Delaware State Police

Last updated
Delaware State Police
Delaware State Police.png
Patch of Delaware State Police
DE - State Police Badge.png
Badge of Delaware State Police
AbbreviationDSP
Agency overview
FormedApril 23, 1923;100 years ago (1923-04-23) [1]
Preceding agency
  • Highway Traffic Police
Employees847 (as of 2008) [2]
Jurisdictional structure
Operations jurisdictionDelaware, USA
DE - State Police Troops.png
Map of Delaware State Police's jurisdiction
Size1,982 square miles (5,130 km2)
Population907,135 (2011 est.) [3]
General nature
Operational structure
Headquarters Dover, Delaware
Troopers706 (as of 2014) [2]
Civilians242 (as of 2014) [2]
Agency executive
  • Colonel Melissa A. Zebley, Superintendent
Facilities
Troops8
Website
http://dsp.delaware.gov/

The Delaware State Police (DSP) is a division of the Delaware Department of Public Safety and Homeland Security and is responsible for traffic regulation and law enforcement across the US State of Delaware, especially in areas underserved by local police departments. The DSP is headquartered in the capital Dover, Delaware.

Contents

The Delaware State Police currently employs 723 full-time officers, which is 75 troopers for every 100,000 residents in 2019, the largest number of any state police force. [4]

Troops

Currently, the DSP operates out of eight barracks known as "Troops", not including Headquarters. Each county has one troop that is shared between patrol (Uniformed) and detective (CIU) units. Delaware State Police investigate over 33,000 criminal complaints yearly.

C.I.U. - Criminal Investigative Unit

G.T.F. - Governor's Task Force

C.R.U. - Crash Reconstruction Unit

Counties

In Kent and Sussex Counties, the Delaware State Police serve as the primary law-enforcement agency that are not incorporated into municipalities who have their own law enforcement agency.

In New Castle County, the Delaware State Police shares primary jurisdiction with the New Castle County Police. The 1974 jurisdictional agreement between DSP and NCCPD states the New Castle County Police investigates complaints in residences or commercial areas located on county roads or community streets. The Delaware State Police investigates complaints in residences or commercial areas located on state roads or interstate highways. However, in an emergency incident, the closest New Castle County Police officer or Delaware State Police trooper will respond no matter where the complaint originates from.

Units/sections

Like other state police agencies, the Delaware State Police has several sub-divisions specializing in addressing particular crimes or security needs.

Full-time units

Part-time units

Special units

The DSP also operates several special units/locations around the state, including aviation units in Georgetown and Middletown, and weigh stations on U.S. Rt. 13 and U.S. Rt. 301.

9-1-1 dispatch centers

Additionally, the Delaware State Police also provides 9-1-1 dispatch center services in all 3 counties for both DSP and any municipal agencies which do not have their own dispatcher. RECOM is for New Castle County, KENTCOM is for Kent County, and SUSCOM is for Sussex County. The New Castle County Police and several of the larger city police provide their own dispatch services.

Division of Gaming Enforcement

The Division of Gaming Enforcement is responsible for enforcing state laws relating to gaming that occur in a licensed video lottery facility, or which relate the operation of the Delaware Lottery. [5]

The Casino Background Investigators are responsible for background checks on staff involved in gambling, and the Criminal Investigations and Intelligence team, which includes 8 state troopers and an agent from the Delaware Division of Alcohol and Tobacco Enforcement, investigates gaming crime and develops intelligence on criminal activity in relation to gaming and gambling. In 2019, 361 complaints were investigated by the Division. [6]

Uniforms and equipment


Since the 1950s, members of the DSP have worn uniforms more similar to the state's colors of "blue and gold". In the past, DSP used military-type colors of navy and green.

The most distinctive uniform is the "Class A Dress" uniform consisting of a navy blue military dress coat with French blue shoulder epaulets and sleeve cuffs. The long sleeve uniform shirt is French blue in color with a navy blue tie. The DSP patch bearing the great seal of Delaware is worn on the left arm of all uniform items. The trooper's rank is worn on both sleeves. The trooper's years of service "hash-marks" are worn on the lower part of the left arm. The trooper's badge is worn over the left pocket and the nameplate, along with any awards, over the right pocket. A matching French blue color trouser with a 2-inch gold stripe on the legs is worn with black leather knee-high riding boots. This was the standard everyday uniform in the past. However, it is now worn for special events only.

