Pennsylvania State Police
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The Pennsylvania State Police (PSP) is the state police force of Pennsylvania, responsible for statewide law enforcement. It was founded in 1905 by order of Governor Samuel Pennypacker, in response to the private police forces used by mine and mill owners to stop worker strikes (the Coal and Iron Police) and the inability or refusal of local police or sheriffs offices to enforce the law. PSP officers are referred to as "troopers". As of 2006, it has 4,545 state troopers and more than 1,600 civilian support staff.
The current commissioner is Colonel Jeffrey B. Miller, a graduate of Elizabethtown College in Pennsylvania.
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[edit] Duties
The PSP's duties include patrolling all state and federal highways across Pennsylvania, enforcing the Pennsylvania Motor Vehicle Code, overseeing the state's automobile inspection program, enforcing the state's commercial vehicle safety regulations, and providing the full range of police protection for municipalities and unincorporated areas without full-time local police departments. The PSP patrols more than half of the state's 2,565 municipalities and the bulk of its rural areas, as the sheriffs in Pennsylvania are restricted by tradition to performing court services. The PSP's Bureau of Forensic Services provides crime lab services for criminal investigations. A special unit of the PSP act as bodyguards for the Governor of Pennsylvania and certain other state officials. The PSP also temporarily patrolled the state's 28 airports and five nuclear power plants in the months following the 9/11 attacks.
The PSP administers the Pennsylvania Instant Check System (PICS), which is responsible for providing background checks in firearms purchases statewide. The PSP are embroiled in a controversy concerning the maintaining of a firearms "registry" contrary to both Federal and State laws. The issue is being addressed in the courts and the legislature.
The PSP also administers the PATCH (Pennsylvania Access To Criminal History) background-check database and the Pennsylvania Uniform Crime Reporting System.
[edit] Uniform
The uniform worn by PSP officers is unique within Pennsylvania. Prior to its introduction in the 1990's, PSP officers wore dark gray uniforms that confused them with Pennsylvania State Constables, who wore an identical uniform. By state law, no municipal police department (city, borough, or township) police department can wear the same exact uniform or color configuration as that of the PSP, although some departments have uniforms that nearly match that of the PSP
[edit] Uniform (Troopers to Sergeants)
The current PSP uniform for Troopers, Corporals, and Sergeants consist of a light gray long or short sleeve shirt with black shoulder epaulets, and worn with blackened Commonwealth of Pennsylvania seals on the collar and a black necktie – most municipal police departments omit the necktie for the summertime, but the PSP requires the necktie year round. Charcoal gray trousers with a black stripe on each leg is worn, with a Sam Browne belt with duty gear being worn around the waist. The PSP officer's trademark uniform item, the Smokey Bear hat, is worn whenever the officer is outdoors, and is made of charcoal gray-colored felt (for wintertime wear) or straw (for summertime wear). A black "woolly-pully" sweater is worn by officers for "Class A" functions, with special honor guards wear "full dress" uniforms with a charcoal gray military-style coat closed with four black buttons and worn with charcoal riding breeches and black rider boots. Corporals and Sergeants wear their chevron insignia (identical to those worn in the U.S. Army) on both sleeves, with all officers wearing the PSP shoulder patch on both sleeves. On July 1, 2006 a new rank of Trooper First Class, including troopers with twelve years of service or more was added. Trooper First Class wears a single chevron on each sleeve.
[edit] Uniform (Lieutenants to Colonel)
The duty uniform for PSP Lieutenants, Captains, Majors, Lieutenant Colonels, and the Colonel are identical to that of the lower ranks, except for the following
- Blackened collar seals replaced with a gold-colored seal on the left collar and the officer's rank on the right
- Black stripes on trousers has a gold stripe within it
- "Smokey Bear" hat is replaced with a military style service cap with a gold-colored Commonwealth seal and a gold-colored chin strap, with Captains and above having the distinctive Scrambled Eggs on the visor.
In addition to the minor detail changes, senior officers wear the four-button military coat for "Class A" functions in place of the "woolly pully." The coat has four gold-colored buttons, breast and hip pockets, and shoulder epaulets for the placement of the officer's current rank. A system of "rank rings" are worn on each sleeve, similar to the rank-ring system used by the U.S. Navy, United States Coast Guard, and by land units of the Canadian Forces. Currently, the insignia worn by PSP senior officers are as follows:
- Lieutenant: Single silver bar; no rank rings
- Captain: Two silver bars; one rank ring
- Major: Gold oak leaf; two rank rings
- Lt. Colonel: Silver oak leaf; three rank rings
- Colonel: Silver eagle; four rank rings
[edit] The Call of Honor
All Enlisted Members of the Pennsylvania State Police are required to memorize the Pennsylvania State Police Call of Honor as listed below:
" I am a Pennsylvania State Trooper, a soldier of the law.
