What did they do for us?

Many people have a misconception of what transit cops do.  Many people thought transit cops ride the subways on and off all day.  Transit police actually spend very little time riding the trains while they are on duty.

Much like police precincts, there are twelve districts for the transit police officers.  Each one partols a specific district.  The district can be only one station or can span a few adjacent stations depending on the station, time of day and how many people are at that station.

Transit police often travel on foot and alone.  They are supposed to be constantly moving, looking for many things.  Police officers should be looking for anything that is wrong or is going wrong.  They are also there to make sure everyone not just obeys the normal laws but the special rules of conduct for the transit system.

Transit police also have to respond to any reports of crime.  This makes their job unique and possibly harder then the cops that work on the surface.  If someone gets mugged on the streets, the criminal will not get far by foot or car and will generally be within the same neighborhood.  However, in the same amount of time, a mugger in the subways could end up on the other side of the city.  This makes things a bit more unique for transit cops.

Even with all these jobs, a transit cop still does much more.  With an average of 100,000 passengers a day in certain stations, the officers must aid people in many ways.  The officers are there to help people in case of an accident, illness or injury.  They are also expected to help keep crowds under control.  On top of this there are many other problems the officers deal with such as lost children, lost tourists, people asking for directions as well as any other questions people might have.