The standard winter uniform, worn between November and April, is the same as the "Class A Dress" uniform, except that the military dress coat is replaced with a standard patrol jacket. The knee-high boots are replaced with shoes, however some troopers still wear the boots.

The standard summer uniform, worn between April and November, is the same as the winter uniform, except the long sleeve shirt is replaced with a short sleeve shirt and it is worn without the tie. During the summer months the color of the uniform trouser changes from French blue to navy blue with the same 2-inch gold stripe.

DSP troopers wear a navy blue campaign hat with the state seal. Prior to the 1950s, they wore a tan cavalry-style hat like those worn by Maryland troopers.

Troopers holding the rank of lieutenant and above wear gold badges, nameplates, and collar rank. They are also permitted to wear a white color shirt in place of the French blue shirt, but this has fallen out of practice in recent years.

The DSP duty belt is Gould & Goodrich plain black leather with a Safariland "raptor level-3" holster. The ammo pouch, OC spray holder, and handcuff case have silver snaps (gold for lieutenant and above). The portable radio and ASP baton is also worn on the duty belt. A shoulder strap is used with the "Class A Dress" uniform, otherwise standard belt keepers are used. It is DSP policy that all duty belts are to be worn the same way, so troopers can not remove or add any equipment to the duty belt.

Best dressed

In 2005, the Delaware State Police were named the "best-dressed state law enforcement agency" according to the National Association of Uniform Manufacturers.

Rank structure

TitleInsigniaDetails
Colonel
US-O6 insignia.svg
Colonel of the Delaware State Police.
Lieutenant colonel
US-O5 insignia.svg
Second in Command of the Delaware State Police.
Major
US-O4 insignia.svg
Member of the Executive Staff in charge of a specific duty.
Captain
Captain insignia gold.svg
Troop Commander of a Patrol Troop, or Commander of a specialized unit.
Lieutenant
US-OF1B.svg
Assistant Troop Commander, oversees the Troop's criminal or traffic activities or oversees a specialized unit.
Sergeant
NJSP Sergeant Stripes.png
Road supervisor for Troopers, or Supervisor of a specialty unit.
Master corporal
Delaware SP Master Corporal.png
Troopers with 16+ years of experience.
Senior corporal
Delaware SP Senior Corporal.png
Troopers with 12 to 16 years of experience.
Corporal I
Delaware SP Corporal 1.png
Troopers with 8 to 12 years of experience.
Corporal
NJSP Corporal Stripes.png
Troopers with 4 to 8 years of experience.
Trooper 1st class
Delaware SP Trooper First Class.png
Troopers with 2 to 4 years of experience.
Trooper
Blank - Spacer.png
New Troopers who have graduated the Delaware State Police Training Academy.

Firearms

Delaware State Troopers are issued the SIG Sauer P320 chambered for 9mm. Patrol rifles were updated in 2012 when the State Police purchased the SIG Sauer SIG516. The Remington 870 is the standard issue patrol shotgun., [7]

Fallen officers

Since the establishment of the Highway Traffic Police in 1919, the predecessor to the Delaware State Police, 19 officers have died while on duty, the most recent being April 26, 2017. [8]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">New York State Police</span> State police agency serving New York

The New York State Police (NYSP) is the state police of the U.S. state of New York; it is part of the New York State Executive Department and employs over 5,000 sworn state troopers and 711 non-sworn members.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rhode Island State Police</span>

The Rhode Island State Police (RISP) is an agency of the US state of Rhode Island responsible for statewide law enforcement and regulation, especially in areas underserved by local police agencies and on the state's limited-access highways. Its headquarters is in North Scituate.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pennsylvania State Police</span> Statewide law enforcement agency of Pennsylvania

