ALBANY, NY – Governor Kathy Hochul announced her nomination of Steven G. James to serve as the Superintendent of the New York State Police. Acting Superintendent James will lead the New York State Police in an acting role as he awaits confirmation by the Senate.

“The men and women of the New York State Police do heroic work to keep New Yorkers safe, and Steven G. James will be a Superintendent who will lead this force into the next generation” Governor Hochul said. “Since taking office, I’ve prioritized fighting crime and investing in law enforcement, and I’m looking forward to working closely with Acting Superintendent James to keep the people of New York safe.”

Acting Superintendent Steven G. James said, “This opportunity comes around once in a lifetime, if you’re lucky. Governor Hochul’s nomination is my crowning achievement and I know just how fortunate I am to have been provided this chance to serve. I look forward to bringing the State Police further into the arena of cutting-edge policing and to serving as a model agency.”

Acting Superintendent James has served with the New York State Police for more than 32 years, including more than two decades in a leadership role. Most recently, he served as Deputy Superintendent for Employee Relations and has also served as Assistant Deputy Superintendent, Staff Inspector, Major, Captain, Lieutenant, Senior Investigator, Sergeant, Investigator and Trooper. He holds a B.S. in Psychology from SUNY Albany and a master’s in public administration from Marist College.

Since taking office, Governor Hochul has expanded the role of the New York State Police and made significant investments in public safety. Over the past two years, these efforts have included:

– The creation of a new gun interdiction unit and the launching of the innovative multi-state and intra-State gun trafficking task forces.
– Expanding the State’s role in combatting cyber-crimes by expanding our social media unit.
– $7.4 million to allow State Police to keep pace with technology in criminal investigations, including digital forensic services and investigating cybercrimes; providing critical support to the Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) Unit to ensure that crimes against children are fully investigated.
– $25.9 million for the creation and expansion of the State Police Community Stabilization Units (CSUs) to support local law enforcement.
– In November, Governor Hochul added five additional people assigned to social media and 10 new people assigned to JTTF Office of Counterterrorism to address the rise in hate crimes.
– $100 million to purchase and renovate a new satellite crime laboratory for the State Police. This new facility will eliminate overcrowding at the Forensic Investigation Center and provide space for anti-gun violence initiatives. The State Police currently has three satellite crime laboratories in the Albany area.
– $66.7 million to increase the number of State Police academy classes, making up for academy classes that were postponed during the COVID-19 pandemic as well as increasing the number of troopers dedicated to addressing serious crime.

This year’s FY25 Executive Budget continues these efforts and includes two initiatives for the State Police to combat retail theft:

– Led by the State Police, launching the Retail Theft Joint Operation to coordinate through our network of Crime Analysis Centers the response of law enforcement agencies and prosecutors, modeled on the successful intra-state task force on gun trafficking, but focused on combatting organized retail theft crime;
– Deploying a dedicated State Police team to build cases against organized retail theft rings;
– Setting up a New York State Police Smash and Grab Enforcement Unit.