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First State Police Agency in the nation to
celebrate One Hundred Years!!
In
May, 2003, the Connecticut State Police held its
100 Year Anniversary Ball, the first State Police
agency in the nation to reach this
milestone.
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The Connecticut State Police is one of the oldest state police agencies in the United States.
Its origin dates back to 1903, when the agency was originally formed with five officers to combat
the growing problem of illegal liquor manufacturing and transportation. It may be hard to
believe now, but these early state policemen had to rely mostly on the railroad to move about the
state. And even when patrolling by car and motorcycle became possible, there still was no
radio system. Officers on patrol maintained contact with the barracks by telephone.
When the desk officer needed to contact a patrolling trooper, he would make a phone call to one of
several stores or gas stations on the man's patrol. The proprietor would raise a small
flag, and the officer would stop and call in when he saw it. In those days, and even up to the
'60s, these men reported to the barracks for duty and went on patrol which consisted of a 12 hour shift or more,
whatever was needed. They returned to the barracks for meals and rest, went back out on patrol, and
repeated the cycle for 5 or 6 days, at which time they were given a day off. One day off. There was no overtime,
there were no maximum duty hours, and a man never knew where he would end up or when he would get
home. There was also no concept of storing the motorcycles when the weather turned cold.
Troopers rode in all kinds of weather, and stuffed their uniforms with newspaper for
insulation. And nobody got rich.
Today, the
Connecticut State Police has evolved into one of the most respected law enforcement agencies in
the world. Along the way, it has been on the forefront of many important advances in
police technology.
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| Many more new vintage photos added in the Photos Pages! |
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The Connecticut State Police is a diverse agency that consists not only of patrol functions, but many other
missions, from state fire marshal, with a large arson section, to street gang units, drug enforcement, welfare fraud,
specialized traffic and motor unit; the Emergency Services Unit, which includes a top-notch
scuba unit whose members have all completed the intensely difficult U.S. Navy dive training; Tactical units, explosive
disposal, aviation, marine patrol, and one of the oldest and most advanced K-9 units in the
country, and possibly the world. Additional units are Major Crime, Casino and Gambling, Organized Crime, Extradition,
and other specialized divisions.
The Connecticut
State Police also operates one of the most advanced Forensic Laboratories in the world, formerly under the supervision
of Doctor Henry Lee, who has investigated many landmark cases - you may remember him from the O.J. Simpson trial, the
Jon Benet Ramsey case, and others. Dr. Lee also served briefly as a Commissioner of the Department.
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If you're accustomed to thinking of troopers as highway ticket machines, you might not realize that in Connecticut,
there are large rural areas and many small towns that do not have regular police departments of their own. In many
other states, county sheriffs provide law enforcement for rural areas. In Connecticut, the sheriff agencies had no responsibilities
outside of the courts and prisoner transport, and were eliminated in the year 2000. The state police have the job of
providing or supervising all law enforcement in these rural towns. This means that when a trooper leaves the barracks
on patrol, he or she may have responsibility for coverage of two, three, or even four towns. The next radio call
that a trooper gets may be an armed robbery, burglary, family fight, missing child, or any other type of crime; or it
may be a car accident many miles away. And unlike officers in other agencies, when a Connecticut trooper is
assigned to one of these incidents, he or she is expected to handle the full investigation, and does not hand it off
to another unit. Even if it's a major crime, like a homicide, the trooper originally assigned stays involved in
the case.
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State Police men and women also know the meaning of the saying, "Troopers ride alone". In most cases,
their nearest backup is a long way off, and probably not available anyway. New troopers have to learn quickly to
be self-sufficient. And when they make arrests, there's no "wagon" to transport the prisoners, and
no "cages" in the cruisers. This is not a job where you just write tickets and eat doughnuts.
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Web page by Tom Seeley,
Lieutenant, CSP Retired
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