The Indiana State Police is the statewide law enforcement agency for the
U.S. state
In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its sover ...
of
Indiana
Indiana () is a U.S. state in the Midwestern United States. It is the 38th-largest by area and the 17th-most populous of the 50 States. Its capital and largest city is Indianapolis. Indiana was admitted to the United States as the 19th s ...
. Indiana was the 12th state to offer protection to its citizens with a
state police
State police, provincial police or regional police are a type of sub-national territorial police force found in nations organized as federations, typically in North America, South Asia, and Oceania. These forces typically have jurisdiction o ...
force.
Its headquarters are in the Indiana Government Center North in
Indianapolis
Indianapolis (), colloquially known as Indy, is the state capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Indiana and the seat of Marion County. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the consolidated population of Indianapolis and Marion ...
.
History
On July 15, 1921, the Indiana legislature, with approval from the governor, to appoint "all necessary deputies in addition to the present officers of the law" to enforce a newly enacted vehicle registration law. The secretary of state appointed a 16-man ''Indiana Motor Vehicle Police,'' becoming the first law enforcement agency in the state to have statewide jurisdiction to enforce traffic laws, although they had only "limited" authority and were only authorized to enforce the "rules of the road" and motor vehicle laws.
On March 10, 1927, the Indiana legislature created a ''Bureau of Criminal Identification and Investigation'', also under the secretary of state, for the purpose of installing and maintaining "local identification systems for the identification and prosecution of criminals and the investigation of crimes." In 1933, the Indiana State Police was formed largely consisting of basically untrained, ill-equipped traffic officers left over from the Motor Vehicle Police. The first formal "academy" began July 15, 1935, and consisted of between 80 and 100 candidates. It was not until 1976 that the academy graduated its first female troopers.
[History of the Indiana State Police]
Retrieved May 25, 2011.
Indiana State Police Board
The Indiana State Police Board administers, manages, and controls the operation of the agency including the setting of salaries and compensation, with the approval of the governor and may review disciplinary action taken against a state police employee by the superintendent. The ISP board consists of six civilian members who are appointed by the governor and must be a permanent resident of one of six geographical regions of the state from which they are appointed. Members serve staggered, four-year terms and no more than three may belong to the same political party.
Organization
The Indiana State Police is currently led by Superintendent Douglas G. Carter, whose position is appointed by the governor. His command staff includes an assistant superintendent who holds the rank of colonel and four deputy superintendents, each holding the rank of lieutenant colonel who manage four primary areas of responsibility:
[
*Financial Management includes the ]Fiscal
Fiscal usually refers to government finance. In this context, it may refer to:
Economics
* Fiscal policy, use of government expenditure to influence economic development
* Fiscal policy debate
* Fiscal adjustment, a reduction in the government ...
Division and Logistics
Logistics is generally the detailed organization and implementation of a complex operation. In a general business sense, logistics manages the flow of goods between the point of origin and the point of consumption to meet the requirements of ...
Division.
*Support Services includes the Criminal Justice Data Division, Laboratory
A laboratory (; ; colloquially lab) is a facility that provides controlled conditions in which scientific or technological research, experiments, and measurement may be performed. Laboratory services are provided in a variety of settings: physicia ...
Division, Records
A record, recording or records may refer to:
An item or collection of data Computing
* Record (computer science), a data structure
** Record, or row (database), a set of fields in a database related to one entity
** Boot sector or boot record, ...
Division and Public Information Office.
*Investigations includes the Office of Professional Standards, Training
Training is teaching, or developing in oneself or others, any skills and knowledge or Physical fitness, fitness that relate to specific practicality, useful Competence (human resources), competencies. Training has specific goals of improving on ...
Division and Criminal Investigation
Criminal investigation is an applied science that involves the study of facts that are then used to inform criminal trials. A complete criminal investigation can include searching, interviews, interrogations, evidence collection and preservatio ...
Division.
*Enforcement includes the Commercial Vehicle Enforcement Division, Human Resources
Human resources (HR) is the set of people who make up the workforce of an organization, business sector, industry, or economy. A narrower concept is human capital, the knowledge and skills which the individuals command. Similar terms include m ...
Division and Operations Support Division.
**Enforcement operations throughout the state are the responsibility of a north zone and a south zone commander, which is further composed of five separate areas, each commanded by a captain. These areas are divided into 14 districts, covering from four to 11 counties each and are commanded by a lieutenant.