To me is entrusted the honor of the force.
I must serve honestly, faithfully, and if need be, lay down my life as others have done before me, rather than swerve from the path of duty.
It is my duty to obey the law and to enforce it without any consideration of class, color, creed or condition.
It is also my duty to be of service to anyone who may be in danger or distress, and at all times so conduct myself that the honor of the force may be upheld. "
[edit] Troops
- Troop A (Cambria, Indiana, Somerset, Westmoreland Counties; Troop HQ - Greensburg)
- Troop B (Allegheny, Fayette, Greene, Washington Counties; Troop HQ - Washington)
- Troop C (Clarion, Clearfield, Elk, Forest, Jefferson, McKean Counties; Troop HQ - Punxsutawny)
- Troop D (Armstrong, Beaver, Butler, Lawrence, Mercer Counties; Troop HQ - Butler)
- Troop E (Crawford, Erie, Venango, Warren Counties; Troop HQ - Erie)
- Troop F (Cameron, Clinton, Lycoming, Montour, Northumberland, Potter, Snyder, Tioga, Union Counties; Troop HQ - Montoursville)
- Troop G (Bedford, Blair, Centre, Fulton, Huntingdon, Juniata, Mifflin Counties; Troop HQ - Hollidaysburg)
- Troop H (Adams, Cumberland, Dauphin, Franklin, Perry, York Counties; Troop HQ - Harrisburg)
- Troop J (Chester, Lancaster Counties; Troop HQ - Lancaster)
- Troop K (Delaware, Montgomery, Philadelphia Counties; Troop HQ - Philadelphia)
- Troop L (Berks, Lebanon, Schuylkill Counties; Troop HQ - Reading)
- Troop M (Bucks, Lehigh, Northampton Counties; Troop HQ - Bethlehem)
- Troop N (Carbon, Columbia, Lower Luzerne, Monroe Counties; Troop HQ - Hazleton)
- Troop P (Bradford, Upper Luzerne, Sullivan, Wyoming Counties; Troop HQ - Wyoming)
- Troop R (Lackawanna, Pike, Susquehanna, Wayne Counties; Troop HQ - Dunmore)
- Troop T (Turnpike; Troop HQ - Penna. Turnpike Commission HQ, Highspire)
(*) - The Pennsylvania State Police currently provide limited highway patrol within Philadelphia County; the Troop K Headquarters is located on Belmont Avenue near Fairmount Park in Philadelphia. The Philadelphia Police Department Highway Patrol is currently transitioning patrol of interstate highways over to the Pennsylvania State Police. Full transition is slated to be complete by 2008.
Additionally, the Pennsylvania State Police is in the process of consolidating dispatch functions from the individual stations to one of five "Consolidated Dispatch Centers" (CDC). At present, two CDCs are operational - Harrisburg and Norristown.
The Harrisburg CDC went operational in June 2004. At the present time, Harrisburg CDC covers the Carlisle, Harrisburg, and Lykens stations in Troop H and the Ephrata and Lancaster stations in Troop J. Harrisburg CDC will become the Public Safety Answering Point (PSAP) for all PSP stations in Troops G, H, and J.
The Norristown CDC went operational in December 2004. At the present time, Norristown CDC covers the Philadelphia and Skippack stations in Troop K and the Reading and Hamburg stations in Troop L. Norristown CDC will become the PSAP for all PSP stations in Troops K, L, and M.
The remaining three CDCs will be located in Greensburg, Clarion, and Pittston. The Greensburg CDC will cover Troops A, B, and D; the Clarion CDC will cover Troops C, E, and F; the Pittston CDC will cover Troops N, P, and R. Troop T stations are dispatched by the Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission at its Highspire headquarters.
