Patrick J. Ryder was named Commissioner of the Nassau County Police Department by County Executive Laura Curran in February 2018. He recently completed his 36th year in law enforcement, serving the last 34 years with the Nassau County Police Department. Commissioner Ryder began his law enforcement career with the New York Police Department in January 4, 1984. He joined the NCPD on July 18, 1986 and was assigned to the 3rd Precinct and in 1989 assigned to the Bureau of Special Operations. Promoted to Sergeant in 1995 and assigned to the 5th Precinct, 8th Squad, and the Asset Forfeiture Unit (AFU) as the Deputy Commanding Officer. In 2008 he was designated the Commanding Officer of AFU, where he proactively implemented a number of life-saving programs and initiatives that helped ensure officer and public safety. These include the NCPD’s Real-Time Intelligence (RTI) system; the R.E.A.C.H. Program; the Civilian Intelligence Analyst Program; the DNA Collection Initiative; and the creation of the Counter-Terrorism Unit, Think Tank, and the Department’s Criminal Intelligence Rapid Response Team (CIRRT). Together these initiatives have brought crime in Nassau County to historic lows, allowing residents to enjoy one of the lowest crime rates in the United States.
In March, 2020, County Executive appointed Commissioner Ryder as the Incident Commander for the Covid-19 Pandemic.
Commissioner Ryder has a Master’s Degree in Homeland Security and Management from Long Island University. He is an Adjunct Professor of Criminal Justice and Intelligence-Led Policing at Nassau Community College and taught at Dowling College from 2010 to 2015. He currently sits on the Advisory Board for Criminal Justice at SUNY Farmingdale and has been a Counter-Terrorism Lecturer at the University of Maryland Center for Health and Homeland Security. Commissioner Ryder is a New York State Division of Criminal Justice Services-Certified Law Enforcement Instructor, a Certified Crime and Intelligence Analyst, a Certified Anti-Money Laundering Specialist, and has Top Secret clearance with the FBI’s New York Field Office. He has also been deputized as an IRS Criminal Investigator. Additionally, he has trained members of law enforcement agencies from Egypt, Tajikistan, Tunisia, South Africa, and Turkey. He and his wife Jill have been married for 30 years and have three children: Liam, Sean, and Meghan.