Montana Highway Patrol
Encyclopedia
The Montana Highway Patrol (MHP) is the highway patrol
agency for Montana
, which has jurisdiction
anywhere in the state. It was created to protect the lives, property and constitutional rights of people in Montana.
s. Though authorized to enforce the eleven traffic laws in existence at that time, the Montana Highway Patrol's main focus was to educate and assist the public.
In 1988, they became the first state highway patrol in the nation to become nationally accredited. The accreditation process took three years to complete and was considered a critical element in enhancing the professionalism of the Montana Highway Patrol.
The Patrol's 200 troopers cover great distances to police Montana's highways, assist other law enforcement agencies
and help motorists in need. Each year, the men and women of the Patrol:
Troopers provide public safety education presentations on nearly every subject related to driving safety, including seatbelt use, driving under the influence
and child safety.
District I (Missoula) – Mineral, Missoula, Ravalli and Sanders Counties
District II (Great Falls) – Cascade, Fergus, Golden Valley, Judith Basin, Musselshell, Petroleum, Teton and Wheatland Counties
District III (Butte) – Beaverhead, Deer Lodge, Granite, Jefferson, Lewis & Clark, Madison, Powell and Silver Bow Counties
District IV (Billings) – Big Horn, Carbon, Stillwater, Sweet Grass and Yellowstone Counties
District V (Glendive) – Carter, Custer, Daniels, Dawson, Fallon, Garfield, McCone, Powder River, Prairie, Richland, Roosevelt, Rosebud, Sheridan, Treasure, Valley and Wibaux Counties
District VI (Kalispell) – Flathead, Lake and Lincoln Counties
District VII (Bozeman) – Broadwater, Gallatin, Madison, Meagher and Park Counties
District VIII (Havre) – Blaine, Chouteau, Glacier, Hill, Liberty, Phillips, Pondera and Toole Counties
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 Montana
Montana
Montana is a state in the Western United States. The western third of Montana contains numerous mountain ranges. Smaller, "island ranges" are found in the central third of the state, for a total of 77 named ranges of the Rocky Mountains. This geographical fact is reflected in the state's name,...
, 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 Montana.
History
The Montana Highway Patrol was founded in 1935 after Montana led the nation with a 74% increase in highway fatalities. Twenty-four recruits taken from an application pool of over 1500 were selected to attend the first Highway Patrol Recruit Academy, and on May 1, 1935 those recruits took to the highwayHighway
A highway is any public road. In American English, the term is common and almost always designates major roads. In British English, the term designates any road open to the public. Any interconnected set of highways can be variously referred to as a "highway system", a "highway network", or a...
s. Though authorized to enforce the eleven traffic laws in existence at that time, the Montana Highway Patrol's main focus was to educate and assist the public.
In 1988, they became the first state highway patrol in the nation to become nationally accredited. The accreditation process took three years to complete and was considered a critical element in enhancing the professionalism of the Montana Highway Patrol.
Organization
The Montana Highway Patrol is divided into eight districts.The Patrol's 200 troopers cover great distances to police Montana's highways, assist other law enforcement agencies
Law enforcement agency
In North American English, a law enforcement agency is a government agency responsible for the enforcement of the laws.Outside North America, such organizations are called police services. In North America, some of these services are called police while others have other names In North American...
and help motorists in need. Each year, the men and women of the Patrol:
- drive more than 5.5 million miles
- respond to over 70,000 calls for service
- issue more than 85,000 arrest tickets and more than 100,000 warning tickets
Troopers provide public safety education presentations on nearly every subject related to driving safety, including seatbelt use, driving under the influence
Driving under the influence
Driving under the influence is the act of driving a motor vehicle with blood levels of alcohol in excess of a legal limit...
and child safety.
Mission
The Highway Patrol's mission is to safeguard the lives and property of the people using the highway traffic system of Montana through education, service, enforcement, and interagency cooperation.Weapons
The Montana Highway Patrol uses a variety of lethal and non-lethal weapons, the weapons that are in use by the department are as follows:- .357 Sig
- Remington 870 Shotgun
- Colt AR-15
- OC (oleoresin capsicum) Spray
District offices
There are eight District offices:District I (Missoula) – Mineral, Missoula, Ravalli and Sanders Counties
District II (Great Falls) – Cascade, Fergus, Golden Valley, Judith Basin, Musselshell, Petroleum, Teton and Wheatland Counties
District III (Butte) – Beaverhead, Deer Lodge, Granite, Jefferson, Lewis & Clark, Madison, Powell and Silver Bow Counties
District IV (Billings) – Big Horn, Carbon, Stillwater, Sweet Grass and Yellowstone Counties
District V (Glendive) – Carter, Custer, Daniels, Dawson, Fallon, Garfield, McCone, Powder River, Prairie, Richland, Roosevelt, Rosebud, Sheridan, Treasure, Valley and Wibaux Counties
District VI (Kalispell) – Flathead, Lake and Lincoln Counties
District VII (Bozeman) – Broadwater, Gallatin, Madison, Meagher and Park Counties
District VIII (Havre) – Blaine, Chouteau, Glacier, Hill, Liberty, Phillips, Pondera and Toole Counties
Fallen officers
Since the establishment of the Montana Highway Patrol, 8 officers have died in the line of duty.| Officer | Date of Death | Details |
|---|---|---|
| Patrolman Robert G. Steele | |
Gunfire |
| Patrolman James H. Anderson | |
Struck by vehicle |
| Patrolman Richard E. Hedstrom | |
Vehicular assault |
| Patrolman Michael M. Ren | |
Gunfire |
| Trooper David A. Graham | |
Automobile accident |
| Trooper Evan Schneider | |
Automobile accident |
| Trooper Mike Haynes | |
Vehicular assault |
| Trooper David J. DeLaittre | |
Gunfire |
See also
- 3-7-773-7-773-7-77 was the infamous symbol of the Montana Vigilantes in Virginia City, Montana. People who had the mysterious set of numbers '3-7-77' painted on their tent or cabin knew that they had better leave the area or be on the receiving end of vigilante justice...
- List of law enforcement agencies in Montana
- 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...