Meet The Roosevelt Island Public Safety Department, Their Mission And Duties - Working With NYPD And Emergency Preparedness Plan

Roosevelt Island Operating Corp (RIOC) Public Information Officer reports to the community on the mission and duties of the Public Safety Department. According to Mr. Robertson:

What is Public Safety?

The uniformed members of the Public Safety Department (PSD) are special patrolmen and women designated by the Police Commissioner of the City of New York, and authorized by Section 2.20 of the Criminal Procedure Law to act as peace officers. The PSD is a division of the Roosevelt Island Operating Corporation (RIOC), the NYS public-benefit authority that runs and maintains services for the Island and plans for its future development.

Duties

PSD officers are the front-line problem solvers for the Roosevelt Island community. Working closely with the NYPD’s 114th Precinct, with FDNY and their emergency medical services (EMS) - all based in Queens - the Public Safety Department provides a 24-hour-a-day, seven-day-a-week presence on the island.

Assistance

PSD assists in enforcing all State and City laws, including traffic regulations and those sections of the Penal Law, Criminal Procedure Law, and Vehicle and Traffic Laws as they pertain to Roosevelt Island. Officers are trained to know these laws and regulations, the laws of arrest and the constitutional rights of the individual. PSD officers have undergone extensive training for sensitivity to bias crimes and crimes involving sexual assault and harassment.

As of September 1, PSD officers have responded to 1,519 calls for service in 2018 consisting of more than 35 different types of requests including EMS, shoplifting, disabled cars and vehicle accidents, juvenile-related incidents, lost-and-found property, landlord-tenant disputes, grand larceny, robbery, assault and burglary.

And as testament to their work, Roosevelt Island has one of the lowest crime rates in New York City metropolitan area.

In addition, PSD officers handle traffic control, parking enforcement, and the escorting of over-sized trucks via the Helix for construction projects, commercial deliveries, and TV and movie shoots among others.

Led by Chief Jack McManus, (pictured below far left)

and Deputy Chief Kevin Brown, both former high-ranking officers for the NYPD, the Public Safety Department has more than 45 officers, and civilian employees, who work in three-different shifts covering 24 hours each day.

During the September 20 Roosevelt Island Emergency Preparedness Town Hall Meeting, NYPD 114 Precinct Officer Keith Matthes described working with the Roosevelt Island Public Safety Department



and Public Safety Department Deputy Director Kevin Brown reviewed Roosevelt Island emergency procedures plan



followed by



a question and answer period.

NYPD 114 Precinct Commander Deputy Inspector Nunes says Roosevelt Island is the safest area in the precinct.