New York City Police Commissioner
The New York City Police Commissioner is the head of the New York City Police Department. The commissioner is appointed by the mayor, and serves at the mayor's pleasure. The commissioner is responsible for the day-to-day operations of the department as well as the appointment of deputies and subordinate officers. Commissioners are civilian administrators, and they and their subordinate deputies are civilians under an oath of office, not sworn members of the force. This is a separate position from the Chief of Department, who is the senior sworn uniformed member of the force.
Theodore Roosevelt, in one of his final acts as Governor of New York before becoming Vice President of the United States in March 1901, continued reforms he began when he was police superintendent by signing legislation that replaced the police commission and office of the police chief with a single police commissioner.
The current police commissioner is Dermot F. Shea, who had previously been Chief of Detectives. Shea was appointed by Mayor Bill de Blasio on November 4, 2019 and took office on December 1 upon the retirement of James P. O'Neill, who left for a job in the private sector. The longest-serving commissioner was Raymond W. Kelly who served for 13 years in two separate appointments, under Mayors David Dinkins and Michael Bloomberg, respectively.
List of superintendents, chiefs, and commissioners
Pre-1901
Prior to 1901, the New York City Police Department was run by a board of four to six commissioners. The following is a list of some of the most famous members of the Police Commission:;Presidents of the Board of Commissioners
| Name | Dates in office | Mayoral administration |
| John G Bergen | May 1860- July 17, 1867 Member of the Board of Police Commissioners | Governor Edwin D. Morgan |
| Henry Smith | 1873–1874 | William Frederick Havemeyer |
| Hugh Gardner | 1874 | William Frederick Havemeyer |
| George W. Matsell | 1874–1875 | William Frederick Havemeyer |
| William F. Smith | 1877–1879 | Smith Ely Jr., Edward Cooper |
| Stephen B. French | 1880–1889 | William R. Grace, Franklin Edson, Abram Hewitt |
| Charles F. McLean | 1880–1889 | Hugh J. Grant |
| James J. Martin | 1892–1894 | Hugh J. Grant, Thomas F. Gilroy |
| Theodore Roosevelt | 1895–1897 | William L. Strong |
| Frank Moss | 1897 | William L. Strong |
| Bernard J. York | 1898–1900 | Robert A. Van Wyck |
;Members of the Board of Commissioners
- George Washington Matsell, 1845–1857, Superintendent
- John Alexander Kennedy, 1860–1863, Superintendent
- Abram Duryée, 1873–1874, Commissioner
- George Washington Walling, 1874–1885, Superintendent
- William Farrar Smith, 1875–1881, President of the Board of Commissioners
- Fitz John Porter, 1884–1888, Commissioner
- Frederick Dent Grant, 1894–1898, Commissioner
- Theodore Roosevelt, 1895–1897, President of the Board of Commissioners
- John McCullagh, 1897–1898, Superintendent
- John B. Sexton, 1898–1901, Commissioner
- William Stephen Devery, May 21, 1898 – June 30, 1898, June 30, 1898 – February 22, 1901. The superintendent title was changed to Chief of Police in 1898. Devery was the Police Department's last superintendent, and first chief.
