New York City Police Department

New York City Police Department is founded

May 23, 1845

The NYPD is officially formed in 1845 with the establishment of the Municipal Police to replace the former night watch system, making the NYPD one of the oldest police departments in the US.

First female in the department

1895

In 1895 Minnie Gertrude Kelly was appointed as secretary to the police board, making her the first female to work in the NYPD headquarters. Following her was Isabella Goodwin in 1912 as the first female detective and 2 unnamed women in 1917 were hired as the first patrolwomen.

First department reform

1895

Before the year of 1895, there was a lack of structure and ethics in the NYPD. Police brutality, bribery, and electoral fraud were common occurrences within the department until the Lexow Committee was started in 1894 to investigate the corruption and make suggestions for reform. In 1895 Theodore Roosevelt was voted as police commissioner and he set in place many reforms and created new police units that are still in place to this day.

First black police officer is hired

Mar 6, 1911

Samuel J. Battle is sworn in in 1911 as the first black police officer of the NYPD, eventually becoming their first black lieutenant as well.

Creation of the New York City Police Foundation

1971

In 1971 a non-profit organization called the New York City Police Foundation was created to provide support for the NYPD and help improve quality of police services. The foundation assists in supplying equipment to officers (excluding weapons and ammunition), funding training programs and higher education, assisting with COVID-19 relief, and the creation of the Crime Stoppers program which allows tipsters to remain anonymous and receive rewards for information leading to arrests.

Development of CompStat

1994

In 1994 the program CompStat (short for Compare Statistics) was launched, with transit officer Jack Maple credited as the creator and Captain Mario Selvagi as the first to implement the program. CompStat was a more accurate and up to date way to track crime data and look at accountability and focus. Crime declined by 60% in 1995 as a result of this program.

First major terrorist attack on Americans

Sep 11, 2001

On September 11th, 2001 2,977 lives were lost in New York City as a result of the collapse of the Twin Towers due to a terrorist attack, with 23 of those being NYPD officers. This was the largest loss of life the department had ever faced in one year. The attacks sparked the creation of the NYPD Counter-Terrorism Bureau in 2002 to prevent similar tragedies from occurring in the future.

Largest gang bust in New York history

Jun 4, 2014

On June 4th 2014, the NYPD raided the Manhattanville Houses and Grant Houses making a total of 103 arrests of individual gang members, the most ever made at once in New York state. However despite this major bust and the decline of general shootings by 34%, police experts and residents believe it did not reduce gang related crime overall.