St. Albans’ Banks Second Only To Commish
The new highest-ranking uniformed officer of the NYPD hails from Queens.
Chief of Department Philip Banks III of St. Albans was officially promoted by Police Commissioner Raymond Kelly last Thursday, Mar. 28, to succeed the retired Chief of Department Joseph Esposito as the NYPD’s second-in-command. He becomes the 37th officer to serve in the post, which was previously known as Chief of Operations and Chief Inspector.
Banks-who has been with the NYPD for 26 years, spending much of his time serving precincts in Brooklyn-was previously the head of the NYPD Community Affairs Bureau, which is responsible for building relationships between police and the neighborhoods that it serves.
“Phil Banks has proven himself time and again to be as outstanding a field commander, adept in managing police personnel and operations, as he has a consummate builder of community relations whose robust School Safety and Juvenile Justice divisions, as well as New Immigrant Outreach and Crime Prevention programs, flourished under his command,” Kelly said in a statement announcing the promotion.
The 50-year-old Banks began his NYPD career in 1986 and was first assigned to patrol the 81st Precinct. Eight years later, he was promoted to sergeant, followed three years later by a promotion to lieutenant in May 1997.
Two years later, Banks was elevated to the rank of captain, followed by promotions to deputy inspector in June 2001 and inspector in December 2003. Banks attained the rank of deputy chief in December 2006, followed less than three years later by his elevation to the rank of Assistant Chief.
During his career, Banks spent time with several Brooklyn precincts, including the 70th, 73rd and 90th precincts; he would go on to serve tenures as commanding officer for the 79th and 81st precincts, as well as the Central Park Precinct and Patrol Borough Manhattan North. Banks was also briefly the executive officer of the 73rd Precinct and Patrol Borough Brooklyn South.
Banks graduated from Lincoln University in Pennsylvania with a bachelor’s degree in business administration; in 2001, he graduated from the Police Management Institute at Columbia University. Banks also completed advanced management training for senior executives in state and local government at the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University. He also completed the executive leaders program in counterterrorism at the Naval Postgraduate School at the Center for Homeland Defense and Security based in Monterey, Ca.
The chief of department’s father, Philip Banks Jr., was a former lieutenant with the NYPD who also served as president of 100 Black Men Inc., an organization aimed at improving the lives of African-Americans. Banks III is a member of the founding New York chapter.
Banks has been married to his wife, Vonda, for 24 years, and they have three children.
