Abbreviation GDPS Employees 1,268 (as of 2004) | Formed 1937 Operations jurisdiction* State of Georgia, U.S. | |
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Legal personality Governmental: Government agency Size 59,425 square miles (153,910 km) | ||
The Georgia Department of Public Safety is a state body that is responsible for statewide law enforcement and public safety within the American state of Georgia. The current Commissioner of the department is Mark W. McDonough, who is also Colonel of the Georgia State Patrol.
Contents
Divisions
On February 28, 1974, the Georgia Bureau of Investigation (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 agency for the U.S. state of Georgia, which has jurisdiction 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 Major serves as Commanding Officer over Field Operations, The current Major is Eddie Grier
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.
The Division is split into two units
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. 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 stations in the state of Georgia and also performs roadside inspections on Commercial Motor Vehicles. Lastly the MCCD also enforces the High Occupancy Vehicle (HOV) lanes through the city of Atlanta.