Wisconsin State Patrol

Infobox Law enforcement agency
agencyname = Wisconsin State Patrol
commonname =
abbreviation = WSP
fictional =
patch = Wisconsin State Patrol.jpg
patchcaption = Wisconsin State Patrol patch

logocaption =
badge =
badgecaption =


flagcaption =
imagesize =
motto =
mission =
formedyear = 1939
formedmonthday = September 1
preceding1 =
dissolved =
superseding =
employees =
volunteers =
budget =
nongovernment =
country = United States
countryabbr = USA
national =
federal =
divtype = State
divname = Wisconsin


mapcaption =
sizearea = 65,498 sq mi (169,790 km²)
sizepopulation = 5,601,640 (2007)
legaljuris =
governingbody = Wisconsin Department of Transportation
constitution1 =
police = Yes
state = Yes
speciality =
overviewtype =
overviewbody =
headquarters = Madison, Wisconsin
hqloc

hqlocleft =
hqloctop =
hqlocmappoptitle =
sworntype =
sworn = 492 (2005) [http://www.albany.edu/sourcebook/pdf/t159.pdf Sourcebook of Criminal Justice Statistics 2003, page 56] . Data is from 2000.]
unsworntype =
unsworn = 183 (2005)
electeetype =
chief1name = David L. Collins
chief1position = Superintendent
parentagency =
stationtype = Region
stations = 5
website = http://www.dot.wisconsin.gov/statepatrol/
footnotes =
reference = The Wisconsin State Patrol is the state police force for the state of Wisconsin. It serves a population of 5.6 millions mainly through traffic safety and enforcement on the state highways.

History

The Wisconsin Legislature created Chapter 110 on September 1, 1939 to have the Motor Vehicle Department. That department had three divisions: Registration and Licensing, Highway Safety Promotion and Inspection and Enforcement. The Inspection and Enforcement division had inspectors who enforced the state motor carrier regulations and the state motor vehicle code. That division eventually became known as the Wisconsin State Patrol.

Prior to 1939, there were some sort of statewide enforcement efforts through other departments. For example, in 1917, the Dairy and Food Department and the Oil Inspection Department were legally authorized to conduct investigations of the licensing and vehicle sale laws. Also, in 1931, the State Highway Administration had personnel dedicated to checking truck weights and traffic.

State Patrol-run radio went on the air on February 1, 1943 on station WIZR on a frequency of 31.50 MHz. The radio allowed communication with the Patrol's mobile units and with local law enforcement short-wave stations.

Mission

As stated on its website, The State Patrol provides traffic safety and enforcement services for Wisconsin. Like all highway patrol and state patrol agencies, its primary mission is to enforce the provisions of the Wisconsin Motor Vehicle laws and other laws to prevent crime. However, the State Patrol is seen as a state police force (even state police agencies generally focus on traffic law enforcement but do respond to general police service calls) and as such, its state troopers have full police authority and statewide jurisdiction although they very rarely investigate crimes that are not traffic-related, especially if those crimes occur within an incorporated area that has its own police department.

These are the services provided statewide by the agency:

* Traffic law enforcement through freeway patrols
* Accident scene reconstruction and crime scene mapping for investigations
* Motor carrier safety inspections
* Commercial vehicle size and weight enforcement
* Inspections of school buses, ambulances, motor coaches, and salvage vehicles
* Evaluation and maintenance of breath-alcohol testing equipment; also provides training to some county and local law enforcement agencies in using such equipment
* Assistance to county and local law enforcement agencies when requested upon
* Law enforcement training at the Wisconsin State Patrol Academy
* Traffic safety programs

The State Patrol maintains and manages the facilities of the Mobile Data Communications Network (MDCN), a system that supports remote access to information available from the Department of Justice. The service is provided free of charge to allied criminal justice agencies in Wisconsin.

Training

A training academy was established in 1955 to offer formal education instructions in partnership with the Northwestern University Traffic Institute. Since 1957, the agency has been training its recruits with its own staff. The Wisconsin State Patrol Academy, in Fort McCoy, sits on 50 acres and is used to train State Patrol recruits but also some county and local law enforcement agencies personnel on the latest techniques in traffic law enforcement.

Training for recruits lasts 21 weeks in a paramilitary setting. Fort McCoy itself is a military installation run by the United States Army.

Prior to joining the academy, recruits must pass several phases during initial testing. Those phases include a written exam, two physical events (physical agility and physical fitness tests), an interview, a background investigation and a psychological/medical exams.

The State Patrol today

The State Patrol became part of the Wisconsin Department of Transportation in the 1960s, and was designated a DOT division in 1977. In 2003, the Bureau of Transportation Safety was incorporated into the State Patrol.

In 2005 the State Patrol reorganized and went from 7 districts to 5 regions. It maintains offices in DeForest, (Madison), Waukesha, Fond du Lac, Wausau, Tomah, Eau Claire and Spooner.

The agency has three main components: support staff, road patrol troopers and inspectors who are troopers assigned to motor carrier enforcement throughout the state. Unlike in some state police agencies where commercial vehicle enforcement is a specialized task with usually no first-year trooper allowed, inspectors with the State Patrol can start performing such duty right out of the academy. The State Patrol uses marked, unmarked vehicles and motorcycles to perform its mission. It also has an aircraft program with four aerial vehicles to monitor traffic, track criminal suspects, perform drug detection and assist in the search of missing persons.

Strength

For a state with a fairly high population, the State Patrol appears not to have enough troopers, at least compared to other states with the same population. In 2005, Wisconsin had 492 troopers and inspectors according to data provided by the Federal Bureau of Investigation. By comparison, Maryland, which has about the same population than Wisconsin, had 1496 troopers. Colorado, population 4.8 million, had 705. West Virginia, with 1.8 million residents, had 616. That said, caution should prevail when reading these comparisons as some jurisdictions might be busier than others in fighting crimes, a fact that can affect the level of staffing for departments. Other factors such as varied demographic traits and type of jurisdictions (state police vs. highway or state patrol) impact staffing level as well. The California Highway Patrol remains the nation's largest state police force with 6953 officers, according to the same FBI data.

Fallen Officers

Since the creation of the Wisconsin State Patrol, 4 officers have died in the line of duty, according to the Officer Down Memorial Page.

ee also

* List of law enforcement agencies in Wisconsin
* State police
* State patrol
* Highway patrol

References

http://www.dot.wisconsin.gov/statepatrol/index.htm

State Trooper: America's State Troopers and Highway Patrolmen (Turner Publishing Company - 2001)

Officer Down Memorial Page (odmp.org)

External links

* [http://www.dot.wisconsin.gov/statepatrol/ Wisconsin State Patrol Official Website]
* [http://www.dot.wisconsin.gov/statepatrol/docs/statepatrolreport.pdf 2006-2007 Annual Wisconsin State Patrol Report] (PDF format)