History of the NYPD

     New York City is one of the populated areas in the United States of America. If this city did not have the NYPD (New York City Police Department) to protect and serve its citizens, New York would not be a very safe place to live. The creation of the NYPD allowed the city to grow and prosper into the metropolis it is today by creating a safe environment during the Gilded Era.

Law enforcement first began in New York City while it was still known as Fort Amsterdam.

     Law enforcement in New York City existed long before the NYPD with a lawman known as the schout-fiscal (or literally "sheriff-attorney"). This type of lawman first existed in 1625 when New York City was still a Dutch fort known as Fort Amsterdam. The schout-fiscal would patrol the grounds of the fort settling minor disputes, keeping the general peace, and warning colonists if fires broke out at night. All throughout the rest of the 17th and 18th centuries, this sort of enforcement kept the peace in the city until it simply became too big for a few to patrol. Then the city felt the need for a true police force.
     The law enforcement in New York City was beginning to gain poor reputation as their responsibilities grew with the rate of the city's increase. The murder of Mary Roger's in 1841 was so poorly handled by the law enforcement at the time that it gave the press good reason to depict the existing law enforcement with an image of unreliability and disorganization. Although four years later, law enforcement in New York City would be reshaped entirely. When High Constable Jacob Hayes retired in 1845, the governor of New York granted Mayor William Havemeyer permission for the creation of a professional police force. Eight-hundred men became the first police force in New York City under the leadership of the first Chief of Police, George W. Matsell on May 13, 1845 with the city divided into three districts. The brand new NYPD began patrolling the streets of the city in July of 1845.
     The NYPD gave all sorts of security to the citizens of New York City. Along with their traditional law enforcement duties the NYPD was crucial during times of conflict in the 19th century. The NYPD showed great strength when it suppressed Civil War draft riots in the 1860s and especially during the Orange Riot in 1871. In fact the NYPD's first official motto came as a direct result of thanks from the citizens when the department received a Flag of Honor in 1872. Written on the Flag of Honor was written "Faithful Unto Death" which is still an official motto of the NYPD today.

 

19th Century Police poster with NYPD motto "Faithful Unto Death."

     The NYPD wasn't always so great though. Even the police had their fair share in corruption. Tammany Hall in New York City began its political corruption in the 1870s and even had a large impact on corruption in the police department. Tammany Hall contributed to this corruption by bribing police officials to overlook illegal liquor sales, fraud, and even ballot-box stuffing at police-manned polls. The police department also was growing lazy on its patrolling duties. All of this corruption and laziness would quickly be brought to a close with the arrival of "Teddy" himself, Theodore Roosevelt.
     Theodore Roosevelt became the President of the New York City Police Commission in 1895. As police commissioner Roosevelt set goals to end corruption in the city as a whole, but he only made a true difference in the department's corruption. Roosevelt quickly gained the public's favor when he himself would go on nighttime patrol's on the city to make sure police officers were doing their jobs. Roosevelt found many policemen acting lazy and ignoring their duties on these patrols and gradually renewed the professional reputation of the department. Roosevelt also gained the public's favor by enforcing laws that had been widely ignored beforehand such as closing beer halls on Sundays. Roosevelt was a fantastic leader within the NYPD which was revealed in William Andrew's research into the NYPD's history division where he found a record describing Theodore Roosevelt as "an iron-willed leader of unimpeachable honesty, (who) brought a reforming zeal to the New York City Police Commission in 1895." After Theodore Roosevelt left the NYPD, the force would continue its professional patterns to this present day and make multiple advancements in criminology that would contribute to the safety of the city as a whole.

Teddy Roosevelt was a strict leader of the Board of NYC Police Commissioners.

    Police officers first began carrying guns shortly before Roosevelt's arrival in 1887. Shortly after he became President of the commission however, a school of Police Pistol Practice opened in 1895 and practices officially started on December 30, 1895. On June 3, 1896 the Police Board agreed that a .32 caliber, double-action, 4 in. barrel Colt revolver would become the first standard side-arm among the NYPD. The introduction of a standard side-arm in the force greatly increased the level of responsibility among the officers in keeping the city safe and many new standards in safety had to be introduced over the next few years. In 1901 the board changed the side-arm rule to "each, member of the patrol force shall be armed on duty with a revolving pistol of .38 caliber with the officer's shield number stamped onto the pistol." In 1906 finger-printing became a tool of the force when Commissioner McAdoo sent Det. Sgt. Joseph Faurot to London in order to gain information on the process of finger-printing. The first case to be solved using finger-printing technology was in 1908. Accurate crime statistics did not exist within the city before the 1960s but the trend as these of advancements in criminology were introduced has shown a dramatic decrease in crime rates. Even in the beginning of the 21st century when New York is one of the most populated cities, the NYPD continues to enforce the city "Faithful Unto Death" and keeps the citizens safe so they can go about their daily lives with a sense of security.


Sources: 
Wikipedia
Shmoop
NYPD Recruit
U-S History.com
NYC.gov
BJ Whalen article