California State Police

The California State Police (CSP) was the state-level security police agency from 1887 to 1995 for the U.S. state of California. It was merged into the California Highway Patrol in 1995.

Founded on March 15, 1887, the police agency primarily served to protect the California State Capitol Building, the governor and other state officials, and other state agencies that did not have their own police force. The CSP also provided services to many different California state agencies, including performing tax seizures for the California Franchise Tax Board and Board of Equalization, as well as patrolling the California Aqueduct. They provided investigative services to elected officials through their Threat Assessment Detail and criminal investigations of crimes committed against the state through the Bureau of Investigative Services. Detectives and line officers routinely conducted investigations with other state agencies and allied law enforcement departments.