Post-1901
| Name | Dates in office | Mayoral administration |
| Michael Cotter Murphy | February 22, 1901 – January 1, 1902 | Robert Van Wyck |
| John Nelson Partridge | January 1, 1902 – January 1, 1903 | Seth Low |
| Francis Vinton Greene | January 1, 1903 – January 1, 1904 | Seth Low |
| William McAdoo | January 1, 1904 – January 1, 1906 | George B. McClellan Jr. |
| Theodore A. Bingham | January 1, 1906 – July 1, 1909 | George B. McClellan Jr. |
| William Frazer Baker | July 1, 1909 – October 20, 1910 | George B. McClellan Jr. |
| William Frazer Baker | July 1, 1909 – October 20, 1910 | William Jay Gaynor |
| James Church Cropsey | October 20, 1910 – May 23, 1911 | William Jay Gaynor |
| Rhinelander Waldo | May 23, 1911 – December 31, 1913 | William Jay Gaynor |
| Rhinelander Waldo | May 23, 1911 – December 31, 1913 | Ardolph Loges Kline |
| Douglas Imrie McKay | December 31, 1913 – April 8, 1914 | Ardolph Loges Kline |
| Douglas Imrie McKay | December 31, 1913 – April 8, 1914 | John Purroy Mitchel |
| Arthur Hale Woods | April 8, 1914 – January 1, 1918 | John Purroy Mitchel |
| Frederick Hamilton Bugher | January 1, 1918 – January 23, 1918 | John Francis Hylan |
| Richard Edward Enright | January 23, 1918 – January 1, 1925 | John Francis Hylan |
| George Vincent McLaughlin | January 1, 1926 – April 12, 1927 | Jimmy Walker |
| Joseph A. Warren | April 12, 1927 – December 18, 1928 | Jimmy Walker |
| Grover Aloysius Whalen | December 18, 1928 – May 21, 1930 | Jimmy Walker |
| Edward Pierce Mulrooney | May 21, 1930 – April 11, 1933 | Jimmy Walker |
| Edward Pierce Mulrooney | May 21, 1930 – April 11, 1933 | Joseph V. McKee |
| Edward Pierce Mulrooney | May 21, 1930 – April 11, 1933 | John P. O'Brien |
| James S. Bolan | April 15, 1933 – January 1, 1934 | John P. O'Brien |
| John Francis O'Ryan | January 1, 1934 – September 25, 1934 | Fiorello H. La Guardia |
| Lewis Joseph Valentine | September 25, 1934 – September 14, 1945 | Fiorello H. La Guardia |
| Albert O. Williams | September 14, 1945 – September 23, 1945 | Fiorello H. La Guardia |
| Arthur William Wallander | September 23, 1945 – February 28, 1949 | Fiorello H. La Guardia |
| Arthur William Wallander | September 23, 1945 – February 28, 1949 | William O'Dwyer |
| William P. O'Brien | February 28, 1949 – September 25, 1950 | William O'Dwyer |
| William P. O'Brien | February 28, 1949 – September 25, 1950 | Vincent R. Impellitteri |
| Thomas Francis Murphy | February 21, 1950 – July 6, 1951 | Vincent R. Impellitteri |
| George P. Monaghan | July 9, 1951 – January 1, 1953 | Vincent R. Impellitteri |
| Francis William Holbrooke Adams | January 1, 1954 – August 2, 1955 | Robert F. Wagner Jr. |
| Stephen P. Kennedy | August 2, 1955 – February 23, 1961 | Robert F. Wagner Jr. |
| Michael J. Murphy | February 23, 1961 – June 7, 1965 | Robert F. Wagner Jr. |
| Vincent Lyons Broderick | June 7, 1965 – February 21, 1966 | Robert F. Wagner Jr. |
| Vincent Lyons Broderick | June 7, 1965 – February 21, 1966 | John V. Lindsay |
| Howard R. Leary | February 21, 1966 – October 9, 1970 | John V. Lindsay |
| Patrick V. Murphy | October 9, 1970 – May 14, 1973 | John V. Lindsay |
| Donald Francis Cawley | May 14, 1973 – January 1, 1974 | John V. Lindsay |
| Michael Joseph Codd | January 1, 1974 – January 1, 1978 | Abraham D. Beame |
| Robert Joseph McGuire | January 1, 1978 – December 30, 1983 | Edward I. Koch |
| William J. Devine | December 30, 1983 – January 1, 1984 | Edward I. Koch |
| Benjamin Ward | January 1, 1984 – October 23, 1989 | Edward I. Koch |
| Richard J. Condon | October 23, 1989 – January 22, 1990 | Edward I. Koch |
| Lee Patrick Brown | January 22, 1990 – September 1, 1992 | David N. Dinkins |
| Raymond Walter Kelly | September 1, 1992 – October 16, 1992 October 16, 1992 – January 1, 1994 | David N. Dinkins |
| William Joseph Bratton | January 1, 1994 – April 15, 1996 | Rudolph W. Giuliani |
| Howard Safir | April 15, 1996 – August 18, 2000 | Rudolph W. Giuliani |
| Bernard Bailey Kerik | August 21, 2000 – January 1, 2002 | Rudolph W. Giuliani |
| Raymond Walter Kelly | January 1, 2002 – January 1, 2014 | Michael R. Bloomberg |
| William Joseph Bratton | January 1, 2014 – September 16, 2016 | Bill de Blasio |
| James P. O'Neill | September 16, 2016 – November 30, 2019 | Bill de Blasio |
| Dermot F. Shea | December 1, 2019 – current | Bill de Blasio |