Overview: New York State Police
The New York State Police uses a wide variety of traditional and innovative law enforcement strategies to accomplish its mission. The NYSP:
- Provides essential police services to the public statewide. Through its Uniformed
Force and Bureau of Criminal Investigation (BCI), it:
- maintains regular patrols;
- assists motorists and other members of the public;
- conducts criminal and noncriminal investigations, and
- provides emergency and disaster services.
- Ensures that New York's highways are safe and that traffic flows smoothly, by employing:
- saturation patrols for speed and DWI enforcement;
- sobriety checkpoints;
- dedicated interstate highway patrols;
- hazardous materials experts;
- aerial patrols, and
- specialists in vehicle weight and dimension regulations.
- Responds to requests for service received at its answering points for 911 calls made from cellular telephones.
- Conducts an extensive driver safety education program, making presentations to schools, senior citizens groups, civic organizations and other governmental entities.
- Compiles data on causes of accidents for internal analysis and for use by other agencies.
- Works to arrest narcotics traffickers, confiscate their drugs and seize their illegally
acquired assets, and identify and apprehend violent, predatory and serial criminals
through specialized units such as:
- Drug Enforcement Task Forces
- Community Narcotics Enforcement Teams
- Violent Felony Warrant Squads
- Violent Crime Investigation Teams
- Firearms Tracing Unit
- Forensic Investigative Support Services
- Provides technical and support services to local police departments and other criminal justice agencies, and assists other law enforcement agencies at all levels in the investigation of serious crimes.
- Fulfills the Governor's mandates to reduce illegal trafficking in guns and drugs, and combat organized criminal enterprises wherever they exist in New York State.