MTA Police – A Consolidated Force

MTA Police Assistant Deputy Chief Thomas Odessa,
Southern Region, District 9

The final step in the consolidation of MTA agency law enforcement was taken on June 1, when the MTA Staten Island Railway Police Department merged with the MTA Police. "Through this merger we are able to achieve greater efficiency of operations and maximize security for MTA customers," said MTA Deputy Chief Kevin McConville. "Our officers in Staten Island have always been a topnotch police force, but now we are able to provide an even higher quality of service and give the police officers instantaneous access to MTA Police information and management services."

Staten Island Railway has always had its own police force (currently 25 officers) dedicated to the safety and security of SIR customers and the Staten Island community. SIRPD Chief Thomas Odessa is continuing his command under the new title of Assistant Deputy Chief, MTA Police Southern Region, District 9. Assistant Deputy Chief Odessa said, "The crime rate for Staten Island Railway has been historically low and it will stay that way. Our officers have a thorough community strategy when it comes to patrolling stations and trains."

Assistant Deputy Chief Odessa is excited about the merger's many benefits. Some benefits – "our ability to respond even more quickly to the needs of the community" – are clear to the lay person. Others are more technical: "Shared problem-solving methodology, standardized law enforcement practices, and unified statistics will bring improvements to our operational capacities."

If he had to choose one word to describe the chief benefit of the merger, it would be "resources," he said. "Unification means that we have an increased ability to protect the community through access to greater resources, including better and more frequent training for patrol officers, the ability to interact with MTAPD detectives, and the constant availability of the services of the canine, emergency service, and highway units, which can only serve to benefit the customers of Staten Island."

In addition, the merger will help officers assigned to Staten Island cope with today's climate of heightened fear of terrorist attacks on mass transit. "Thanks to additional resources, Assistant Deputy Chief Odessa said, "my officers are now able to work extended tours, and they now have greater access to intelligence and security-related analysis provided by the Interagency Counterterrorism Task Force (ICTF)."

Deputy Chief McConville cited specific actions that have been taken by the MTAPD in responding to the terrorist threat, including "greater visibility of officers, tightening infrastructure security measures, and increasing deployment of personnel." And he added, "We are continually upgrading our equipment and procedures." This includes computer technology that gives his operation real-time access to police reports as they are filed by officers throughout the MTA region.

The merger has brought the total workforce of the MTA Police Department to 716 (including civilians). "We have a superbly trained group of people," said Deputy Chief McConville. "MTA police officers, now under a totally unified command, will continue to meet the highest standards of law enforcement."