New York City Police Department Detective Bureau
Encyclopedia
The NYPD Detective Bureau is one of the ten bureaus that comprise the New York City Police Department
and is currently headed by Bureau Chief Phil T. Pulaski.
The Detective Bureau's responsibilities include the prevention and detection of crime.
The Special Victims Division created in 2003 oversees all the borough Special Victims Squads. The Special Victims Division is part of the Detective Bureau and investigates the following types of cases:
Additional sub-units of the Special Victims Division are listed below:
The Major Case Squad is located at One Police Plaza in Manhattan. It handles the following cases.
The Crime Scene Unit (CSU) is a part of the NYPD Detective Bureau's Forensic Investigations Division, responsible for forensic investigations of all homicide
s and sexual assault
s, as well as other crimes as deemed necessary by an investigating supervisor. Members of the Crime Scene Unit assist the precinct
detectives in the processing of a crime scene
as well as determining the proper routing of evidence
between the NYC Office of the Chief Medical Examiner, the NYPD Police Lab and the NYPD Property Clerk.
The Crime Scene Unit is composed of NYPD detectives (or occasionally police officers that are awaiting their promotion to detective), not civilian technicians like crime scene units in other parts of the U.S. Generally these detectives come from an Evidence Collection Team which is operated at the borough level.
The Crime Scene Unit covers all of the boroughs of New York City
, but is staffed with less than 1% of the total number of detectives in the NYPD. These detectives are dedicated to doing what is necessary to ensure that the precinct detectives and the District Attorney
have as much evidence to identify the perpetrator of the crime and convict them at trial.
The Crime Scene Unit has at its disposal many tools to process a crime scene including the materials needed to develop fingerprint
s, cast footwear and tire impressions, follow the trajectory of bullets fired through windows and the chemicals necessary to observe blood under special lighting conditions that would otherwise be invisible to the naked eye. The unit is also trained to process a crime scene in a hazardous environment, for example following a nuclear, biological or chemical attack.
New York City Police Department
The New York City Police Department , established in 1845, is currently the largest municipal police force in the United States, with primary responsibilities in law enforcement and investigation within the five boroughs of New York City...
and is currently headed by Bureau Chief Phil T. Pulaski.
The Detective Bureau's responsibilities include the prevention and detection of crime.
Organization
Units within the New York City Police Department Detective Bureau include the:- Chief of the Detective Bureau - Bureau Chief Phil T. Pulaski
- Detective Borough Commands
- Detective Borough Brooklyn - Assistant Chief
- Detective Borough Bronx - Assistant Chief
- Detective Borough Manhattan - Assistant Chief
- Detective Borough Queens - Assistant Chief
- Detective Borough Brooklyn - Assistant Chief
- Central Investigation and Resource Division - Assistant Chief
- Homicide Analysis Unit
- Photographic Unit
- Hostage Negotiation Team
- Crime Stoppers Unit
- Training Unit
- Forensic Investigation Division - Assistant Chief
- Bomb Squad
- Police Laboratory
- Ballistics Unit
- Crime Scene Unit
- Latent Print Unit
- DNA Liaison Unit
- Fugitive Enforcement Division - Assistant Chief
- Cold Case Squad
- Juvenile Crime Squad
- Warrant Section
- Special Investigation Division - Assistant Chief
- Major Case Squad
- Special Fraud Squad
- Missing Persons Squad
- Arson and Explosion Squad
- Surveillance and Apprehension Squad
- Joint Terrorism Task Force
- Joint Bank Robbery Task Force
- Joint Robbery Apprehension Team
- Hate Crimes Task Force
- Special Victims Division - Deputy Chief
- Special Victims Liaison Team
- Sex Offender Monitoring Unit
- DNA Tracking Unit
- Detective Borough Commands
Borough Commands
Each of the four Detective Boroughs oversee all the precinct squads located within their command. The Detective Borough work closely with their counterparts in the Patrol Bureau to provide immediate investigations to crimes. Patrol Borough Staten Island is unique among the NYPD in that is serves as both a Patrol Borough command and as a quazi-Detective Borough command. The Assistant Chief of the Staten Island Patrol Borough supervises a unit of detectives, which oversees local detective squads in that borough's three precincts.Special Victims Division
- Commanding Officer of Special Victims Division - Deputy Chief Theresa Shortell
The Special Victims Division created in 2003 oversees all the borough Special Victims Squads. The Special Victims Division is part of the Detective Bureau and investigates the following types of cases:
- Any child under 13 years of age that is the victim of any sex crime or attempted sex crime by any person.
- Any child under 11 years of age who is the victim of abuse by a parent or person legally responsible for the care of the child.
- Any victim of rape or attempted rape
- Any victim of a criminal sexual act or an attempted criminal sexual act
- Victims of aggravated sexual abuse
- Victims of sexual abuseSexual abuseSexual abuse, also referred to as molestation, is the forcing of undesired sexual behavior by one person upon another. When that force is immediate, of short duration, or infrequent, it is called sexual assault. The offender is referred to as a sexual abuser or molester...
in the first degree
Additional sub-units of the Special Victims Division are listed below:
- Sex Offenders Monitoring Unit (SOMU)-Monitors all state designated sex offenders to ensure they are in compliance.
- Special Victims Liaison Unit (SVLU)- Provides educational lectures to community and advocacy groups,schools and medical institutions concerning public as well as personal safety.
- DNA tracking unit (DNATU)- Tracks and coordinates all scientific evidence relating to investigations involving sexual assault.