The Pennsylvania State Police (PSP) is the state police agency of the U.S. state of Pennsylvania, responsible for statewide law enforcement. The Pennsylvania State Police is a full service law enforcement agency which handles both traffic and criminal law enforcement. The Pennsylvania State Police was founded in 1905 by order of Governor Samuel Pennypacker, by signing Senate Bill 278 on May 2, 1905. The bill was signed in response to the Great Anthracite Strike of 1902. Leading up to the Anthracite Strike, private police forces were used by mine and mill owners to stop worker strikes. The inability or refusal of local police or sheriffs' offices to enforce the law, directly influenced the signing of Bill 278. The Anthracite Strike lasted from May 15 to October 23, 1902, and ended with the help of Theodore Roosevelt, the sitting president at the time.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">West Virginia State Police</span>

The West Virginia State Police (WVSP) is a state law enforcement agency in the United States that provides police services to the residents of West Virginia. It is the fourth-oldest state police agency in the US. The WVSP was disbanded due to their involvement in quelling of the uprisings on behalf of the coal and mine companies which were surrounding the concept of organized labor in the coal and mine industries. The WVSP was then reorganized as the Department of Public Safety in the second extraordinary session of the West Virginia Legislature on June 19, 1919, as a result of their involvement.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">New Jersey State Police</span> State law enforcement agency of New Jersey

The New Jersey State Police (NJSP) is the official state police force of the U.S. state of New Jersey. It is a general-powers police agency with statewide jurisdiction, designated by troop sectors.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Vermont State Police</span> American law enforcement agency

The Vermont State Police (VSP) is the state police agency for the U.S. state of Vermont. The force has jurisdiction throughout the entire state. The Vermont Public Safety Commission directs policy and selects the commander. The commander is Colonel Matthew Birmingham. The Commissioner of the Vermont Department of Public Safety is Michael Schirling. There are 332 sworn state troopers.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Maryland State Police</span> Official state police force of the U.S. state of Maryland

The Maryland State Police (MSP), officially the Maryland Department of State Police (MDSP), is the official state police force of the U.S. state of Maryland. The Maryland State Police is headquartered at 1201 Reisterstown Road in the Pikesville CDP in unincorporated Baltimore County.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Illinois State Police</span> State police force of Illinois, US

The Illinois State Police (ISP) is the state police agency of the state of Illinois. The Illinois State Police is responsible for traffic safety on more than 300,000 miles of total roadway, including 2,185 miles of Interstate Highways and 15,969 miles of State Highways. Currently, almost 3,000 sworn and civilian personnel make up the Illinois State Police.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Virginia State Police</span> State police force for Virginia, US

The Virginia State Police, officially the Virginia Department of State Police, conceived in 1919 and established in 1932, is the state police force for the U.S. state of Virginia. The agency originated out of the Virginia Department of Motor Vehicles as an inspector and enforcer of highway laws. It is currently one of fourteen agencies within the Cabinet Secretariat of Public Safety, under the leadership of Secretary Brian Moran until his resignation in January 2022. On January 18, 2018, Gary T. Settle was sworn in as Superintendent of the Virginia State Police. Colonel Settle replaced retiring Colonel W. Steven Flaherty, who had served since 2003.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kentucky State Police</span>

The Kentucky State Police (KSP) is a department of the Kentucky Justice and Public Safety Cabinet, and the official State Police force of the Commonwealth of Kentucky, responsible for statewide law enforcement. The department was founded in 1948 and replaced the Kentucky Highway Patrol. The department's sworn personnel hold the title State Trooper, and its nickname is The Thin Gray Line.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Texas Highway Patrol</span> U.S. state law enforcement agency

The Texas Highway Patrol is a division of the Texas Department of Public Safety and is the largest state-level law enforcement agency in the U.S. state of Texas. The patrol's primary duties are enforcement of state traffic laws and commercial vehicle regulation, but it is a fully empowered police agency with authority to enforce criminal law anywhere in the state. Highway patrol troopers are also responsible for patrolling the state Capitol Complex in Austin and providing security to the governor. The current Chief is Lieutenant Colonel Dwight Mathis.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Georgia State Patrol</span> Highway patrol agency for Georgia, United States

