Georgia State Patrol
Encyclopedia
The Georgia State Patrol (GSP) is the highway patrol
agency for the U.S. state
of Georgia. The GSP has statewide jurisdiction
with the exception of federal military installations. The Georgia State Patrol is a division of the Georgia Department of Public Safety
.
GSP troopers primarily operate on the long stretches of interstate highway
and provide SWAT team response to rural areas of the state. A Major serves as the commanding officer of field operations. Commissioner Bill Hitchens is the Chief Executive of the Department of Public Safety and holds the rank of Colonel in the Georgia State Patrol. The units assigned to the Commissioner for direct supervision are Legal Services and Special Investigations.
The Georgia Department of Public Safety was created in 1937 and oversees the day-to-day operation of the Georgia State Patrol (GSP), Capitol Police and the Motor Carrier Compliance Division (MCCD). GSP troopers investigate traffic crashes and enforce traffic and criminal laws on the state's roads. Capitol Police officers prevent and detect criminal acts, and enforce traffic regulations throughout Capitol Hill. MCCD officers conduct safety inspections of commercial motor vehicles and inspect highway shipments of hazardous materials.
The Georgia State Patrol provides the security of the Governor, the Lieutenant Governor, the Speaker of the House and their families.
Executive Security
The Executive Security Unit provides facility security for the Governor's Mansion and provides personal security for the residents.
Executive Protection
Operating under the Lt. Colonel, this unit provides continual security for the Governor, the Lieutenant Governor, the Speaker of the House and their families.
This division consists of the following units and programs:
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...
agency for the U.S. state
U.S. state
A U.S. state is any one of the 50 federated states of the United States of America that share sovereignty with the federal government. Because of this shared sovereignty, an American is a citizen both of the federal entity and of his or her state of domicile. Four states use the official title of...
of Georgia. The GSP has statewide 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...
with the exception of federal military installations. The Georgia State Patrol is a division of the Georgia Department of Public Safety
Georgia Department of Public Safety
The Georgia Department of Public Safety is a state body that is responsible for state wide law enforcement and public safety within the American state of Georgia...
.
GSP troopers primarily operate on the long stretches of interstate highway
Interstate Highway System
The Dwight D. Eisenhower National System of Interstate and Defense Highways, , is a network of limited-access roads including freeways, highways, and expressways forming part of the National Highway System of the United States of America...
and provide SWAT team response to rural areas of the state. A Major serves as the commanding officer of field operations. Commissioner Bill Hitchens is the Chief Executive of the Department of Public Safety and holds the rank of Colonel in the Georgia State Patrol. The units assigned to the Commissioner for direct supervision are Legal Services and Special Investigations.
The Georgia Department of Public Safety was created in 1937 and oversees the day-to-day operation of the Georgia State Patrol (GSP), Capitol Police and the Motor Carrier Compliance Division (MCCD). GSP troopers investigate traffic crashes and enforce traffic and criminal laws on the state's roads. Capitol Police officers prevent and detect criminal acts, and enforce traffic regulations throughout Capitol Hill. MCCD officers conduct safety inspections of commercial motor vehicles and inspect highway shipments of hazardous materials.
The Georgia State Patrol provides the security of the Governor, the Lieutenant Governor, the Speaker of the House and their families.
Patrol Troops and Posts
- Troops (A-I) and Posts (1-48)
- Troop A - Includes the following counties: Bartow, Catoosa, Chattooga, Cherokee, Dade, Floyd, Gordon, Haralson, Murray, Paulding, Pickens, Polk, Walker, Whitfield.
- Post 3 - Cartersville, Post 5 - Dalton, Post 28 - Jasper, Post 29 - Cedartown, Post 38 - Rome, Post 41 - LaFayette, Post 43 - Calhoun.
- Troop B - Includes the following counties: Banks, Barrow, Clarke, Dawson, Fannin, Forsyth, Franklin, Gilmer, Habersham, Hall, Hart, Jackson, Lumpkin, Madison, Oconee, Rabun, Stephens, Towns, Union, White.
