John Miller, a prominent CBS News correspondent who drew both praise and scrutiny for his ability to leverage his law-enforcement and national security contacts for big news stories, is leaving the network to work in counterterrorism for the New York Police Department, CBS announced on Thursday.

After a career spent toggling between television and law enforcement, Mr. Miller will be rejoining an old friend and boss, William J. Bratton, the incoming police commissioner. Mr. Miller’s close relationship with government agencies has troubled some media watchers, who criticized Mr. Miller’s recent “60 Minutes” special report on the National Security Agency for its seemingly cozy treatment of controversial spying programs.

During Mr. Bratton’s first tenure as the city’s police commissioner, Mr. Miller served as the department’s chief spokesman in 1994 before going to ABC News, where he interviewed Osama bin Laden in 1998. In 2003, Mr. Bratton, then Los Angeles’s police chief, hired Mr. Miller to lead the counterterrorism bureau.