Major Case Squad
- Commanding Officer of Major Case Squad - Deputy Inspector Charles Neacy
The Major Case Squad is located at One Police Plaza in Manhattan. It handles the following cases.
- KidnappingKidnappingIn criminal law, kidnapping is the taking away or transportation of a person against that person's will, usually to hold the person in false imprisonment, a confinement without legal authority...
s as directed by the Chief of Detectives - BurglaryBurglaryBurglary is a crime, the essence of which is illicit entry into a building for the purposes of committing an offense. Usually that offense will be theft, but most jurisdictions specify others which fall within the ambit of burglary...
or attempted burglary of a bank or bank safe - LarcenyLarcenyLarceny is a crime involving the wrongful acquisition of the personal property of another person. It was an offence under the common law of England and became an offence in jurisdictions which incorporated the common law of England into their own law. It has been abolished in England and Wales,...
by extortionExtortionExtortion is a criminal offence which occurs when a person unlawfully obtains either money, property or services from a person, entity, or institution, through coercion. Refraining from doing harm is sometimes euphemistically called protection. Extortion is commonly practiced by organized crime...
or attempt, from a bank - Robbery or attempted robbery of a bankBank robberyBank robbery is the crime of stealing from a bank during opening hours. According to the Federal Bureau of Investigation's Uniform Crime Reporting Program, robbery is "the taking or attempting to take anything of value from the care, custody, or control of a person or persons by force or threat of...
by a perpetrator not armed - Burglary of a truck contents over $100,000
- Larceny of a truck contents over $100,000
- Robbery of a truck and contents by hijackingTruck hijackingTruck hijacking is the taking of a truck: normally for the consignment being carried, by force, or the threat of force to the driver....
- All robberies in warehouse depots or similar locations where the objects of the crime is a truck or its contents
- All commercial burglaries in which the value of the property stolen exceeds $100,000
- Art theftArt theftArt theft is usually for the purpose of resale or for ransom . Stolen art is sometimes used by criminals to secure loans.. One must realize that only a small percentage of stolen art is recovered. Estimates range from 5 to 10%. This means that little is known about the scope and characteristics of...
Crime Scene Unit
- Commanding Officer of Crime Scene Unit - Captain John Benoit
The Crime Scene Unit (CSU) is a part of the NYPD Detective Bureau's Forensic Investigations Division, responsible for forensic investigations of all homicide
Homicide
Homicide refers to the act of a human killing another human. Murder, for example, is a type of homicide. It can also describe a person who has committed such an act, though this use is rare in modern English...
s and sexual assault
Sexual assault
Sexual assault is an assault of a sexual nature on another person, or any sexual act committed without consent. Although sexual assaults most frequently are by a man on a woman, it may involve any combination of two or more men, women and children....
s, as well as other crimes as deemed necessary by an investigating supervisor. Members of the Crime Scene Unit assist the precinct
Police Station
Police Station is a American TV series that aired in syndication in 1959. Stories were taken from actual files.- Cast :*Baynes Barron as Sergeant White*Larry Kerr as Detective Chuck Mitchell*Henry Beckman as Detective Stan Abramson...
detectives in the processing of a crime scene
Crime scene
A crime scene is a location where an illegal act took place, and comprises the area from which most of the physical evidence is retrieved by trained law enforcement personnel, crime scene investigators or in rare circumstances, forensic scientists....
as well as determining the proper routing of evidence
Evidence
Evidence in its broadest sense includes everything that is used to determine or demonstrate the truth of an assertion. Giving or procuring evidence is the process of using those things that are either presumed to be true, or were themselves proven via evidence, to demonstrate an assertion's truth...
between the NYC Office of the Chief Medical Examiner, the NYPD Police Lab and the NYPD Property Clerk.
The Crime Scene Unit is composed of NYPD detectives (or occasionally police officers that are awaiting their promotion to detective), not civilian technicians like crime scene units in other parts of the U.S. Generally these detectives come from an Evidence Collection Team which is operated at the borough level.
The Crime Scene Unit covers all of the boroughs of New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
, but is staffed with less than 1% of the total number of detectives in the NYPD. These detectives are dedicated to doing what is necessary to ensure that the precinct detectives and the District Attorney
District attorney
In many jurisdictions in the United States, a District Attorney is an elected or appointed government official who represents the government in the prosecution of criminal offenses. The district attorney is the highest officeholder in the jurisdiction's legal department and supervises a staff of...
have as much evidence to identify the perpetrator of the crime and convict them at trial.
The Crime Scene Unit has at its disposal many tools to process a crime scene including the materials needed to develop fingerprint
Fingerprint
A fingerprint in its narrow sense is an impression left by the friction ridges of a human finger. In a wider use of the term, fingerprints are the traces of an impression from the friction ridges of any part of a human hand. A print from the foot can also leave an impression of friction ridges...
s, cast footwear and tire impressions, follow the trajectory of bullets fired through windows and the chemicals necessary to observe blood under special lighting conditions that would otherwise be invisible to the naked eye. The unit is also trained to process a crime scene in a hazardous environment, for example following a nuclear, biological or chemical attack.
See also
- New York City Police DepartmentNew York City Police DepartmentThe New York City Police Department , established in 1845, is currently the largest municipal police force in the United States, with primary responsibilities in law enforcement and investigation within the five boroughs of New York City...
- Federal Bureau of InvestigationFederal Bureau of InvestigationThe Federal Bureau of Investigation is an agency of the United States Department of Justice that serves as both a federal criminal investigative body and an internal intelligence agency . The FBI has investigative jurisdiction over violations of more than 200 categories of federal crime...