- Post 6 - Gainesville, Post 7 - Toccoa, Post 27 - Blue Ridge, Post 32 - Athens, Post 37 - Cumming
- Troop C - Includes the following counties: Clayton, Cobb, DeKalb, Fulton and Gwinnett
- Post 9 - Marietta, (Cobb and Fulton north of I-20 and I-285), Post 47 - Forest Park (Outside I-285), Post 48 - Atlanta (Inside and including I-285)
- Troop D - Includes the following counties: Bibb, Butts, Carroll, Crawford, Coweta, Douglas, Harris, Heard, Henry, Fayette, Lamar, Meriwether, Monroe, Muscogee, Pike, Spalding, Talbot, Taylor, Troup, Upson
- Post 1 - Griffin, Post 2 - LaGrange, Post 4 - Villa Rica, Post 24 - Newnan, Post 26 - Thomaston, Post 34 - Manchester, Post 44 - Forsyth
- Troop E - Includes the following counties: Baldwin, Columbia, Elbert, Glascock, Greene, Hancock, Jasper, Jones, Lincoln, Putnam, McDuffie, Morgan, Newton, Oglethorpe, Richmond, Rockdale, Taliaferro, Walton, Warren, Washington, Wilkes
- Post 8 - Madison, Post 17 - Washington, Post 25 - Grovetown, Post 33 - Milledgeville, Post 46 - Conyers
- Troop F - Includes the following counties: Appling, Bleckley, Bulloch, Burke, Candler, Davis, Dodge, Emanuel, Evans, Jefferson, Jenkins, Johnson, Laurens, Montgomery, Screven, Tattnall, Telfair, Toombs, Treutlen, Twiggs, Wheeler, Wilkinson
- Post 16 - Helena, Post 18 - Reidsville, Post 19 - Swainsboro, Post 20 - Dublin, Post 21 - Sylvania, Post 45 - Statesboro
- Troop G - Includes the following counties: Baker, Calhoun, Chattahoochee, Clay, Colquitt, Decatur, Dougherty, Early, Grady, Lee, Marion, Miller, Mitchell, Quitman, Randolph, Schley, Seminole, Stewart, Sumter, Terrell, Thomas, Webster, Worth
- Post 10 - Americus, Post 12 - Thomasville, Post 14 - Donalsonville, Post 39 - Cuthbert, Post 40 - Albany
- Troop H - Includes the following counties: Atkinson, Ben Hill, Berrien, Brooks, Crisp, Coffee, Cook, Dooly, Echols, Houston, Irwin, Lanier, Lowndes, Macon, Peach, Pulaski, Tift, Turner, Wilcox
- Post 13 - Tifton, Post 15 - Perry, Post 30 - Cordele, Post 31 - Valdosta, Post 36 - Douglas
- Troop I - Includes the following counties: Bacon, Brantley, Bryan, Camden, Charlton, Chatham, Clinch, Effingham, Glynn, Liberty, Long, McIntosh, Pierce, Ware, Wayne
- Post 11 - Hinesville, Post 22 - Waycross, Post 23 - Brunswick, , Post 35 - Jekyll Island, Post 42 - Rincon
- Troop A - Includes the following counties: Bartow, Catoosa, Chattooga, Cherokee, Dade, Floyd, Gordon, Haralson, Murray, Paulding, Pickens, Polk, Walker, Whitfield.
- Troop J (Safety Education and Implied Consent) - Troop J contains two units:
- Safety Education Unit - Promotes the safe operation of motor vehicles.
- Implied ConsentImplied consentImplied consent is a controversial form of consent which is not expressly granted by a person, but rather inferred from a person's actions and the facts and circumstances of a particular situation...
Unit - Provides support to the Forensics Science Division of the Georgia Bureau of InvestigationGeorgia Bureau of InvestigationThe Georgia Bureau of Investigation or GBI is an independent, U.S. state of Georgia agency that provides assistance to the state's criminal justice system in the areas of criminal investigations, forensic laboratory services and computerized criminal justice information.-Organization:The agency is...
(GBI) by overseeing and maintaining the breath-alcohol program for the State of Georgia.
- Special Weapons and Tactics (SWATSWATA SWAT team is an elite tactical unit in various national law enforcement departments. They are trained to perform high-risk operations that fall outside of the abilities of regular officers...
