DHS Police

[JLAB]

In the last few days I saw police officers with shirts indicating "DHS Police" in the Staten Island Ferry Terminal. I assume that this means Department of Homeland Security Police. Are they attached to one of the constituent agencies of DHS or are they a new force for DHS itself ? If so I wonder what frequencies they use ?

[CqDx]

The DHS Police you see are NYC Dept of Homeless Services Police. They have a few Ford vans in downtown area because that's where their headquarter is located.

They use VHF simplex in their HQ and a talkgroup on 800 for their citywide traffic. Not much to hear though.

[sc8]

There are also Department of Homeland Security officials that use "DHS Police" logos. They are either Federal Air Marshals on a VIPR(Visual Intermodal something or other) team, or Federal Protective Services police officers.

[FLRAILMAN]

The NYC DHS PD has 3 UHF frequencies listed in the NYC RR database, They are 453.2 MHz, 453.3 MHz & 453.35 MHz, their talkgroup on the NYC DOITT trunked system is 10464 (Courtesy of the N2NOV website).
For more information & photos about them, google: NYC DHS Police & click on the Wikipedia website & see if you recognize the uniform patches & the vans.
FLRAILMAN

[FireBuff44]

I observed this same group of DHS Police guys. I saw one of their badges and it said air marshal on it. They were there with NYPD transit guys also. if these guys are riding the ferries now, who is up in the air? maybe they should have the coast guard ride the planes. that would make the most sense! LOL

[DaveNF2G]

Not for nothing, but DHS employees have to get around somehow. Do you think Air Marshalls only fly from place to place?

Maybe they were going to a meeting, or out for dinner, or even home.

[e911god]

The Federal Air Marshall's Service is part of the Transportation Security Administration (TSA). The TSA is not only responsible for airports, but other modes of transportation to include rail, bus, etc.

Here is a link to what they do: TSA | Transportation Security Administration | What We Do

One thing specific that comes to mind is the new Transportaiton Worker Identification Credential or TWIC card that anyone accessing the Ports must have. This requires a background investigation to include checks of criminal history, terrorist watch lists, etc. Compared to the Sealink card that Port Authority issues, this is a higher level of security for our Ports.

And yes, FAM's do ride on trains even though they are called "Air" Marshalls as part of their job duties. That doesn't mean there are less of them in the sky. Most federal agents, even on vacation, are actually encouraged and fly armed on commerical flights. When that happens, they can move the FAM to cover another flight, train, etc.