Dermot Shea

Police Commissioner

New York City Police Department

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Dermot Shea was appointed the 44th police commissioner of the City of New York by Mayor Bill de Blasio in December 2019. He previously served as the Chief of Detectives, the Chief of Crime Control Strategies, and the Deputy Commissioner of Operations.

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He was instrumental in developing the NYPD's precision policing methods used to identify, investigate, and arrest the relatively small percentage of offenders responsible for much of the city’s crime and violence. Hinging on the NYPD’s Neighborhood Policing crime-fighting philosophy, these highly-focused enforcement efforts apply intensive analysis to individual cases and patterns, and continue to push violence and disorder in New York City down past historically-low levels, while simultaneously reducing street stops, arrests, and incarceration.

Widely experienced in both the patrol and the investigative sides of the department, Commissioner Shea is a hands-on police practitioner and dedicated police reformer. He speaks with urgency about the NYPD working in close partnership with all residents, community-based groups, city agencies, and others, on many fronts, with a special focus on helping young people steer clear of a first act of criminal behavior.

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Commissioner Shea began his law-enforcement career in April 1991, assigned as a Police Officer in the 46th Precinct in the Bronx. He was promoted to Sergeant in April 1994, and served in the 52nd Precinct. When promoted to Lieutenant in November 1997, he served in the 24th Precinct, as well as the Manhattan South and Bronx Narcotics Divisions. After his promotion to Captain in July 2002, he served in Patrol Borough Bronx, and the Bronx and Queens Narcotics Divisions. He next served as executive officer of the 47th Precinct, and then was designated as commanding officer of the 50th Precinct, where he was promoted to Deputy Inspector in December 2007. He later served as commanding officer of the 44th Precinct, where he was promoted to Inspector in July 2010. He next served as commanding officer of Crime Control Strategies, where he was promoted to Deputy Chief in December 2013, and to Deputy Commissioner of Operations in March 2014. He was named the Chief of Crime Control Strategies in December 2016. In April 2018, he was named the Chief of Detectives by then-Police Commissioner James P. O'Neill.

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Commissioner Shea's parents emigrated from Ireland in the 1950s, met each other and married in New York City, and settled in the Sunnyside neighborhood of Queens, where they had five children.

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Commissioner Shea holds a Bachelor of Science in Business Economics from the State University of New York at Oneonta. He has been married to his wife, Serena, for nearly 30 years. They have three children, Jacqueline, Lauren, and Richie; and one grandson, Aiden.