Indiana State Police

History

On July 15, 1921, the Indiana legislature created 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. 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.

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:

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.

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 three fixed-wing aircraft, two helicopters and six pilots used for law enforcement throughout the state which are maintained by the Aviation Section of the Operations Support Division. According to FAA records, aircraft currently registered to the agency include a Cessna 172N N91SP, a Cessna 172P N193SP and a Raytheon B200 N264SP. Helicopters currently registered include a Bell 206B N95SP and a Bell 206L-3 N54SP.

Service weapons

Indiana State Police troopers carry the SIG Sauer P227 (.45ACP) as their sidearm. Each state police cruiser also carries the Remington 870 Police Magnum shotgun as well as the SIG Sauer SIGM400 rifle in select fire.

Vehicles

In the past year, the agency has been phasing out the discontinued Ford Crown Victoria and replacing it with 2011 and 2012 Dodge Chargers. Several 2012 Chevrolet Tahoes have been purchased and are already in use for specialty teams, K9 units and the Commercial Vehicle Enforcement Division. Most Ford Crown Victorias still in use are between the 2008 and 2010 model years as well as some 2010 Dodge Chargers. Lastly, several new 2012 Ford Mustang GTs are in the process of being outfitted and placed in use, restoring the 402 HP Ford Mustang to the fastest vehicle in the fleet, over the 370 HP 2011 Dodge Charger HEMI.

The Indiana State Police also have a "Stealth Vehicle" program. On top of the Ford Mustangs and unmarked Dodge Chargers,this program utilizes vehicles recovered from drug seizures. These vehicles are generally unmarked. Some vehicles have been a yellow 1994 Pontiac Trans-Am, a tan Chevrolet Tahoe with large chrome wheels, a tan Chevrolet Trail Blazer, and other older pick-up trucks. Additionally, the agency has also purchased Dodge Ram pickup trucks and placed an INDOT (Indiana Department of Transportation) decal on its back doors. These trucks sit in construction zones and allow troopers to monitor traffic and enforce construction zone safety laws. These trucks are different from INDOT crew trucks, as the INDOT trucks are usually four-door Ford F-Series heavy-duty pickups. More recently, the agency acquired a high-horsepower black Dodge Charger SRT-8 with aftermarket black LED tail lights. This Charger has been "marked" in typical Indiana State Police livery.

Since 2006, the ISP has used LED lightbars, which has resulted in increased visibility over the former Federal Signal Jetsonic lightbars. Fully marked state police vehicles are outfitted with light packages with either Federal Signal Arjent or Legend lightbars and two rear deck LEDs. Semi-marked cars are equipped with one centrally mounted dual LED head in the front windshield, while the newer Dodge Chargers utilize two single LED Federal Signal Viper S2s. Federal Signal Touchmaster siren and controllers are currently employed in all vehicles.

The ISP uses radar and was one of the pioneers in utilizing VASCAR, a speed-timing device which operates without emitting any radar beam. Although this device is being phased out, there are still many in use today. Radar equipment currently being employed are the Kustom Golden Eagle IIs, MPH Bee III, MPH Python Series II and III and Stalker DSRs.

Fallen officers

In the history of the Indiana State Police, 43 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 just off of Post Road at Interstate 70. Their troopers are also honored on the Indiana Law Enforcement and Fire Fighters Memorial located at Robert D. Orr Plaza and Senate Avenue in Indianapolis which was dedicated in 2001 to the memory of the state's fallen public safety officers as well as in Washington at the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial which honors the nation's law enforcement officers who have died in the line of duty and was dedicated in 1991.

Notes

Breathalyzer

The Indiana State Police was the first law enforcement agency in North America to have authorized the use of the famed "Drunk-o-meter", a chemical test to determine levels of alcohol intoxication, which was invented in 1938 by Rolla N. Harger, M.D., a professor at Indiana University. In 1954, an improved version of the device followed and was called the Breathalyzer, 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 offenses.