting the peace.
Nicknamed "bobbies" and "peelers," this police force
had been created because of a marked increase in
criminal activity in England. With a similar upsurge
in crime in their own city, New Yorkers decided to try
a similar solution. -
The Municipal Police
The City's old system of policing - the 80
member Nightwatch that patrolled the streets during
the evenin" hours - was finally legislated out of
existence in 1844 and replaced with a new system -the
Day and Night Police.
The State Legislature approved the creaticm of
the new force and authorized the hiring of up to 800
men. But the City Council, rather than adopting the
concept, decided that it could get by with a municipal
police force of only 200 men. -
The First Shield
Many policemen strongly objected to wearing
a specially deSigned uniform, preferring to dress in
their own clothes. They viewed the uniform as a British
innovation and an infringement on their rights. as
freeborn American citizens. Many citizens shared this
contempt and publicly condemned a uniform force as
nothing more than a "standing army" and "liveried
lack.eys." -
The First Patrol Guide
The first set of printed rules and regulations
was issued to the force in 1845. These "regulations
forthe Day and Night Police ofthe City of New York with
Instructions as to the Legal Powers and Duties of
Policemen" dealt with the statutory and administrative
aspects of the job. .
Policemen were instructed that "the prevention
of crime being the most important object in your view. -
The First Official Uniform
Full uniforms were finally adopted in 1853. The
first full uniform consisted of a leather helmet and a
blue, single-breasted cloth frock coat, buttoned to the
neck with the letters M.P. (Municipal Police) on a
standing collar. Gray trousers, with a half-inch black
stripe running down the side of each leg, completed the
outfit.
Each officer was equipped with a baton that
was 22 inches long and three-quarters of an inch thick. -
The Metropolitan Police
Concerned about the City's mushrooming crime
rate, officials decided that sweeping and radical
changes had to be made in police protection. A state- .
controlled Metropolitan Police District was established
to step in and slowly phase out the Municipal Police
Department. -
Teddy Roosevelt, The Innovator
In 1895, Theodore Roosevelt was apPOinted to
the newly installed board of pOlice commissioners. He
immediately set about strengthening qualifications for
apPOintment to ensure that physical and mental ability
would be given more weight than political influence. -
Modern Day Police Department
In 1898, the State Legislature ordered that 24
local governments - cities, towns and villages - consolidate into a single entity: New York City. As a result,
the Police Department of the Greater City of New York
assimilated 18 smaller police agencies. The greatly-expanded force was named the "New York Police Department."
The City's governmental expansion made the
problems of policing more complex in the early years
of the 20th century. -
Turn of the Century
The City and its Police Department now faced
an era of modernization and growth spurred on by
ClJmmunity needs and the "needs of the time." As the City's population grew, so did its crime
problem. In 1914, recognizing that "the youth of today
could turn into the criminal of tomorrow," Captain John
Sweeny founded the Police Initially called the
Junior Police Corps, its mission was to keep youngsters out of trouble by channeling their energies into
recreational and athletic activities . -
Entering Difficult Times
In 1917, America entered World War L That
same year, the Department put its first radio-equipped
patrol car on the road and established a Missing Persons Bureau. -
Coping with Traffic and Teenagers
By 1930, Manhattan's neatly organized streets
and avenues had become the setting for a growing
number of traffic accidents and deaths. Juvenile
delinquency had also become a problem. The Department met both of these challenges with long term
solutions. -
Shell Shocked and “Blue”
In 1941, America entered World War II. Months
before the costly lesson of Pearl Harbor, a civil defense
strategy had been formulated to ensure the safety of
New York City's citizens in the event of an enemy
attack. -
A Time of Civil Unrest
With the 1960's, came great advances in income, education and housing, but not in civil rights.
The mood of contentment that had characterized the
1950's was shattered not only by the skyrocketing
crime-wave, but by civil disorder, alarming rises in
welfare cases, drug abuse and youth unemployment. -
Striving To Meet The Needs Of The Time
After the violence of the 1960's, there was a
need to rebuild police-community relations. The
Department recognized that increased foot patrols
would best accomplish this goal. A foot officer could
be a source of information, a counselor to the public
and the eyes and ears of the Department. -
The 1980’s
As the 20th century moved along, so did the
wheels of progress tum for the Department. Rapid
response to criminal and emergency incidents became
the Department's standard measure of performance.
More officers were assigned to radio-car patrol and
the Department's ability to interact with the City's
citizens began to decline. -
The 1990’s
In the early 1990's, under Police Commissioner Lee P. Brown, Community POlicing was
adopted as the Department's dominant style of policing. This radical change involves all segments of the
Department in Community Policing. Emphasis is no
longer on rapid response, although the capability for
this response remains, but on problem solving and
police-community relations.
Today, the Department stands as an example
to the wond of what modem poliCing is all about.