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If you have issues viewing or accessing this file contact us at NCJRS.gov. ;··· I1 I • I I POLICE DEPARTMENT • CITI" OF NEW YORK THE mSTORY OF NEW YORK CITY POLICE DEPARTMENT •• RAYMOND W. KELLY POLICE··COMMISSIONER • U.S. Department of Justice 145539 National Institute of Justice This document has been reproduced exactly as received from the person or organization originating It. Points of view or opinions stated in this document are those of the authors and do not necessarily represent the official position or pOlicies of the National Institute of Justice. Permission to reproduce this copyrighted material has been granted bL • • New York Clty Pollee Dept. to the National Criminal Justice Reference Service (NCJRS). Further reproduction outside of the NCJRS system requires permission of the copyright owner. IThe History of New York's Finestl The Humble Beginnings The Dutch Era (1625-1664) When the Dutch colonists first arrived on Man- fellow Rattlewatch members. They also selVed as hattsn 'sland, they found themselves faced with a town criers, announcing the hours from 9 P.M. to harsh and often hostile frontier. Armed with hope and daybreak at all street comers. determination, these hardy settlers struggled daily with In iate 1658, the eight members of the fear, hunger, sickness and poverty. They realized they Ratf(ewatch began drawing pay, making them the first had to establish a system of law and order, or their municipally funded police organization. community would perish. : . - . +-:.. .. ..::. :.( ~. f,I J .. Relying on their. I' \7' ~ I' ~ Under British Rule European experi~nce, they : q ) {. ~ r' .tt' I. (1664 ~ 1783) fo~ed a council to make " ~_ .. ! 1 ~ and Interpret the law. The' .- f H\\ 1 In 1664, the British council then apPointed a ". I'~:~ . ~ k seized New Amsterdam schout-fiscal- Dutch for le- ! ' I I.Y· I and its outskirts and re­ gal officer - to see that its . ~ named the territory New edicts were obeyed. It was : )., York, in honor of the Duke the schout-fiscal's job to of York. Although imme­ punish each lawbreaker in diate steps were taken to a manner befitting the make the region's 1,500 crime. He selVed as both settlers conform to the sheriff and prosecutor English system, peace­ throughout New Nether­ keeping activities under-' land, an area covering what . went few changes. is now lower New York Instead of a schout­ State and eastern New Jer- fiscal, there was an En­ sey. glish constable. His job In 1651, the first was to keep the peace, professional police depart­ suppress excessive drink­ ment was created in New ing, gambling, prostitu­ Amsterdam the tion, and prevent distur­ Rattlewatch. It was a vol­ bances when church ser­ untary patrol composed of vices were in progress. citizens apPointed by the During the late 1600's, council. In addition to mus­ with the first ofthe French kets, its members were and Indian wars under­ equipped with the hand way, the military assumed rattles that gave the fledg­ responsibility for main­ ling police force its name. taining law and order in They strolled the streets Members of the Rattlewatch, equipped the City. Officials ap­ to discourage crime and with muskets and hand-rattles, receive pOinted a bellman to do search for lawbreakers. In their orders at muster before making the job. His title came times of emergency, they their regular rounds at the turn of the from the bell he rang while noisily spun their rattles to 17th century making his rounds and summon assistance from calling out the hours. In • These are several variations of hand-rattles carried by members of the Rattlewatch. In an emergency situation rattles could be noisily spun to summon assistance from fellow Rattlewatch members. addition to the bell, he was issued a gun, uniform, In May 1778, the British military commandant badge, shoes and stockings, becoming the City's first apPointed three citizens to form a quasi-civil police uniformed policeman. ' department to administer and direct the night watch. The start of the 18th century brought radical changes to the City's system of public protection. The Period of Independence post of bellman was abolished and the English (1783 - 1830) introduced the constable'swatch to protect New York's 6,000 residents. What is now lowerto mid-Manhattan By the timethe Revolutionary War ended, the was divided into six sector'S, with a High Constable and City's population had grown to 60,000 - and police 12 sub-constables sworn to "take care, and keep and protection had become a major problem. But little was • preserve the peace" throughout the area. In 1731, a done to deal with it. Crime continued to increase watch-house - or Jail - was built at the comer of Wall through the late 1820's. Although more watchmen and Broad Streets. Punishment for "ruffians and were hired, they were widely