The Georgia Department of Public Safety (GDPS) is a state body that is responsible for statewide law enforcement and public safety within the U.S. state of

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the Southeast United States Georgia may also refer to: Places Historical states and entities * Related to the ...

. The current Commissioner of the department is Chris C. Wright, who is also Colonel of the

Georgia State Patrol The Georgia State Patrol (GSP) was established in March 1937 in the U.S. state of Georgia and is a division of the Georgia Department of Public Safety. It is the primary state patrol agency for the U.S. state of Georgia. Troopers operate prima ...

Divisions

On February 28, 1974, the

Georgia Bureau of Investigation The Georgia Bureau of Investigation (GBI) is the state bureau of investigation of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is an independent, statewide agency that provides assistance to Georgia's criminal justice system in the areas of criminal investig ...

(GBI) was made an independent agency separate from the Georgia Department of Public Safety.

Georgia State Patrol

The Georgia State Patrol is the

highway patrol A highway patrol, or state patrol is either a police unit created primarily for the purpose of overseeing and enforcing traffic safety compliance on roads and highways, or a detail within an existing local or regional police agency that is prima ...

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 sove ...

of Georgia, which has

jurisdiction Jurisdiction (from Latin 'law' + 'declaration') is the legal term for the legal authority granted to a legal entity to enact justice. In federations like the United States, areas of jurisdiction apply to local, state, and federal levels. J ...

anywhere in the state. GSP Troopers primarily operate on the long stretches of Interstate highway as well as providing SWAT team response to rural areas of the state. A lieutenant colonel serves as commanding officer over field operations; the current Lieutenant Colonel is William W. Hitchens, III.

Georgia Capitol Police

Georgia Capitol Police is one of the divisions of the Georgia Department of Public Safety responsible for law enforcement of the Capitol Hill area of Atlanta, Georgia. A Captain serves as Director of Georgia Capitol Police; The current Captain is James D. Wicker. The Division is split into two units: * Capitol Police Services Unit * Capitol Square Security Unit

Georgia Motor Carrier Compliance Division

The Motor Carrier Compliance Division is responsible for the enforcement of the laws and rules of the

Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) is an agency in the United States Department of Transportation that regulates the trucking industry in the United States. The primary mission of the FMCSA is to reduce crashes, injuries and f ...

. This division conducts safety inspections of commercial motor vehicles especially buses and trucks, inspects highway shipments of hazardous materials, and performs compliance reviews (aka safety performance audits) on motor carriers. It also enforces laws and regulations that govern vehicle size (height, width, and length) and weight. It operates the 19

weigh station A weigh station is a checkpoint along a highway to inspect vehicular weights and safety compliance criteria. Usually, trucks and commercial vehicles are subject to the inspection. Weigh stations are equipped with truck scales, some of which are ...

s in the state of Georgia and also performs roadside inspections on Commercial Motor Vehicles. Lastly the MCCD also enforces the

High Occupancy Vehicle A high-occupancy vehicle lane (also known as an HOV lane, carpool lane, diamond lane, 2+ lane, and transit lane or T2 or T3 lanes) is a restricted traffic lane reserved for the exclusive use of vehicles with a driver and one or more passengers, i ...

(HOV) lanes through the city of Atlanta.

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