Highway patrols
Highway patrols are state law-enforcement agencies tasked primarily with maintaining safety and efficiency on highways. Their main responsibilities include enforcing traffic laws, investigating traffic accidents, directing traffic, and promoting overall traffic safety. Unlike local police, highway patrol officers, also known as state troopers or state traffic officers, typically do not investigate criminal offenses unless they occur in their presence or relate to their traffic duties. The establishment of highway patrols emerged in the early 20th century due to concerns about city police corruption and the need for better highway regulation as automobile use grew. Maryland established the first highway patrol in 1914, leading to the formation of similar agencies across the United States. Today, highway patrols prioritize issues such as impaired driving, speeding, and various vehicle-related violations. They also have additional responsibilities, which may include commercial vehicle safety and providing support services for other law enforcement agencies. Since the events of September 11, 2001, many highway patrols have taken on roles related to homeland security, further expanding their scope of duties.
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Highway patrols
SIGNIFICANCE: The two kinds of primary state law-enforcement agencies, highway patrols and state police, represent a departure from the American tradition of local control of police.
Like state police, highway patrols are state government law-enforcement agencies that are responsible for policing the highways within a state. The principal duty of highway patrols is to support the safe and efficient use of the highways by enforcing traffic laws, investigating traffic crashes, directing and controlling traffic, and promoting traffic safety. Highway patrol officers, sometimes called state traffic officers or state troopers, are generally not responsible for investigating crimes and enforcing criminal laws, except for those offenses that occur in their presence, are encountered incident to the performance of their traffic responsibilities, or as may be specifically authorized by state statute.
State governments generally began to establish law-enforcement agencies during the early twentieth century as a result of concerns with police corruption in cities, ineffectiveness of rural sheriffs’ departments, and the inability or unwillingness of both municipal and rural police to deal with violent labor disputes. As automobile use increased and highway systems expanded in the 1910’s and 1920’s, the need for motor vehicle regulation and law enforcement became apparent, further influencing the development of state law-enforcement agencies.
The state of Maryland is credited with establishing the first “highway patrol” in 1914, when the state commissioner of motor vehicles was authorized to appoint “motorcycle deputies” to enforce the motor vehicle laws. Most state law-enforcement agencies created after 1920 were essentially highway patrols, and the authority of these agencies has been expanded over time beyond strictly motor vehicle law enforcement, with some being reorganized as state police agencies.
In 2000, there were fifteen primary state law-enforcement agencies officially named “highway patrol” and twenty-two called “state police,” but other agencies are named “state patrol” and “department of public safety,” so it is not always possible to determine the type of agency from its name alone.
The traffic safety mission of highway patrols is an important responsibility, and highway patrols prioritize the apprehension of persons who drive under the influence of alcohol or drugs (drunk driving or drugged driving), utilizing a number of tactics including sobriety checkpoints to identify impaired drivers. Speeding is a major contributing factor in traffic crashes, and speed limit violations are a top enforcement priority. Highway patrols use radar and laser speed detection devices, as well as aircraft and other visual methods of detecting speeders. Highway patrols also focus on hazardous moving violations, vehicle equipment violations, and driver license and vehicle registration violations.
In most states, highway patrols have been statutorily assigned additional responsibilities, such as commercial vehicle safety, auto theft investigation, and security of state officials and buildings. Some highway patrols may provide services such as radio dispatch, crime laboratory , and criminal history records systems for other law-enforcement agencies. After the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001 , highway patrols have often been assigned homeland security responsibilities.
Bibliography
Bechtel, H. Kenneth. State Police in the United States: A Socio-Historical Analysis. Westport, Conn.: Greenwood Press, 1995.
Hannah, John. "The Kansas Highway Patrol's 'Two Step' Tactic Tramples Motorists' Rights, A Judge Rules." Associated Press, 21 July 2023, apnews.com/article/kansas-highway-patrol-two-step-improper-searches-5dbe23e2db8d855ed49f94fe25bbb23e. Accessed 5 July 2024.
Kerwin, Jenna. "Career Spotlight: State Trooper." Excelsior University, 10 May 2023, www.excelsior.edu/article/what-is-it-like-being-a-state-trooper/. Accessed 5 July 2024.
Torres, Donald A. Handbook of State Police, Highway Patrols, and Investigative Agencies. Westport, Conn.: Greenwood Press, 1987.