List of ISP superintendents
† ''Chief of the Indiana Motor Vehicle Police''
Rank structure
The agency's rank structure is as follows (from highest to lowest):
Troopers with 10 and 15 years of service are referred to as a Senior Trooper and a Master Trooper respectively, resulting in salary increases, but are not considered ranks.
As of July 2015, the starting salary for a trooper is $40,902 upon completion of a one-year probation, while the salary for a colonel with 20 years of service is $90,781.
Equipment
Aircraft
In 1948, the Indiana State Police acquired a Navion airplane. Aircraft continued to be utilized throughout the 1950s and the Aviation Section continued to grow having helicopters introduced into the air fleet. Today, the Indiana State Police have two fixed-wing aircraft, three helicopters and six pilots used for law enforcement throughout the state which are maintained by the Aviation Section, a part of the Special Operations Section.
Service weapons
In 2006, around 50 Glock
Glock is a brand of polymer- framed, short recoil-operated, locked-breech semi-automatic pistols designed and produced by Austrian manufacturer Glock Ges.m.b.H. The firearm entered Austrian military and police service by 1982 after it was th ...
.40 S&W handguns issued to state troopers were identified as defective, impairing function. The handguns were replaced with the Glock 17 9mm, which functioned perfectly.
The Indiana State Police chose the SIGM400 rifle for its SWAT in 2012, and chose the SIG-Sauer P227 as its duty pistol, alongside the SIG-Sauer P365 as a backup pistol in 2014.
Troopers are issued the Remington 870
The Remington Model 870 is a pump-action shotgun manufactured by Remington Arms Company, LLC. It is widely used by the public for shooting sports, hunting and self-defense, as well as by law enforcement and military organizations worldwide.
De ...
12 gauge Police Magnum shotgun. Some troopers are issued AR-15
An AR-15-style rifle is any lightweight semi-automatic rifle based on the Colt AR-15 design. The original ArmaLite AR-15 is a scaled-down derivative of Eugene Stoner's ArmaLite AR-10 design. The then Fairchild Engine and Airplane Corporation d ...
rifles, but most troopers who want a rifle are required to buy one themselves.
Vehicles
The Indiana State Police Fleet vehicle has been since 2011 the Dodge Charger
The Dodge Charger is a model of automobile marketed by Dodge in various forms over seven generations since 1966.
The first Charger was a show car in 1964. A 1965 Charger II concept car resembled the 1966 production version.
The Charger has ...
Police Model. The rear wheel drive
Rear-wheel drive (RWD) is a form of engine and transmission layout used in motor vehicles, in which the engine drives the rear wheels only. Until the late 20th century, rear-wheel drive was the most common configuration for cars.
Most rear-wheel ...
V8 Hemi
A V8 engine is an eight-cylinder (engine), cylinder piston engine in which two banks of four cylinders share a common crankshaft and are arranged in a V engine, V configuration.
The first V8 engine was produced by the French Antoinette_(manuf ...
Powered car was one of the last of its kind in 2011 after Ford
Ford commonly refers to:
* Ford Motor Company, an automobile manufacturer founded by Henry Ford
* Ford (crossing), a shallow crossing on a river
Ford may also refer to:
Ford Motor Company
* Henry Ford, founder of the Ford Motor Company
* Ford F ...
discontinued the Crown Victoria
The Ford Crown Victoria ("Crown Vic") is a full-size sedan that was marketed and manufactured by Ford. The successor to the Ford LTD Crown Victoria, two generations of the model line were produced from the 1992 to 2012 model years. The Ford ...
. A total of 374 Horsepower assist ISP Troopers in tracking down violators and responding to emergency calls.
For specialty units unable to utilize a Charger, the department has a mix of Chevy Tahoe
The Chevrolet Tahoe, and its badge engineered GMC Yukon counterpart, are full-size SUVs from General Motors, offered since 1994 and 1991, respectively. Since 1982, Chevrolet and GMC sold two different-sized SUVs under their 'Blazer' and 'Jim ...
PPVs and Dodge Ram
The Ram pickup (marketed as the Dodge Ram until 2010) is a full-size pickup truck manufactured by Stellantis North America (formerly Chrysler Group LLC and FCA US LLC) and marketed from 2010 onwards under the Ram Trucks brand. The current fi ...
1500s. While the Tahoes were purchased largely pre 2014, there are several still in use by K9s and Commercial Vehicle Enforcement. The current specialty vehicle being purchased is the Dodge Ram which can be outfitted differently based on what the individual need is. The ISP employs fully marked, semi-marked and unmarked vehicles in their fleet.
