The Arkansas State Police is the state police

State police

State police are a type of sub-national territorial police force, particularly in Australia and the United States. Some other countries have analogous police forces, such as the provincial police in some Canadian provinces, while in other places, the same responsibilities are held by national...

 agency for Arkansas

Arkansas

Arkansas is a state located in the southern region of the United States. Its name is an Algonquian name of the Quapaw Indians. Arkansas shares borders with six states , and its eastern border is largely defined by the Mississippi River...

, which has jurisdiction

Jurisdiction

Jurisdiction is the practical authority granted to a formally constituted legal body or to a political leader to deal with and make pronouncements on legal matters and, by implication, to administer justice within a defined area of responsibility...

 anywhere in the state. It was created to protect the lives, property and constitutional rights of people in Arkansas. Unlike other simarily named state police organizations

State police (United States)

In the United States, state police are a police body unique to each U.S. state, having statewide authority to conduct law enforcement activities and criminal investigations...

 in the United States, the Arkansas State Police is more of a Department of Public Safety

Department of Public Safety

The Department of Public Safety , also called an Office of Public Safety, is a state or local government umbrella agency in the United States which serves to assist the certain agencies in their services by providing administrative, financial, and technical services and support for core public...

 in that it is an umbrella organization

Umbrella organization

An umbrella organization is an association of institutions, who work together formally to coordinate activities or pool resources. In business, political, or other environments, one group, the umbrella organization, provides resources and often an identity to the smaller organizations...

 than a general policing agency. The uniformed divisions is as a highway patrol

Highway patrol

A highway 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 primarily concerned with such duties.Duties of highway patrols or traffic...

 not a general power police as the Arkansas constitution grants that authority to the various County Sheriff

Sheriffs in the United States

In the United States, a sheriff is a county official and is typically the top law enforcement officer of a county. Historically, the sheriff was also commander of the militia in that county. Distinctive to law enforcement in the United States, sheriffs are usually elected. The political election of...

's and local police. While the Arkansas State Police was developed primarly to enforce liquor laws and assist local police departments, all commissioned State Troopers have arrest authority regarding any/all criminal and traffic laws of Arkansas.

On March 19, 1935 when Arkansas Governor J.M. Futrell and the Arkansas General Assembly approved and signed into law Act 120, known as the Chrip-Carter bill, the Arkansas State Police was born.

The first men to be empowered in Arkansas with statewide law enforcement duties and responsibilities were known as Rangers. The name later changed to troopers.

State Police Commission

The Seven member State Police Commission is composed of seven members appointed by the Governor of Arkansas for a
term of seven (7) years. The officers of the Commission will be chairman, vice-chairman and secretary. Election of officers will be held annually at the January commission meeting. These officers shall perform the duties prescribed by applicable law, this rule, and the parliamentary authority adopted by the agency. The commission is responsible for the overall control of the Arkansas State Police.

Members:

Dr. Lewis Shepherd - Chairman

John W. Allison - Vice-Chairman

Steve G. Smith - Secretary

Jane Christenson - Member

Daniel "Woody" Futrell - Member

Wallace Fowler - Member

Frank Guinn, Jr. - Member

Organization

• ASP Director - Currently Colonel Winford E. Phillips
  • Deputy Director
  • Director's Staff
• Administrative Services Division

ASP Personnel
Trooper Recruiting

• Highway Patrol
  Arkansas Highway Patrol
  The Arkansas Highway Patrol, officially known as the Highway Patrol Division, is the uniformed branch of the Arkansas State Police, and is responsible for general police traffic supervision, traffic, and criminal law enforcement on the rural highways of Arkansas...
  
   Division includes:
  • Driver Licensing & Examination
  • Fatal Crash Summaries

The Highway Patrol Division is divided into two regions:

• • Eastern region with A, B, C, D, E & F Troops,
  • Western region with G, H, I, J, K & L Troops.
• Criminal Investigation Division - Special Agents assigned to the division investigate criminal cases initiated by both the Arkansas State Police and local law enforcement agencies.
• Crimes Against Children Division - consists of a central administrative office, hotline operations, and eight area investigative offices.

