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Rank structure

This section discusses ranks of the NYPD as a whole. The School Safety Division, Traffic Control Division, Auxiliary Police Section and Police Academy have their own rank and grade structures despite being part of the NYPD and commanded by officers of the NYPD proper command structure.

Officers begin service with the rank of Probationary Police Officer, also referred to as Recruit Officer. After successful completion of six months of Police Academy training and various academic, physical, and tactical tests, officers graduate from the Police Academy. While officially retaining the title of Probationary Police Officer, graduates are referred to as a Police Officer, or informally as a "Rookie", until they have completed an additional 18 months probationary period.

There are three career "tracks" in the NYPD: supervisory, investigative, and specialist. The supervisory track consists of 12 sworn titles, referred to as ranks. Promotion to the ranks of sergeant, lieutenant and captain are made via competitive civil service examinations. Promotion to the ranks of deputy inspector, inspector, deputy chief, assistant chief and chief are made at the discretion of the police commissioner, after successfully passing a series of civil service exams. Promotion from the rank of police officer to detective is determined by the current police labor contract, with the approval of the commissioner. The entry level appointment to detective is third grade or specialist. The commissioner may grant discretionary grades of first or second. These grades offer compensation roughly equivalent to that of supervisors. Specifically, a second grade detective's pay roughly corresponds to a sergeant's and a first grade detective's pay roughly corresponds to a lieutenant's. Detectives are police officers who have been given a more investigatory position but no official supervisory authority. A Detective First Grade still falls under the command of a sergeant or above. Just like detectives, sergeants and lieutenants can receive pay grade increases within their respective ranks.

Title	Insignia	Badge design	Badge color	Badge number	Uniform
Chief of Department		Medallion with eagle and stars	Gold, with silver stars	No	White shirt, black peaked cap, gold hat badge
Bureau Chief Supervising Chief Surgeon
Assistant Chief Assistant Chief Chaplain † Assistant Chief Surgeon
Deputy Chief Deputy Chief Chaplain † District Surgeon		Medallion with eagle and star
Inspector Chaplain † Police Surgeon		Medallion with eagle	Gold
Deputy Inspector		Laurels and crown with oak leaves
Captain		Laurels and crown
Lieutenant		Medallion
Sergeant	(sleeve)	Shield with eagle		Yes	Navy blue shirt, peaked cap, gold hat badge
Detective (grades 3rd–1st)	None	Medallion
Police Officer		Shield	Silver	Yes, matching hat badge	Navy blue shirt, peaked cap, silver hat badge with matching number
Probationary Police Officer
Recruit Officer				Yes	Slate grey, black garrison cap
Cadet		None

^ †: Uniform rank that has no police powers

NYPD officers from the Emergency Service Unit (ESU) in June 2009.

A NYPD police boat patrolling the East River

There are two basic types of detective in the NYPD: detective-investigators and detective-specialists.

Detective-Investigators are the type most people associate with the term "detective" and are the ones most frequently portrayed on television and in the movies. Most police officers gain their detective title by working in the Narcotics Division of the Organized Crime Control Bureau and are then moved to the Detective Bureau. Detectives assigned to squads are co-located within each precinct and are responsible for investigating murders, rapes, robberies, burglaries and other crimes within that precinct's boundaries. Other detective-investigators are assigned to specialized units at either the major command or citywide level, investigating terrorist groups, organized crime, narcotics dealing, extortion, bias crimes, political corruption, kidnappings, major frauds or thefts committed against banks or museums, police corruption, contractor fraud and other complex, politically sensitive or high-profile cases. A squad of detective-investigators is also assigned to each of the city's five district attorneys' offices. (Arsons are investigated by The Arson and Explosion Squad as well as fire marshals, who are part of the New York City Fire Department.)

Promotion from Police Officer to Detective-Investigator is based on investigative experience. Typically, a Police Officer who is assigned to investigative work for 18 months will be designated "Detective-Investigator" and receive the gold shield and pay increase commensurate with that designation. In the recent past, however, there has been controversy over the budget-conscious department compelling police officers to work past the 18 months without receiving the new title.

