Political Science

New York City, one of the world's premier urban centers, is also home to the world's most famous and storied municipal law enforcement service: the NYPD.

Policing in New York is as old as the city itself, although much has changed since the first Dutch rattle watch patrolled streets in the 1620s. Technological improvements, advancing professional standards, and historical moments like the 1898 consolidation of New York City and the terrorist attack of September 11, 2001, have each profoundly changed the way New York City police officers do their jobs. Still, as New York City Police emphasizes, certain elements of the job remain true through the decades and centuries. Being a police officer in New York City has always involved a certain amount of danger, sacrifice, and public coordination.

Franklin and Eleanor Roosevelt changed America with a government on the side of the people that put Americans back to work and inspired confidence that the nation could overcome the Great Depression.  This is the story of their progressive legacy when FDR was Governor during the era of Prohibition and the advent of radio in the Roaring Twenties, a decade that ended with the Great Depression upending life for most Americans. This is the story of how as Governor of New York he tried the programs that became the New Deal that transformed America. It was the place where his warm, easily relatable voice heard on the radio for the first time created a bond of trust with the public that inspired confidence at a time of great fear.Author Michael J. Burgess reveals the often overlooked history of Franklin and Eleanor Roosevelt in Albany at the helm of the Empire State.

Schenectady’s General Electric Realty Plot was formed in 1899 when the General Electric (GE) Company purchased 70 acres of land from prestigious Union College.

This move provided unique housing opportunities for its executives and scientists and attracted brilliant minds from around the world to work for GE. The original 178 homes were designed by leading architects from as far away as Boston, New York City, and Chicago. The neighborhood, colloquially known as “The Plot,” would also become home to political and religious leaders, businesspeople, and entertainment elite. Inhabited by luminaries such as Charles Proteus Steinmetz, 1932 Nobel Prize winner Irving Langmuir, Ernst Alexanderson, and William D. Coolidge, the GE Realty Plot was also home to many important historic firsts, including the first demonstration of radar in the United States and the first reception of a television signal in a house.

The roots of the Syracuse Police Department date back to 1825. Following the opening of the Erie Canal and the boom of the thriving salt industry, Syracuse became a bustling metropolis and a jumping-off point for pioneers, entrepreneurs, and adventurers. The first constable, H.W. Durnford, soon faced the problem of roustabouts, gamblers, and robbers preying upon the canal and warehouse workers along lower James Street. While the community experimented with village and night watches, special constables, and patrolmen, no permanent solution was found. On January 1, 1846, the final die was cast when Syracusans clashed with salt boilers from the adjoining village of Salina in the bloody Coffeehouse Riot. Because of insufficient police services, the militia had to put down the riot. To improve services, both villages voted to consolidate, and in 1848, the City of Syracuse and its police department were created. Syracuse Police illustrates the evolution of urban policing and gives insight into the department's core values and the police officers who have held them sacred.

The Nassau County Police Department was created in 1925 out of an urgent need for a professional law enforcement agency to provide swift, reliable, and trusted protection for its citizens

During those unprecedented times, Greater New York was rapidly encroaching on Nassau County's western border, and the escalating crime rate in this bucolic island setting was due in large part to the Volstead Act, which ushered in the mob-infused Roaring Twenties, with its related violent and turbulent unrest. After the rebellious 1920s and the Great Depression followed a long dark period of global hostilities and impending threats of homeland invasions from foreign enemies in World War II. The founding members of this department, equipped with little other than their dedication, bravery, fortitude, and self sacrifices, established a strong foundation for one of the finest police departments in the country today.

New York State Police Troop K recounts the story of the celebrated troop that served the people of New York from 1917 to 1950. With superb photographs, the book highlights events in the historic Hudson Valley area. Troop K, in its role as a cavalry unit, had direct connections to Theodore Roosevelt's Rough Riders and served special duty at West Point, during World War II, and after the death of Pres. Franklin Roosevelt. Originally the troop patrolled the state's southeastern corner from Albany out to the east end of Long Island. Today Troop K has 400 members and a territory covering Columbia, Dutchess, Putnam, and Westchester Counties.

The Onondaga County Sheriff's Office was formed on March 5, 1794. At that time, its jurisdiction covered what had previously been known as the Military Tract, a 1.75 million–acre stretch of land made available as bounty to soldiers of the Continental army during the Revolutionary War. Since then, the episodes that sketched the history of Onondaga County and Central New York have painted an exciting historical portrait of the sheriff's office and the role it has played in the development of its communities. Intriguing theaters of the office's history include promoting peace with the Haudenosaunee  (Iroquois) Confederacy, maintaining jails, conducting early legal hangings, suppressing insurrections, policing the storied Erie Canal, and keeping pace of the ever-changing trends in crime, technology, and strategy.

The small community of Manhattan Beach, located in the county of Los Angeles, is situated on the shore of the Santa Monica Bay. Late in the 1800s, there was little need for law enforcement: this unspoiled terrain along the ocean coastline with its shifting sands, scrub brush, and native wildflowers had yet to be cultivated. By 1912, the sparsely populated area had been incorporated and the city fathers appointed the first peace officer, Fred W. Petway, who was one of three marshals to serve the new town. In 1924, the position of police chief was created with the appointment of Fred Garvin. However, it would be many years before a first-class police department would oversee the safety and security of the growing community. This volume tracks a century of social change and dramatic episodes that challenged a long line of dedicated men and women in law enforcement. Each of these professionals raised the bar on the high standard of police department service that operates in this seaside municipality today.

Auburn Police traces the history of the Auburn Police Department, which dates back to the mid1800s. It portrays many of the faces of those people who have devoted 20, 30, or more years of service to their community. Although a number of aspects of law enforcement have changed over the years, the very principle of the police officer interacting with the public remains the same.