The primary mission of the NJ TRANSIT Police is to ensure a safe and orderly environment within the transit system, promoting the confidence of the riding public and enhancing the maximum use of the transit system. Our fundamental duty is to safeguard lives and property; protect against deception, intimidation and violence; and to uphold, without prejudice, the Constitutional rights of all people.

HISTORY OF THE NJ TRANSIT POLICE DEPARTMENT:

Today, the NJ TRANSIT Police Department (NJTPD) is the only transit policing agency in the country with statewide authority and jurisdiction. The Department was created on January 1, 1983, and it evolved as a result of the passage of the Public Transportation Act of 1979 and subsequent legislation on the state and federal levels. At that time, the original complement included thirty-nine Commissioned Rail Police Officers. On January 12, 1990, NJSA 27:25-15.1 was enacted into law, and it established the NJ Transit Police Department as a sworn law enforcement agency with the "general authority, without limitation, to exercise police powers and duties, as provided for police officers and law enforcement officers, in all criminal and traffic matters at all times throughout the State..." The current, authorized strength of the Department includes 220 sworn officers and 67 non-sworn members (which include Fare Enforcement Inspectors) serving the more than 400,000 commuters who use the NJ Transit system daily. In addition, the NJ TRANSIT Police are responsible for policing the Hudson/Bergen Light Rail and the RiverLINE.

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