Newly appointed detectives start at Detective Third Grade, which has a pay rate roughly between that of Police Officer and Sergeant. As they gain seniority and experience, they can be "promoted" to Detective Second-Grade, which has a pay grade slightly less than sergeants. Detective First-Grade is an elite designation for the department's most senior and experienced investigators and carries a pay grade slightly less than Lieutenants. All these promotions are discretionary on the part of the Commissioner and can be revoked if warranted. And while senior detectives can give directions to junior detectives in their own squads, not even the most senior detective can lawfully issue orders to even a junior patrol officer. All Detective grades still fall under the "chain of command" of the supervisory ranks beginning with Sergeant through Chief of Department. Detectives, like Police Officers, are eligible to take the promotional civil service exams for entry into the supervisory ranks.

A lieutenant (white shirt) debriefing officers at Times Square in May 2010.

While carrying with them increased pay and prestige, none of these Detective grades confer on the holder any supervisory authority. Contrary to some media portrayals, there is no specific rank of "Detective Sergeant" or "Detective Lieutenant". Lieutenants and Sergeants are assigned to oversee Detective squads as Supervisors, and are responsible for all investigations.

There is a small percentage of Lieutenants and Sergeants who work as Investigative Supervisors (approximately equal to 10% of their respective ranks) and are granted the prestigious pay grade designations of "Sergeant—Supervisor Detective Squad" (SDS), or Lieutenant—Commander Detective Squad (CDS) therefore assuming full Investigative command responsibility as opposed to operational supervision. Their pay grade rises to an approximate midpoint between their normal rank and the next highest rank's pay grade, and similar to a Detective's "grade", is also a discretionary promotion. This pay grade designation is achieved by assignment to Investigative units, i.e. Detective Bureau, Internal Affairs Bureau, Counter-Terrorism Bureau, Intelligence Bureau, and Organized Crime Control Bureau. Lieutenants and Sergeants in non-investigatory assignments can be designated Lieutenant-Special Assignment or Sergeant-Special Assignment, pay equivalent to their investigative counterparts.

"Detective-specialists" are a relatively new designation and one unique to the NYPD. In the 1980s, many detectives resented that some officers were being granted the rank of detective in order to give them increased pay and status, but were not being assigned to investigative duties. Examples included officers assigned as bodyguards and drivers to the mayor, police commissioner and other senior officials.

To remedy this situation, the rank of detective-specialist was created. These officers are typically found in specialized units because they possess a unique or esoteric skill the department needs, e.g., crime-scene tech, sharpshooter, bomb technician, scuba instructor, helicopter instructor, sketch artist, etc. Like detective-investigators, detective-specialists start at third-grade and can be promoted to second- or first-grade status.

A NYPD motorcycle police officer speaks with a passerby in 2008.

The Department is administered and governed by the Police Commissioner, who is appointed by the Mayor. Technically, the commissioner serves a five-year term; as a practical matter, the commissioner serves at the Mayor's pleasure. The commissioner in turn appoints numerous deputy commissioners. The commissioner and his subordinate deputies are civilians under an oath of office and are not uniformed members of the force who are sworn officers of the law. However, a police commissioner who comes up from the uniformed ranks retains that status while serving as police commissioner. This has ramifications for their police pensions and the fact that any police commissioner who is considered sworn does not need a pistol permit to carry a firearm, and does retain the statutory powers of a police officer. Some police commissioners (like Ray Kelly) do carry a personal firearm, but they also have a full-time security detail from the Police Commissioner's (Detective) Squad.

A First Deputy Police Commissioner may have a security detail when he/she acts as commissioner or under other circumstances as approved by the police commissioner.

Commissioner titles:

Title	Insignia
Police Commissioner
First Deputy Commissioner
Deputy Commissioner

These individuals are administrators who supersede the Chief of Department, and they usually specialize in areas of great importance to the Department, such as counterterrorism, operations, training, public information, legal matters, intelligence, and information technology. Despite their role, as civilian administrators of the Department, deputy commissioners are prohibited from taking operational control of a police situation (the Commissioner and the First Deputy Commissioner may take control of these situations, however).

Within the rank structure, there are also designations, known as "grades", that connote differences in duties, experience, and pay. However, supervisory functions are generally reserved for the rank of sergeant and above.

