The New York City Police Department (NYPD or NYCPD), officially the City of New York Police Department,

was established in
1845 and is the largest municipal police force in the United States,[4] having primary responsibilities in law enforcement and
investigation within the five boroughs of New York City. The NYPD is one of the oldest police departments established in the United
States, tracing its roots back to the seventeenth century.
The NYPD has a broad array of specialized services, including the Emergency Service Unit, canine, harbor patrol, air support, bomb
disposal, counter-terrorism, criminal intelligence, anti-gang, anti-organized crime, narcotics, public transportation and public
housing; the New York City Transit Police and New York City Housing Authority Police Department were fully integrated into the
NYPD in 1995. According to the department, its mission is to "enforce the laws, preserve the peace, reduce fear, and provide for a
safe environment."
In June 2004, there were about 40,000 sworn officers plus several thousand civilian employees; in June 2005, the number of
officers dropped to 35,000. As of December 2011, that figure increased slightly to over 36,600, helped by the graduation of a class
of 1,500 from the New York City Police Academy. The NYPD's current authorized uniformed strength is 34,450.[5] There are also
approximately 4,500 Auxiliary Police Officers, 5,000 School Safety Agents, 2,300 Traffic Enforcement Agents, and 370 Traffic
Enforcement Supervisors currently employed by the department. The Patrolmen's Benevolent Association of the City of New York
(NYC PBA), the largest municipal police union in the United States, represents over 50,000 active and retired NYC police officers.
The NYPD Intelligence Division & Counter-Terrorism Bureau has officers stationed in 11 cities internationally.[6][7] In the 1990s the
department developed a CompStat system of management which has also since been established in other cities.
Members of the NYPD are frequently referred to by politicians, some media and their own police cars by the nickname New York's
Finest. The NYPD is headquartered at 1 Police Plaza, located on Park Row in Lower Manhattan across the street from City Hall.
[8]

Its regulations are compiled in title 38 of the New York City Rules.

NYPD has extensive crime scene investigation and laboratory resources, as well as units which assist with computer
crime investigations. The NYPD runs a "Real Time Crime Center", essentially a large search engine and data warehouse operated
by detectives to assist officers in the field with their investigations.[9] A Domain Awareness System, a joint project of Microsoft and
NYPD, links thousands of closed-circuit television cameras, license plate readers, and other surveillance devices into an integrated
system.[10]