The Schenectady Police Department employs approximately 154 sworn officers, making it one of the largest police departments in New York State. From its humble beginnings it has grown and evolved along with the city, responding to its changing needs, reflecting its diversity and meeting the demands of the community it serves. It consisted of a chief of police, an assistant chief and eight patrolmen
who patrolled the lamp district and also responded to calls throughout the county. These officers worked twelve hours a day with one day off per month, and enforced the law by walking foot patrol on their assigned beats. Today, as it was in the beginning, the primary functions of the police department are to deter crime and to maintain peace and order. As a society changes, so should the police to reflect that society's needs and ideology. Our police department today has many areas of function and responsibility that did not exist when our department began and in most countries, were not the domain of the police department. During our over 130 years of service, when a specific need was realized and specialized skills were determined to be essential to address our city's needs, specialized jobs and divisions were created. The Field Services Bureau consists of the Patrol Division, Traffic Division and Prisoner Cellblock. The officers of this bureau have the greatest amount of public contact through daily neighborhood patrol and responding to calls for service. The patrol officer is considered the backbone of any police agency -- the first line of defense, the cornerstone on which every department is judged, the first responder to any and all problems our citizens may face. In the late 1970s, the Patrol Division of the Schenectady Police Department responded to almost 30,000 calls for service annually. Today, requests number near 130,000 annually with only about a third of them similar to those of twenty-five years ago -- but with no real change in police manpower. To address quality of life concerns, a combination of patrol and community policing is utilized within the patrol division. Community policing philosophy is a proactive approach to policing, not reactive, and the police officer's role is that of problem solver, not just crime fighter. Community policing employs a wide range of tactics and strategies. It gives police officers the knowledge and the tools to analyze the reasons that certain incidents arise and helps them devise interventions that will reduce some of the underlying causes. Community policing is a philosophy that promotes a new partnership between the public and police based on the premise that both the police and the community must work together to identify, prioritize and solve contemporary problems. Officers assigned to specific community policing positions act as liaisons among many community groups and neighborhood associations. They assist and train the Neighbor-hood Watch, an organization comprised of citizens patrolling as an extension of the Police Department, and who also coordinate a Child Find network to locate missing children and adults. Domestic violence services, Boys and Girls Clubs and the Municipal Housing Authority also receive assistance. Youth and adult Citizens Police Academies have been conducted to give participants an inside look at some of the training police officers receive, as well as other aspects of community government. As part of our community policing effort, the first municipal police bicycle patrol in the capital region was formed to augment neighborhood foot patrol officers. Trained and certified by the NYS Bureau for Municipal Police to ride police mountain bikes, officers patrol the city pedaling through buildings, alleyways, wooded areas, tunnels and other inaccessible and hidden areas not usually visited by the general patrol officer. Whether up or down stairs, or over or around obstacles where a person can go on foot, mountain bikes carry the officer faster and quieter. Response time to calls is often quicker since bike officers are able to pass through or around stalled traffic or take shortcuts through back alleys and sandlots once used by suspects as a means to a quick getaway. The Investigative Services Bureau is charged with the management of all criminal investigations conducted by the Department. The turbulent decade of the 1990s saw dramatic change in the nature of crime in our community. The drug trade brought with it the violence that has plagued large urban areas for the last twenty-five years. The men and women of law enforcement have had to cope with decreasing budgets, increasing call volumes and increasing numbers of violent felons who have no ties to the area. Entities within the Investigative Services Bureau are the Detective Division, Youth Aid Division, Vice Squad and the Forensic Unit. The Detective Division is charged with the investigation of all felonies committed within the city, and with assisting other agencies in conducting investigations that have ties to someone in this community. State, regional, federal and international agencies routinely assist and are assisted by our department in crimes ranging from child abuse and abduction to industrial espionage. Additionally, the Detective Division provides support to the other parts of the department. Some examples of this support include assisting with taking statements, conducting interviews, applying for arrest warrants and conducting pre-employment background checks. The department's Youth Aid Bureau (YAB) was formed in 1948 to deal with the growing number of children under the age of 16 who broke the law or were in need of supervision. Patricia McCann (Wellman) Carter was the first officer assigned to the newly created YAB; she later became the first woman in NYS to attain the rank of Police Captain. Assisting her in the duties of the YAB was Joseph Monaco, who later became Deputy Chief. Today more than ever the Bureau is a necessary link between parents, family court and troubled youths
The Forensic Unit is charged with the collection of physical evidence from crime scenes, the maintenance of all property and evidence entering the department and assisting the various bureaus with support such as photography, surveillance equipment and technical training in forensic matters. The Administrative Services Bureau includes all the elements necessary to manage and train the members of the department. Technical support, planning and research, records management, accreditation and public information are some of the specific duties included within the bureau. The Special Operations Squad (SOS) was established in 1986 to handle high risk, critical incidents such as: barricaded gunmen, hostage situations, counter-sniper operations, counter-terrorist operations, violent felon apprehensions, rescue operations and other high risk situations that require the use of a thoroughly trained and equipped tactical unit. Each member works within the team and is capable of exchanging roles as the situation dictates. Members are required to maintain a high level of physical fitness and firearms proficiency at all times. The SOS has assisted the Vice Squad and other departments in conducting hundreds of drug raids. They have participated in several joint operations with various Federal and State agencies in narcotic enforcement sweeps throughout the City of Schenectady. They have shared in joint exercises with SWAT teams from around the tri-city area, including NYS Police and NYS Department of Corrections. In 1993, they participated with the US military in Operation Tri-Star conducted at Fort Drum, NY. The SOS Observer/Sniper teams have extensive firearms training. Each member attends the Advanced Rifle Training for the Observer/Sniper School conducted at the FBI Academy, and has trained police forces from other nations in specialized tactics, including departments from Spain and delegates from Brazil. Not all police officers have two legs. Some of them have four legs and a nose that can sniff out drugs, bombs, guns and people. The police canine wears a badge and is an officer of the law. Just as with human officers, it is a crime to harm a police animal while in the performance of its duties. Both the canine and his officer are specially trained by the NYS Police K-9 School for many months and are recertified annually. They have responded to several thousand calls, including detection and recovery of drugs and drug money; high-risk entries and tracking; apprehension of felons; recovery of handguns used in crimes; gun detection; bomb threats and suspicious packages. To maintain cutting edge technology in a rapidly changing industry, our department is striving to improve our computer system to include laptops with download capability, enhanced agency links, digital imagery and automatic manufacturer upgrades. The citizens of this community may be proud of their police department. The uniforms have changed. The methods have become more advanced. But the men and women who are its substance today remain as dedicated to public service as the city fathers of 1870, whose singular vision created the Schenectady Police Department.