Administrator and Area Offices

• Highway Safety Office
• Regulatory Services
  • Alarm Installation/Monitoring
  • Blue Light
    Blue Light
    Blue Light was a unit of the 5th Special Forces Group that existed into the early 1980s.According to Col. Charles Beckwith's memoirs, this counter-terrorist group was formed by U.S. Army Special Forces leadership who disagreed with or felt politically threatened by Beckwith's Delta Force, which...
    
     Sales
  • Combustibles/Explosives
  • Concealed Handgun Licensing
  • Crash Record Information
  • Fire Marshal
    Fire Marshal
    A fire marshal, in the United States and Canada, is often a member of a fire department but may be part of a building department or a separate department altogether. Fire marshals' duties vary but usually include fire code enforcement and/or investigating fires for origin and cause...
    
    
  • Fire Alarm/Sprinkler Systems
  • ID Bureau & AFIS
  • Precious Metals
  • Private Investigator
    Private investigator
    A private investigator , private detective or inquiry agent, is a person who can be hired by individuals or groups to undertake investigatory law services. Private detectives/investigators often work for attorneys in civil cases. Many work for insurance companies to investigate suspicious claims...
    
    s
  • Salvage Auction Buyer
  • Used Motor Vehicle Licensing

Rank Structure

Title	Insignia	Description
Director		Rank of Colonel, appointed by the Governor of Arkansas to be the professional head of the Department
Deputy Director		Rank of Lieutenant Colonel, second-in-command of Department and second highest ranked commissioned officer in the Department.
Major Major Major is a rank of commissioned officer, with corresponding ranks existing in almost every military in the world.When used unhyphenated, in conjunction with no other indicator of rank, the term refers to the rank just senior to that of an Army captain and just below the rank of lieutenant colonel. ...		Responsible for serving as a Highway Patrol Division Regional Commander, as the Criminal Investigation Division Commander or as the Administrative Services Division Commander
Captain Police captain - France :France uses the rank of capitaine for management duties in both uniformed and plain-clothed policing. The rank comes senior to lieutenant and junior to commandant....		Responsible for serving as a Highway Patrol Troop Commander, Criminal Investigation Division Regional Commander or other upper-level administrative and managerial staff position.
Lieutenant Lieutenant A lieutenant is a junior commissioned officer in many nations' armed forces. Typically, the rank of lieutenant in naval usage, while still a junior officer rank, is senior to the army rank...		Responsible for serving as a Highway Patrol Troop Assistant Commander, Criminal Investigation Division Company Commander or supervising a specialized function with the State Police
Sergeant Sergeant Sergeant is a rank used in some form by most militaries, police forces, and other uniformed organizations around the world. Its origins are the Latin serviens, "one who serves", through the French term Sergent....		First supervisory rank, responsible for overseeing and supervising Troopers and non-commissioned personnel in the performance of their duties
Corporal Corporal Corporal is a rank in use in some form by most militaries and by some police forces or other uniformed organizations. It is usually equivalent to NATO Rank Code OR-4....		Rank attained by Trooper First Class after completion of 7 years of service. May supervise Troopers in the performance of their duties in absence of a sergeant.
Trooper First Class Trooper First Class Trooper first class is a rank used by several state police agencies within the United States and in some world militaries.In particular, in the Louisiana State Police, it is a rank below senior trooper, yet above trooper. The insignia for this rank consists of a gold colored 'TFC' collar pin worn...		Rank attained by Trooper after completion of 4 1/2 years of service.
Trooper Trooper Trooper may refer to:In military or police forces:* Trooper , a military private rank* Trooper , a rank used by some police agencies* State trooper, a peace officer in U.S...		Rank attained by Recruits upon successful completion of the training academy, responsible for field law enforcement patrol or specialized or technical law enforcement function.
Recruit		A Cadet is a new recruit, and is the rank held by all personnel while assigned as a student at the training academy. These personnel do not wear rank insignia.

See also

• List of law enforcement agencies in Arkansas
• State police
  State police
  State police are a type of sub-national territorial police force, particularly in Australia and the United States. Some other countries have analogous police forces, such as the provincial police in some Canadian provinces, while in other places, the same responsibilities are held by national...
  
  
• State patrol
• Highway patrol
  Highway patrol
  A highway 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 primarily concerned with such duties.Duties of highway patrols or traffic...