Brooklyn Nine-Nine: 10 Characters, Ranked By Job Position

Although Brooklyn Nine-Nine is all about the NYPD’s 99th precinct, there is no such number in the real-life organization. In fact, the building depicted in the show belongs to the 78th precinct, which is also responsible for the same localities as its fictional counterpart.

There are dozens of employees in the nine-nine, from patrol officers and Cyber Crimes to IT and HR, not to mention important characters in the series who work for the NYPD at large. How are they ranked in terms of their career roles? Are all detectives the same grade?

10 Scully & Hitchcock

Michael Hitchcock and Norm Scully are desk jockeys: they are tolerably efficient at paperwork or any kind of effort that ensures they would not need to get up from their seats.

Although originally a pair of star detectives for the NYPD, these two characters’ current perspective pales before their magnificent beginnings in 1985. Both Scully and Hitchcock have remained Detectives 3rd Grade since the beginning of their career.

9 Detective Charles Boyle

Charles Boyle has been the man of honor on several occasions, and although losing face to Peanut Butter the police horse, he is a great detective. Perhaps he’s not as proactive as Amy Santiago or as free-spirited as Jake Peralta, but Charles gets his work done however long it takes him.

It’s quite easy for him to request for a promotion from the NYPD and get it even, but he’s probably not going to go down that career path as it’s more likely to take Jake away from Charles.

8 Detective Rosa Diaz

Rosa Diaz is a detective, and a sharp one at that, but her perspectives are occasionally skewed, usually by her uncontrollable temper.

She has received the NYPD Exceptional Merit Medal, the NYPD Firearms Proficiency Bar, and the U.S. Flag Bar, making her among the better-decorated members of the 99th precinct. Further, Rosa has been part of multiple task forces and is a highly respected NYPD police officer.

7 Detective Jake Peralta

Jake Peralta is the only detective at the Nine-Nine promoted to Detective, First Grade, presumably for the amount of crime he has singlehandedly reduced in NYC.

Sadly, he does not act like one of the higher-ranked members in an NYPD police squad, often resorting to his trademark goofy charm and borderline annoying antics instead of taking the mature route. Jake has no intentions of taking the Sergeant’s Exam, however, given the amount of studying involved.

6 Sergeant Amy Santiago

Amy finally reaches her goal of becoming an NYPD sergeant after a few grueling weeks/months of cramming and crankiness (the second mostly for Jake). She does not lose the opportunity to make a difference on her very first day, successfully managing a subordinate version of herself.

In fact, as much as Amy loves her newborn son, she nearly gave birth to him at the precinct while attempting to navigate the citywide blackout as the only superior officer active at the time.

5 Lieutenant Terry Jeffords

Terry Jeffords starts off as a Detective 3rd Grade circa 1995, first joining the Six-Five, before transferring to the 99th precinct. He is promoted to sergeant at some point before the start of the series, as he introduces the newly arrived Captain Holt to his squad.

Terry discusses becoming a lieutenant with Holt and the others, and, like Amy, passes the exam on his first try. To make things sweeter, he announces his promotion after his first Halloween Heist victory.

4 Captain Keith Pembroke

Keith Pembroke is not a name most Brooklyn Nine-Nine fans are aware of, because this character is far more notorious as the Vulture — a Major Crimes detective with the nasty habit of snatching the Nine-Nine’s cases away at the last second.

He is also put in charge of the Missing Persons Dept., a likely parody of the city’s dismal police record. What’s worse for Jake is that when Holt is forcibly promoted by Wuntch, the Nine-Nine gets the Vulture as one of their captains.

3 Captain Raymond Holt

Captain Raymond Holt begins his career in a toxic atmosphere, a blend of homophobia and racism that prevents him from achieving his dream for much longer than most of his contemporaries.

Regardless, the man has scratched and clawed his way to the top, inevitably making enemies along the way. Captain Holt is announced as one of the candidates for the job of Police Commissioner, but he, unfortunately, doesn’t get it.

2 Commissioner Wuntch

Madeline Wuntch is Raymond Holt’s number one nemesis, as they had both started off with similar disadvantages (although each of them claim to have been the less privileged of the two). She makes Holt’s life miserable when she’s the Deputy Chief of Department as well as the Chief of Department.

However, she only wields true power as the (Acting) Commissioner of the NYPD after successfully outing John Kelly’s invasive public policies. Commissioner Wuntch’s first act is to sentence Raymond to a year of traffic control duty, thereby avoiding Terry’s transfer from the Nine-Nine.

1 Gina Linetti

It’s extremely difficult to debate against the argument that Gina Linetti is by far the most powerful entity in the show’s universe. Her actual work as the Civilian Administrator of the 99th precinct is technically lower in status than most of her cop colleagues, but her value cannot be distilled down to a mere job title.

Gina has shown, on a number of occasions, that she practically holds the whole place together with a combination of sass, spirit, and social media.

About The Author

Ajay Aravind
(429 Articles Published)

In real life, Ajay disguises himself as an academic, mainly writing textbooks for children — who all hate him for making their lives more miserable. He also writes about TV and film, strewing his opinions across the internet to see if people care (they don’t). You can find him @stain_dprinc_ss on Twitter.

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