Badges in the New York City Police Department are referred to as "shields" (the traditional term), though not all badge designs are strictly shield-shaped. Every rank has a different badge design (with the exception of Police Officer and Probationary Police Officer), and upon change in rank officers receive a new badge. Lower-ranked police officers are identified by their shield numbers, and tax registry number. Lieutenants and above do not have shield numbers and are identified by tax registry number. All sworn members of the NYPD have their ID card photos taken against a red background. Civilian employees of the NYPD have their ID card photos taken against a blue background, signifying that they are not commissioned to carry a firearm. All ID cards have an expiration date.

Overview

Members of the church of Christ do not conceive of themselves as a new church started near the beginning of the 19th century. Rather, the whole movement is designed to reproduce in contemporary times the church originally established on Pentecost, A.D. 33. The strength of the appeal lies in the restoration of Christ's original church.

— Batsell Barrett Baxter,

Modern churches of Christ have their historical roots in the Restoration Movement, which was a converging of Christians across denominational lines in search of a return to an original, "pre-denominational" Christianity. Participants in this movement sought to base their doctrine and practice on the Bible alone, rather than recognizing the traditional councils and denominational hierarchies that had come to define Christianity since the first century A.D. Members of the churches of Christ believe that Jesus founded only one church, that the current divisions among Christians do not express God's will, and that the only basis for restoring Christian unity is the Bible. They simply identify themselves as "Christians", without using any other forms of religious or denominational identification. They believe that they are recreating the New Testament church as established by Christ.

Churches of Christ generally share the following theological beliefs and practices:

• Autonomous, congregational church organization without denominational oversight;
• Refusal to hold to any formal creeds or informal "doctrinal statements" or "statements of faith", stating instead a reliance on the Bible alone for doctrine and practice;
• Local governance by a plurality of male elders;
• Baptism by immersion of consenting believers for the forgiveness of sins;
• Weekly observance of the Lord's Supper on Sunday
  • In British congregations, the term "breaking of bread" is commonly used.
  • In American congregations the terms "Communion", and particularly "Eucharist", are rarely used.
  • Though doctrinally Churches of Christ hold to the closed communion viewpoint, in practice congregations rarely prohibit visitors from taking communion, on the view that per 1 Corinthians 11:28 the visitor must "examine himself" and decide to partake or decline (i.e. it is not for the minister, elders/deacons, or members to decide who may partake); thus, it is more akin to open communion.
  • All but "a very small segment" of churches use unfermented grape juice instead of wine); and
• Practice of a cappella singing, and the rejection of instrumental music, in worship.

In keeping with their history, the churches of Christ claim the New Testament as their sole rule of faith and practice in deciding matters of doctrine and ecclesiastical structure.Col. 2:14 They view the Old Testament as divinely inspired and historically accurate, but they do not consider its laws to be binding under the New Covenant in Christ (unless they are repeated in the New Testament). They believe that the New Testament demonstrates how a person may become a Christian (and thus a part of the universal Church of Christ) and how a church should be collectively organized and carry out its scriptural purposes.

Demographics

These churches comprise about 2,000,000 members in over 40,000 individual congregations worldwide. There are approximately 13,000 congregations in the United States. Overall U.S. membership was approximately 1.8 million in 1990 and 1.9 million in 2008. Estimates of the proportion of the US adult population associated with the Churches of Christ vary from 0.8% to 1.5%. Roughly 1,240 congregations, with 172,000 members, are predominantly African-American. 240 congregations with 10,000 members are Spanish-speaking. The average congregation size is approximately 100 members. In 2000, the Churches of Christ were the 12th largest religious group in the U.S. based on number of members, but the 4th largest in number of congregations.

Within the U.S., membership in the churches of Christ has grown by approximately 2% over the period from 1980 through 2007. Membership grew in 33 states and declined in 17. The current retention rate of young adults graduating from high school appears to be approximately 60%. The percentage of members attending services appears to be high relative to that of other Christian groups. Membership is concentrated, with 70% of the U.S. membership in 13 states. Churches of Christ had a presence in 2,429 counties, placing them fifth behind the United Methodist Church, Catholic Church, Southern Baptist Convention and Assemblies of God – but the average number of adherents per county was low at 677. The divorce rate was 6.9%, much lower than national averages.

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