[edit] Barracks Listing by County
| County | Troop | Station |
|---|---|---|
| Adams | H | Gettysburg |
| Allegheny | B | Pittsburgh |
| Allegheny | T | Gibsonia |
| Armstrong | D | Kittanning |
| Beaver | D | Beaver |
| Bedford | G | Bedford |
| Bedford | T | Everett |
| Berks | L | Reading |
| Berks | L | Hamburg |
| Blair | G | Hollidaysburg |
| Bradford | P | Towanda |
| Bucks | M | Trevose |
| Bucks | M | Dublin |
| Butler | D | Butler |
| Cambria | A | Ebensburg |
| Cameron | F | Emporium |
| Carbon | T | Pocono |
| Carbon | N | Lehighton |
| Centre | G | Phillipsburg |
| Centre | G | Rockview |
| Chester | J | Avondale |
| Chester | J | Embreeville |
| Clarion | C | Clarion |
| Clearfield | C | Clearfield |
| Clinton | F | Lamar |
| Columbia | N | Bloomsburg |
| Crawford | E | Meadville |
| Cumberland | H | Carlisle |
| Cumberland | T | Newville |
| Dauphin | T | Highspire |
| Dauphin | H | Harrisburg |
| Dauphin | H | Lykens |
| Delaware | K | Media |
| Elk | C | Ridgeway |
| Erie | E | Erie |
| Erie | E | Corry |
| Erie | E | Girard |
| Fayette | B | Uniontown |
| Forest | C | Tionesta |
| Franklin | H | Chambersburg |
| Fulton | G | McConnellsburg |
| Greene | B | Waynesburg |
| Huntingdon | G | Huntingdon |
| Indiana | A | Indiana |
| Jefferson | C | DuBois |
| Jefferson | C | Punxsutawney |
| Lackawanna | R | Dunmore |
| Lancaster | T | Bowmansville |
| Lancaster | J | Ephrata |
| Lancaster | J | Lancaster |
| Lawrence | D | New Castle |
| Lebanon | L | Jonestown |
| Lehigh | M | Fogelsville |
| Lehigh | M | Bethlehem |
| Luzerne | N | Hazleton |
| Luzerne | P | Shickshinny |
| Luzerne | P | Wyoming |
| Lycoming | F | Montoursville |
| McKean | C | Kane |
| Mercer | D | Mercer |
| Mifflin | G | Lewistown |
| Monroe | N | Swiftwater |
| Monroe | N | Fern Ridge |
| Montgomery | T | King of Prussia |
| Montgomery | K | Skippack |
| Northampton | M | Belfast |
| Northumberland | F | Stonington |
| Northumberland | F | Milton |
| Perry | H | Newport |
| Philadelphia | K | Philadelphia |
| Pike | R | Blooming Grove |
| Potter | F | Coudersport |
| Schuylkill | L | Schuylkill Haven |
| Schuylkill | L | Frackville |
| Snyder | F | Selinsgrove |
| Somerset | A | Somerset |
| Somerset | T | Somerset |
| Sullivan | P | Laporte |
| Susquehanna | R | Gibson |
| Tioga | F | Mansfield |
| Venango | E | Franklin |
| Warren | E | Warren |
| Washington | B | Washington |
| Wayne | R | Honesdale |
| Westmoreland | A | Greensburg |
| Westmoreland | B | Belle Vernon |
| Westmoreland | T | New Stanton |
| Westmoreland | A | Kiski Valley |
| Wyoming | P | Tunkhannock |
| York | H | York |
[edit] The other "State Police"
In 2005, the PSP successfully lobbied the state Legislature to repeal an 1872 law that granted full police powers to the State Police of Crawford and Erie Counties, an unaffiliated volunteer police force. PSP Commissioner Jeffrey Miller said he was afraid people would mistake the Crawford/Erie group for actual state troopers.
[edit] Trivia
- The PSP was patterned after a military organization and PSP troopers have sometimes been referred to as "Soldiers of the Law". Divisions of the force are called "troops", and officers are known as "troopers". Regional headquarters, at which single troopers were once required to live, are referred to as "barracks". The original concept was that the troopers did not apply to join the PSP but "enlisted" for two-year periods, after which they could be honorably discharged or apply for reenlistment. The longstanding two-year enlistment periods were phased out in 1961.
- PSP troopers do not wear badges on their uniforms, which reminds them that their conduct, not their badges, represents their authority. The practice dates back to European constables of the 1700s, who never wore badges.
- Married men were initially barred from becoming state troopers. After 1927, troopers were allowed to marry after they had completed their first two-year enlistment if they had approval from the police superintendent. The PSP allowed married men to enlist from 1963.
- On October 1, 1971, the first female applicant was accepted as a cadet in the Pennsylvania State Police. The Academy class, containing the first female Troopers, graduated on July 7, 1972.
- A PSP Trooper is portrayed on the television show "Prison Break" Season 2 Episode 3 "Scan (Prison Break episode)". He stops fugitive Fernando Sucre's stolen automobile, makes a call to dispatch, and assumes him to be Sucre despite his feign of identity.
[edit] See also
- Pennsylvania Capitol Police
- List of Pennsylvania state agencies
- List of law enforcement agencies in Pennsylvania
[edit] External links
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