) includes the Crisis Negotiations Team (CNT) - Specialized Collision Reconstruction Team (SCRT)
- Commercial Motor Vehicle - Criminal Interdiction Unit (CMV-CIU)
- Aviation Unit - Operates 14 helicopters from six locations throughout the State. These are located in Kennesaw, Thomson, Athens, Albany, Reidsville, and Perry.
- Nighthawks DUI Task Force - A 10 member DUI Task Force which patrols ClaytonClayton County, GeorgiaClayton County is a county located in the U.S. state of Georgia. As of 2000, the population was 236,517. The 2008 Census estimate placed the population at 273,718. The county seat is Jonesboro...
, CobbCobb County, GeorgiaCobb County is a county located in the U.S. state of Georgia. Its county seat and largest city is Marietta, which is located in the center of the county. The county was named for Thomas Willis Cobb, who in the early 19th century was a United States representative and senator from Georgia...
, DeKalbDeKalb County, GeorgiaDeKalb County is a county located in the U.S. state of Georgia. The population of the county was 691,893 at the 2010 census. Its county seat is the city of Decatur. It is bordered to the west by Fulton County and contains roughly 10% of the city of Atlanta...
, FultonFulton County, GeorgiaFulton County is a county located in the U.S. state of Georgia. Its county seat is Atlanta, the state capital since 1868 and the principal county of the Atlanta metropolitan area...
and GwinnettGwinnett County, Georgia, Gwinnett County had a population of 805,321. The racial and ethnic composition of the population was 53.3% white , 23.6% black , 2.7% Korean, 2.6% Asian Indian, 2.0% Vietnamese, 3.3% other Asian, 0.1% Pacific Islander, 8.8% some other race and 3.1% from two or more races...
counties during peak DUI related hours. - Motorcycle Unit - Patrols the Interstate HighwaysInterstate Highway SystemThe Dwight D. Eisenhower National System of Interstate and Defense Highways, , is a network of limited-access roads including freeways, highways, and expressways forming part of the National Highway System of the United States of America...
of metropolitan AtlantaAtlanta, GeorgiaAtlanta is the capital and most populous city in the U.S. state of Georgia. According to the 2010 census, Atlanta's population is 420,003. Atlanta is the cultural and economic center of the Atlanta metropolitan area, which is home to 5,268,860 people and is the ninth largest metropolitan area in...
with 30 motorcycles.
Capitol Police
Officers with the Capitol Police Division investigate criminal incidents and traffic crashes; manage street closures for events; patrol the streets on Capitol Square and those adjacent to other state buildings; provide courtroom security for Georgia's Supreme Court and Court of Appeals; conduct security assessments and surveillance detection; and deliver personal safety training for state employees and others.Executive Security
The Executive Security Division is, by law, responsible for two distinct functions: executive security and executive protection.Executive Security
The Executive Security Unit provides facility security for the Governor's Mansion and provides personal security for the residents.
Executive Protection
Operating under the Lt. Colonel, this unit provides continual security for the Governor, the Lieutenant Governor, the Speaker of the House and their families.
Motor Carrier Compliance
The Motor Carrier Compliance Division (MCCD) performs driver and vehicle inspections of commercial motor vehicles at roadsides, inspection stations, and at carriers' terminals. The inspections range from "full" vehicle and driver inspections, which includes mechanical components, to "driver only" inspections. These may also include inspections of vehicles transporting hazardous materials.This division consists of the following units and programs:
- HOV Unit - responsible for the enforcement of High Occupancy Lane restrictions and communications.
- School Bus Safety Unit - responsible for the annual safety inspection of the state's 17,000 public school buses
- Compliance Review Program/Safety Audit - consists of 20 officers who conduct interstate and intrastate compliance reviews.
- Size and Weight Enforcement - the operation of 19 permanent weight/inspection stations provides enforcment coverage on the interstates and related by-pass routes.
- Commercial Motor Vehicle Safety Program - contains five federally funded and required program areas, Driver/Vehicle Inspections, Traffic Enforcement, Compliance Reviews, Public Information and Education and Data Collection.
Fallen officers
Since the establishment of the Georgia State Patrol, 26 officers have died in the line of duty.See also
- List of law enforcement agencies in Georgia
- State policeState policeState 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 patrolHighway patrolA 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...