regarded as incompetent evildoers" was carried out in the "cage, stocks, and the protection they provided was considered whipping post or ducking stool" in front of City Hall. inadequate. For years the situation remained this way. The Revolutionary War Nothing was done until contempt for the City's weak (1776 -1783) police force finally gave way to fear - fearthat the City's social diSintegration was imminent. And with that fear The City was occupied by the British during most came the realization that something had to be done of the revolution - from September 1776 to November about providing New York with a strong, effective police 1783. The redcoats seized control,ofthe provincial and department. municipal governments and a military governor wiiiS made responsible for providing protection for the New York's Finest Finally citizenry. Finds Its Way New Yorkers, however, were dissatisfied with the level of protection provided by the British army, Duringthemid-1800's, New York became home and in January 1777, they decided to do something to thousands of destitute and desperate immigrants about it. from Ireland a.nd Germany. Many could barely afford History repeated itself as they banded together housing in the rat-infested, unlit, unheated and horribly to form a civilian watch. With the City larger in size and overcrowded tenements and wooden shanties on the population, and its problems greater than in the days City's outskirts. of Dutch rule, instead of a small Rattlewatch they had Salaries at the time scarcely provided working a force of 80 men patrOlling the streets during the people with enough to covertheir living expenses. Men evening hours. and women - and children as young as ten - earned • less than 30 cents a day for laboring 12 to 15 hours in I unhealthy and hazardous factories. The First Shield City streets were unpaved, lacked proper (May 23, 1845) drainage, and were cluttered with uncollected trash. When it rained, they quickly became quagmires 6f mud Many policemen strongly objected to wearing and filth. .~ a specially deSigned uniform, preferring to dress in • Many people fell sick from contaminated water, their own clothes. They viewed the uniform as a British and overcrowded living conditions caused disease to innovation and an infringement on their rights. as spread rapidly and uncontrollably. freeborn American citizens. Many citizens shared this Crime was rampant on the unlit streets, espe­ contempt and publicly condemned a uniform force as cially when moonless nights left large parts of the city nothing more than a "standing army" and "liveried in total dartmess. It was common for thieves to roam lack.eys." the streets burglarizing buildings and attacking people as they hurried home. Living conditions, such as these, caused anger and despair, making New York fertile ground for a tremendous growth in crime, vice and disorder. Frightened and enraged by this criminal onslaught, New Yorkers looked at police departments far and near in hopes of finding a strong, effective model to copy. They decided on the Metropolitan Police of London. The London Police Model (1830 -1845) In 1828, Sir Robert Peel, British Home Secre­ tary, 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 A compromise was finally reached underwhich in crime in their own city, New Yorkers decided to try police officers wore an eight-point, star-shaped copper a similar solution. badge over the left breast of their coats in lieu of a complete uniform. The policemen became known as The Municipal Police "star police" and later on as "coppers" and "cops." (1845 - 1857) The First Patrol Guide The City's old system of policing - the 80 (July 16, 1845) member Nightwatch that patrolled the streets during the evenin" hours - was finally legislated out of The first set of printed rules and regulations existence in 1844 and replaced with a new system - the was issued to the force in 1845. These "regulations Day and Night Police. forthe Day and Night Police ofthe City of New York with The State Legislature approved the creaticm of Instructions as to the Legal Powers and Duties of the new force and authorized the hiring of up to 800 Policemen" dealt with the statutory and administrative men. But the City Council, rather than adopting the aspects of the job. concept, decided that it could get by with a municipal Policemen were instructed that "the prevention police force of only 200 men. This small force, of of crime being the most important object in your view, course, quickly proved inadequate. In 1845, the your exhortations must be constantly used to accom­ original act of the State Legislature was adopted and plish that end" and "the absence of crime will be a uniformed Municipal Police Force of 800 men was considered the best proof of the efficiency of the • established.

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