Metropolitan Transportation Authority 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,

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.^[1]

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.^[2]

Ranks of Department

Staten Island Rapid Transit Police Patch

The following is a list of all of the ranks of the MTA Police Department:

Title	Insignia	Uniform Shirt Color
Chief of Department		White
Assistant Chief		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

MTA Police cars parked at District 9 in Staten Island

MTA Police vehicle at Tarrytown (Metro-North station)

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) ^[4]
• Canine Unit (K-9)
• Highway Patrol ^[5]
• Communications Unit
• Internal Affairs Bureau
• Technology & System Development (TSD)
• Right of Way Task Force (ROW)

See also

• Metropolitan Transportation Authority
• List of law enforcement agencies in New York
• New York City Police Department (NYPD)
• Port Authority Police Department

References

External links

• Media related to Metropolitan Transportation Authority Police at Wikimedia Commons
• Official website

Links to related articles
Metropolitan Transportation Authority Bus Regional Bus Operations Rapid transit New York City Subway Staten Island Railway Commuter rail Long Island Rail Road Metro-North Railroad Crossings Bridges and Tunnels Law enforcement Metropolitan Transportation Authority Police New York City Police Department Transit Bureau Triborough Bridge and Tunnel Authority Police Department Fleet Subway Bus Long Island Rail Road Metro-North Railroad Other Bus and subway fares Dedicated bus lanes MetroCard New York City Transit Authority Histories New York City Subway Staten Island Railway New York City Transit Police Capital Construction MTA Arts & Design Former services Long Island Bus Law enforcement agencies in Fairfield County, Connecticut State Level Connecticut State Police Metropolitan Transportation Authority Police County Level Fairfield County Sheriff's Department Fairfield County Marshal Town/City Level Bethel Police Department Bridgeport Police Department Bridgeport Park Police Department Bristol Police Department Brookfield Police Department Danbury Police Department Darien Police Department Easton Police Department Fairfield Police Department Greenwich Police Department New Canaan Police Department Newtown Police Department Norwalk Police Department Ridgefield Police Department Shelton Police Department Shelton Sheriff's Department Stamford Police Department Stratford Police Department Weston Police Department Westport Police Department Wilton Police Department Trumbull Police Department University Level Western Connecticut State University Police Department Sacred Heart University Public Safety Law enforcement in New York City State Court Officers Metropolitan Transportation Authority Police Port Authority Police Department New York State Police New York State University Police Roosevelt Island Department of Public Safety State Bridge Authority Police Triborough Bridge and Tunnel Authority Police Waterfront Commission of New York Harbor Police City Department of Correction City University of New York Public Safety Department Department of Environmental Protection Police Fire Department Fire Marshals Department of Health and Hospitals Police Department of Homeless Services Police Human Resources Administration Police Department of Citywide Administrative Services Police Department of Investigation Parks Enforcement Patrol Police Department (NYPD) Department of Probation Department of Sanitation Police School Safety Agents Sheriff's Office Taxi and Limousine Commission Enforcement Neighbor- hood Co-op City Department of Public Safety Hunts Point Department of Public Safety New York Racing Association Law Enforcement and Safety Division Spring Creek Towers Department of Public Safety (Starrett City) Sea Gate Police Department Crime in New York City