Their geographic area of employment extends to all counties in New York served by the Metropolitan Transportation Authority, giving officers the ability to exercise full police authority within the counties of Dutchess, Putnam, Orange, Rockland, Westchester, Nassau, Suffolk, and in New York City.

Since 2019, the MTA Police has officers conducting daily subway patrols in New York City in an effort to assist the NYPD in addressing quality of life issues, like homelessness, that affect commuters.

Since 9/11, the department has expanded in size and has ramped up dramatically its counter-terrorism capabilities, adding canine teams and emergency services officers.

This was the final step in consolidating MTA agency law enforcement, and increased the total workforce of the department to 716, including civilians.

Despite being a state (or inter-state) law enforcement agency, MTAPD officers wear similar uniform to NYPD personnel.

This includes:[14] The ESU and Hybrid Threat Unit wears a less formal version without metal badges and pins, and with writing on their shirts and jackets, with no "shield".