FOR
IMMEDIATE RELEASE January 4, 2002 PR-004-02 www.nyc.gov |
Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg today swore in Raymond W. Kelly as New York City's 41st Police Commissioner, marking the first time in department history that a former Commissioner has returned to head the NYPD. Mayor Bloomberg swore in Commissioner Kelly at Gracie Mansion.
"I am proud to swear in Ray Kelly as New York City's Police Commissioner," Mayor Bloomberg said. "The Commissioner shares my commitment to fighting crime at all levels and with all of the resources available. His law enforcement experience at the local, national, and international level should give the residents of all of the City's many communities, as well as the City's tourists and visitors, the confidence that they can go about their lives in a safe environment. I have no doubt that Commissioner Kelly and New York's Finest will protect the safety of the public with skill and professionalism."
"I would like to thank Mayor Bloomberg for giving me the opportunity to return to the Police Department and lead the best law enforcement agency in the world," Commissioner Kelly said. "We will aggressively combat crime, be they quality of life offenses or violent assaults, and work with state and federal authorities, as well as the local communities that the Police Department serves, to coordinate the effort to protect New York City against threats of any nature. And the Mayor and I will work together to ensure that our police force possesses the resources to enhance public safety, and that its men and women perform their duties effectively and with courtesy and respect."
Kelly
spent 31 years in the New York City Police Department, serving in
25 different commands. During his tenure as Commissioner from 1992
to 1994, Kelly directed the emergency response and successful investigation,
in conjunction with federal agencies, of the 1993 World Trade Center
bombing. In 1994, he became head of International Police Monitors
where he reformed Haiti's police force. From 1996 to 1998, Kelly
was undersecretary for enforcement at the U.S. Treasury Department,
where he supervised the department's enforcement bureaus, including
the U.S. Customs Service, the U.S. Secret Service, the Bureau of
Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms, the Federal Law Enforcement Training
Center, the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network, and the Office
of Foreign Assets Control. In addition, Kelly served as Vice President
for the Americas of Interpol, the international police organization,
from 1996 to 2000. Kelly served as commissioner of the U.S. Customs
Service from 1998 to 2001, overseeing the agency's 20,000 employees.
At the Customs Service, he reformed training, integrity monitoring
and investigative systems.
Kelly was recently appointed the Chairman of the New York State
Athletic Commission, and following the September 11th attacks, he
was named to a national task force to increase airport security.
He most recently served as head of Global Security at Bear Stearns.
A veteran of the Vietnam War, Kelly retired as a colonel from the
Marine Corps Reserves after 30 years of service. He holds a BBA
from Manhattan College, a JD from St. John's University School of
Law, an LLM from New York University Graduate School of Law and
an MPA from the Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University.
www.nyc.gov
Contact: | Edward
Skyler / Jerry Russo (212) 788-2958 |
Michael
O'Looney (NYPD) (212) 374-6700 |