State Police

Traditionally, law enforcement in the United States has been organized on a local level. Until the beginning of the 20th century, police departments were organized on a village, town, city, or county basis. If emergency conditions called for more manpower, the militia or National Guard could be called to assist. However, in some industrial states, the frequent mobilizations and subsequent reluctance of the National Guard to deal with labor disputes at the turn of the 20th century resulted in the creation of a large police department under the control of the governor. The popularity of the automobile also created a need for a police agency that had jurisdiction within the entire state and could pursue violators anywhere in the state. The state police could also serve as an agency to patrol in rural areas that were without local police departments. In some states, the existence of corruption in local police agencies was another factor in establishing a police agency under state control. The creation of state police departments also strengthened the power of state governors, who now had an enforcement agency with statewide powers.

Currently, every state has a state police agency except Hawaii. In 2000, state police agencies employed more than 98,000 personnel. State police agencies, which are also known as public safety departments or state highway patrols, usually have patrol and investigative components. Michigan, Kentucky, Texas, Louisiana, New Mexico, Pennsylvania, New York, Rhode Island, and Oregon are full-service police departments with statewide jurisdiction. Highway patrols, which are usually found in the South, have more limited authority. The state police agencies in Florida, North Carolina, Nevada, and Ohio are limited to traffic activities. Investigations in these states are conducted by other state agencies with investigative powers or sheriffs’ departments. In addition to state police and highway patrol agencies, 35 states have investigative agencies that are independent of the state police. These investigative agencies are most common in states with state highway patrol agencies.

Some states also have specialized enforcement units to handle issues involving wildlife control, parks management and safety, fire marshals’ offices, attorneys general investigators, and revenue or tax enforcement units. Some state police agencies centralize these enforcement responsibilities within the state police department, whereas other states spread the enforcement duties among several state agencies, such as the parks or tax departments.

Most state police agencies provide a blend of the following services.

• 1.
  Patrol. All states contain modern highway systems that require patrol for the safety of the motorists. Traffic laws on the highways must be enforced, and many local jurisdictions refuse to provide for patrol on these roads. Most state police departments use the largest amount of manpower on highway patrol. State police agencies also provide for patrol operations in sparsely populated areas that do not have adequate local police agencies.
• 2.
  Investigations. State police agencies provide an investigative function for local departments without investigative units and for the investigation of crimes committed in areas under the jurisdiction of the state police, such as highways, state parks, state buildings, and so on.
• 3.
  Record Keeping and Computer Services. Local police agencies use the databases of the state police in investigating criminal backgrounds. Fingerprint records, wanted persons lists, criminal histories, and other record-keeping functions are maintained by state police agencies.
• 4.
  State Crime Laboratory. Most state police agencies provide a forensic laboratory to support [Page 440]local police departments that lack the resources or expertise to support their own laboratory.
• 5.
  Police Academy. Many states maintain a central police academy for the training of state and local police officers. Some states do not train local police officers but mandate curriculum or minimum levels of training for local police.