New York City Department of Environmental Protection Police

New York City Department of Environmental Protection Police
Common name	New York City Environmental Protection Police
Abbreviation	NYC DEP Police
Patch of the New York City Department of Environmental Protection Police
Agency overview
Formed	1906
Legal personality	Governmental: Government agency
Jurisdictional structure
Operations jurisdiction*	City of New York in the state of New York, USA
Legal jurisdiction	New York state
General nature	Law enforcement Civilian police
Specialist jurisdiction	Environment, parks, and-or heritage property.
Operational structure
Environmental Police Officers	Approx. 190
Agency executive	Peter Fusco, Chief
Units	List Emergency Services Unit Marine Patrol Canine Patrol(K-9) Detective Bureau
Facilities
Precincts	1st Precinct – Gilboa 2nd Precinct – Beerston 3rd Precinct – Downsville 4th Precinct – Ashokan 5th Precinct – Neversink 6th Precinct – Eastview 7th Precinct – Yonkers Kingston – Police Academy Lefrak City
Website
NYC DEP Website
Footnotes
* Divisional agency: Division of the country, over which the agency has usual operational jurisdiction.

The New York City Department of Environmental Protection Police, also known as DEP Police, and formerly known as the Bureau of Water Supply Police and the Aqueduct Police, is a law enforcement agency in New York whose duties are to protect and preserve the New York City water supply system, the nation's largest single source water supply. The department has protected and preserved the water supply system for over 100 years.

History

The Bureau of Water Supply (BWS) Police was created through legislation enacted in the 1906 Water Supply Act. It was not until 1907 that the first provisional appointees were hired and assigned. On July 9, 1908, the first permanent police officers were appointed and assigned to the precincts in Peekskill, Garrison, Browns Station, and High Falls. The Bureau of Water Supply Police was the first police agency in upstate New York with a multiple county police jurisdiction.

In 1908, Rhinelander Waldo was appointed as Chief of the Board of the Aqueduct Police. At this time, there were approximately 60 men assigned to the force. After a few months of service, Rhinelander was appointed Fire Commissioner of the City of New York. He was succeeded by Captain Douglas I. McKay.

Captain McKay selected a number of qualified individuals from the civil service list with the intention of making them Aqueduct Police Sergeants. He created stringent requirements, including that all members must be qualified horseman, and have experience as an officer or non-commissioned officer in the United States Army or the National Guard (with a preference for Spanish–American War Veterans). Approximately two hundred men passed these rigid qualifications and were appointed as sergeants.

At this time, the newly formed Aqueduct Police, a force of 350 officers (300 of these being mounted units) were tasked with ensuring order in the unruly construction site work camps. The first Board of Water Supply Police Precinct was built in Spout Brook, approximately two miles from Peekskill, New York. Other Precincts were built shortly after, each being manned by five sergeants and thirty officers and horses.

In 1983, the Bureau of Water Supply became the Department of Environmental Protection and the New York State Legislature revised the Criminal Procedure Law, part of the New York State Laws, to include DEP police officers.^[1] In 1999, the DEP jurisdiction was extended to include the five boroughs of New York City. In 2004, the highest court in the state, the New York State Court of Appeals, affirmed the DEP Police Department's jurisdiction throughout the watershed. Members of the DEP Police are New York State police officers.The term Environmental Protection Police does not include NYC Environmental Police Officers that are assigned to the NYC Sanitation Department. These Officers are similar to Sanitation Police Officers.

Today

A NYC Bureau of Water Supply Police patch.

The NYC Department of Environmental Protection Police investigate over 4000 complaints per year, 500 of these related to environmental crimes. Environmental crimes include storm water complaints, water pollution and the illegal transportation, storage, and disposal of hazardous waste. Additionally they investigate waste water treatment plant and septic system failures as well as dumping complaints. The DEP department maintains jurisdiction in 14 counties including the 5 counties in New York City. The department has a full-time Aviation Unit, ESU Team, Marine Patrol, K-9 Patrol, and Detective Bureau.

Rank structure

There are seven titles (referred to as ranks) in the New York City Department of Environmental Protection Police:^[2]

Title	Insignia	Uniform shirt color
Chief		White
Deputy Chief		White
Captain		White
Lieutenant		White
Detective Sergeant Sergeant		Dark blue
Detective Environmental Police Officer		Dark blue

Departmental issues

Salary

The salary for DEP Police officer is $31,485 for the first 26 weeks while in training, which jumps to $36,120 after the completion of training. The salary rises up to $37,286 after one year and a half, and reaches the top salary of $54,985 after 6 years.^[3] Arbitration was won by the union for these officers and is pending ratification. Also, the city has changed the length of time to reach top from 6 years to 6 1/2 years. After 9 years without a contract, an agreement covering 2005–2007 provides raises of 5%, 4% & 4%, (13.568% total) and other increases, resulting in an estimated $50,000 back pay per officer.^[4]

Line of Duty Injury Benefits

As of early 2014 when the NYC Mayoral race was completed, the incoming Mayor de Blasio and his administration approved a MoA (Memorandum of Agreement) {Pre-Contract} approving 18 month line-of-duty benefits for its Officers.

In March 2009, DEP officer Eric Hoffman was injured when he crashed his all-terrain vehicle while chasing after trespassers and did not have line of duty injury benefits.^[5]

On April 20, 2009, DEP Police officers and their union president rallied outside New York City Hall for line of duty injury benefits.^[6] The new contract covering 2005–2007 makes DEP officers eligible for LOD injury benefits.

References

↑ New York State Criminal Procedure Law, section 1.20, subsection 34, paragraph o
↑ Note there is no civil service exam for these titles. Instead an officer must go through an interview with the department heads who choose who will be promoted.
↑ "Environmental Cops Clash With Chiefs". The Chief-Leader. March 23, 2007. Archived from the original on 2008-05-30.
↑ http://www.nydailynews.com/blogs/dailypolitics/2014/02/de-blasio-administration-strikes-first-contract-deal-with-retro-pay-with-dep-c
↑ DEP officer's injury benefits
↑ DEP officers rally for injury benefits

External links

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 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 Investigation Parks Enforcement Patrol Police Department 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

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