Indiana State Police districts
Fallen officers
In the history of the Indiana State Police, 44 troopers and three civilian employees have died in the line of duty. The agency honors its personnel who have given the ultimate sacrifice at its own memorial consisting of an eternal flame and three granite tablets inscribed with their names at a site located on the east side of Indianapolis
Indianapolis (), colloquially known as Indy, is the state capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Indiana and the seat of Marion County. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the consolidated population of Indianapolis and Marion ...
just off of Post Road at Interstate 70. Their troopers are also honored on the Indiana Law Enforcement and Fire Fighters Memorial located at Bicentennial Plaza and Senate Avenue in Indianapolis
Indianapolis (), colloquially known as Indy, is the state capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Indiana and the seat of Marion County. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the consolidated population of Indianapolis and Marion ...
, which was dedicated in 2001 to the memory of the state's fallen public safety officers, as well as in Washington
Washington commonly refers to:
* Washington (state), United States
* Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States
** A metonym for the federal government of the United States
** Washington metropolitan area, the metropolitan area centered o ...
at the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial
The National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial is in Washington, D.C., at Judiciary Square, adjacent to the National Law Enforcement Museum. It honors 23,229 U.S. law enforcement officers who have died in the line of duty throughout American hist ...
, which honors the nation's law enforcement officers who have died in the line of duty and was dedicated in 1991.
Notes
* Trooper Teague was killed out-of-state in Paris
Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...
, Edgar County
Edgar County is a county located in the U.S. state of Illinois. As of the 2020 United States Census, the population was 16,866. Its county seat is Paris.
History
Edgar County was formed out of Clark County in 1823. It was named for John Edgar ...
, Illinois
Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. Its largest metropolitan areas include the Chicago metropolitan area, and the Metro East section, of Greater St. Louis. Other smaller metropolita ...
.
* Trooper Minneman survived two days after his incident took place.
* Trooper Dixon survived two days after his incident took place.
* Trooper Mills survived eight years, 133 days after his incident took place.
Marshal James E. Larimer
of the St. John, Indiana
St. John is a town in Lake County, Indiana, United States. The town of St. John has homes in St. John Township, Hanover Township, and Center Township. St. John was founded in 1837. The population was 14,850 at the 2010 census. In 2009, St. ...
, Police Department was also killed in this incident.
* A civilian employee who does not meet criteria for inclusion on the NLEOM.
* Trooper Beal survived three days after his incident took place.
Deputy Chief Gary L. Martin
of the Lake County, Indiana, Sheriff's Department was also killed in this incident.
Breathalyzer
The Indiana State Police was the first law enforcement agency in North America
North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere and almost entirely within the Western Hemisphere. It is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South America and the Car ...
to have authorized the use of the famed "Drunk-o-meter", a chemical test to determine levels of alcohol
Alcohol most commonly refers to:
* Alcohol (chemistry), an organic compound in which a hydroxyl group is bound to a carbon atom
* Alcohol (drug), an intoxicant found in alcoholic drinks
Alcohol may also refer to:
Chemicals
* Ethanol, one of sev ...
intoxication, which was invented in 1938 by Rolla N. Harger, M.D., a professor at Indiana University
Indiana University (IU) is a system of public universities in the U.S. state of Indiana.
Campuses
Indiana University has two core campuses, five regional campuses, and two regional centers under the administration of IUPUI.
*Indiana Universit ...
. In 1954, an improved version of the device followed and was called the Breathalyzer
A breathalyzer or breathalyser (a portmanteau of ''breath'' and ''analyzer/analyser'') is a device for estimating blood alcohol content (BAC), or to detect viruses or diseases from a breath sample.
The name is a genericized trademark of the Br ...
, invented by Indiana State Police Captain Robert F. Borkenstein in collaboration with Dr. Harger. This successful device has since been used by police agencies to assess alcohol impairment in drunken driving
Drunk driving (or drink-driving in British English) is the act of driving under the influence of alcohol. A small increase in the blood alcohol content increases the relative risk of a motor vehicle crash.
In the United States, alcohol is i ...
offenses.
See also
* List of law enforcement agencies in Indiana
This is a list of law enforcement agencies in the state of Indiana.
According to the US Bureau of Justice Statistics' 2008 ''Census of State and Local Law Enforcement Agencies,'' the state had 482 law enforcement agencies employing 13,171 sworn ...
* '' Indiana State Police Pension Trust v. Chrysler LLC''
Bibliography
*
*
*
References
External links
Indiana.gov
Indiana State Police
Indiana Troopers Association
Indiana State Police Alliance
{{Authority control
State law enforcement agencies of Indiana
Government agencies established in 1933
1933 establishments in Indiana