Ohio State Highway Patrol

Divisions

Operationally, the Patrol is divided into units whose varying tasks complement the mission of the Patrol to provide safe roadways throughout the state. Operational units include the Office of Field Operations, units specializing in Aviation, a Special Response Team, Crash reconstruction, Inspections, Mobile Field Force, and Criminal Patrol; Human Resource Management, includes Labor Relations, Career Development and the Administrative Investigation Unit; Office of Investigative Services, includes statewide investigation of crimes occurring on state owned or leased property, crime lab, polygraph services, executive protection for the governor, criminal intelligence and computer crime unit; License and Commercial Standards, which provide for oversight of driver's license and commercial vehicle regulations throughout the state;

The Patrol also has administrative offices which include the Offices of Technology and Communication Services, Finance and Logistics Services, Strategic Services and Recruitment and Training.

The Patrol maintains 55 posts, each administered by one of eight districts and responsible for one, two, or three of Ohio's 88 counties or the Ohio Turnpike. The Berea/Turnpike District operates from four posts on the Ohio Turnpike. Since the turnpike opened in 1955, the Ohio Turnpike Commission has contracted with the Ohio State Highway Patrol to provide law enforcement and assistance to disabled or stranded motorists. They are the only law enforcement agency with jurisdiction on the turnpike.

Enforcement activities

Recently the Patrol created a mission statement entitled "LifeStat 1.0", detailing the strategic goals for the Patrol. Allowing state patrol to enforce higher than the average citation. One of the primary goals of this document was the reduction of traffic crash deaths in Ohio to one per 100 million vehicle miles traveled by the end of 2007.; the goal was ambitious: the rate reduced to 1.13 in 2007, 1.10 in 2008 . According to the Patrol, its 1,400 Troopers made over 1.4 million professional stops in 2006, with 60 percent being non-enforcement stops to help, assist or educate motorists. Twenty-five percent of enforcement-related stops in 2006 was for either aggressive driving or for an OVI offense. The Patrol arrested 26,187 drivers for OVI in 2006, and cited 133,650 drivers for aggressive driving.

Organization

Troopers

The Patrol has a strength of approximately 1,600 Troopers in addition to nearly 1,000 support personnel, including load limit inspectors, motor vehicle inspectors, motor carrier enforcement inspectors, dispatchers, electronics technicians, and civilian specialists. The Patrol also maintains an all-volunteer auxiliary which was created during World War II to supplement staffing lost to the war effort.

Police officers

The OSHP also maintains a force of State of Ohio Police Officers mostly located in the Columbus, Ohio area, who provide security police services to the Ohio Department of Transportation and the Ohio Expo Center as well as perform security functions at special events. A State of Ohio Police Officers provides general police services and enforces appropriate laws, rules, regulations, and procedures at selected state facilities. Officers assist in the apprehension and arrest of criminal violators, conduct investigations of suspicious persons and incidents, and assist the public whenever needed. Preliminary qualifications include: United States citizen, Valid driver's license, 21 years of age or older, High school diploma or G.E.D., and OPOTA Certification.

History

The Ohio State Highway Patrol was founded in 1933 under the command of Colonel Lynn Black. Originally, the Highway Patrol used solid black cars with the Flying Wheel on the door. In 1966, white cruisers made their appearance on the Ohio Turnpike. By 1972 all Ohio State Highway Patrol cruisers were white, which they remained until 1982 when they moved to sterling silver. The silver cars remained until 1991. In 1992, they moved to dark grey cruisers marked with the famous "flying wheel" insignia on the doors and a yellow stripe running the length of the car to make patrol cars more visible to motorists, in the hopes of avoiding trooper deaths related to accidents in Northern Ohio's strong winter storms. However, in 2002, the decision was made to transition the force back to white colored patrol vehicles with larger lightbars in response to a number of incidents where troopers were killed by inattentive motorists. The OSHP remains to this day a highly respected organization, having gained CALEA accreditation.

In August 2011, the Ohio State Highway Patrol announced that all of their old lightbars (which were a combination of red and blue strobe lights and LED lights) will be changed over by the end of the year to an all blue and white LED lightbar, which is far brighter than the older lightbars. They currently utilize the Chevrolet Tahoe, Chevrolet Impala, Ford CVPI, Dodge Charger, and Dodge Durango. Starting in 2012, the OSHP will switch their fleet from primarily white Ford Police Interceptors to silver Dodge Chargers.

In the line of duty

During the history of the Patrol, 40 Troopers have died in performance of their duties. Of that number, two were killed in aircraft accidents, sixteen in either motorcycle or automobile accidents, and nine were struck by vehicles or trains. Further, seven were killed in vehicle pursuits or vehicular assault, three by gunfire, one Trooper was electrocuted and one died from an allergic reaction to a bee sting.

Demographics

The OSHP demographics are:

Auxiliary

The Patrol Auxiliary was created in 1942 when many Troopers entered service with the United States military due to World War II. Originally, members of the Auxiliary were required to be members of the American Legion because they were previous war veterans who were unlikely to be drafted.

Today, volunteer Auxiliary members ride on patrol with Troopers, assist at crash scenes, natural disasters and emergency sites, provide highway safety displays, and patrol the Ohio State Fair.