The Georgia State Patrol (GSP) was established in March 1937 in the U.S. state of Georgia and is a division of the Georgia Department of Public Safety. It is the primary state patrol agency for the U.S. state of Georgia. Although focused primarily on the enforcement of traffic laws and investigation of traffic crashes, the Georgia State Patrol (GSP) supports the efforts of all public safety agencies to reduce criminal activity, apprehend those involved, and respond to natural and manmade disasters.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Maine State Police</span> State police agency

The Maine State Police (MSP) is the state police agency for Maine, which has jurisdiction across the state and was created in 1921.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mississippi Highway Patrol</span> State police agency for the US state of Mississippi

The Mississippi Highway Patrol is the highway patrol and acting state police agency for the U.S. state of Mississippi, and has law enforcement jurisdiction over the majority of the state.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tennessee Highway Patrol</span> State Patrol organization for the U.S. state of Tennessee

The Tennessee Highway Patrol (THP) is the State Patrol organization for the U.S. state of Tennessee, responsible for enforcing all federal and state laws relating to traffic on the state's federal and state highways. The agency was created to protect the lives, property, and constitutional rights of people in Tennessee. The THP is a division of the Tennessee Department of Safety and Homeland Security.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Delaware Capitol Police</span>

The Delaware Capitol Police was founded as a three-man unit in 1965 to deter vandalism at the Legislative Hall, in Dover, Delaware. The unit was originally known as Capitol Security.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Maryland Natural Resources Police</span> Law enforcement arm of the Maryland Department of Natural Resources (DNR)

The Maryland Natural Resources Police (NRP) is the law enforcement arm of the Maryland Department of Natural Resources (DNR), tasked with enforcing laws on the state's public lands and waterways, protecting fish and wildlife, and leading search and rescue efforts. The Natural Resources Police is also the state's maritime homeland security agency.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">New York State Department of Environmental Conservation Police</span>

The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation Police, is the law enforcement agency of the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation, Division of Law Enforcement. NYS Environmental Conservation Officers are New York State police officers. As the uniformed law enforcement representatives of the Department of Environmental Conservation, environmental conservation police are responsible for the enforcement of the environmental laws and regulations of New York and for the detection and investigation of suspected violations.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Uniforms of the Singapore Police Force</span> Police force uniforms

The Singapore Police Force has employed several different styles of uniforms throughout its history. Since 1969 it has used dark blue for its uniforms, although the first police uniforms introduced in 1856 were also in the same colour.

Police uniforms in the United States vary widely due to the nation's tradition of highly decentralized law enforcement. Over time, however, a number of general conventions and styles have become representative of American police fashion. Police officers wear uniforms to deter crime by establishing a visible presence while on patrol, to make themselves easily identifiable to non-police officers or to their colleagues who require assistance, and to quickly identify each other at crime scenes for ease of coordination.

References

  1. "History of the Delaware State Police". Delaware State Police - State of Delaware. Governor William Denney addressed the General Assembly on January 3, 1923, and during his message stated "In my judgment the police force of the Highway Department is not adequate . . . I desire to suggest that a State Police force be organized . . . ." On April 23, 1923, the General Assembly, at the request of the State Highway Department, enacted two laws that created the Delaware State Police. This date marks the official organization of the present law enforcement organization.
  2. 1 2 3 "USDOJ Statistics" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on June 23, 2019. Retrieved Mar 18, 2021.
  3. "2011 Population Estimates". Archived from the original on 2012-01-06. Retrieved 2017-12-07.
  4. Reaves, Brian A. (July 2011). "Census of State and Local Law Enforcement Agencies, 2008" (PDF). U.S. Department of Justice. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2013-02-26. Retrieved 2013-09-17.
  5. "About the Division of Gaming Enforcement (DGE)". dge.delaware.gov. Division of Gaming Enforcement. Retrieved 18 July 2021.
  6. "Units/sections". dsp.delaware.gov. Delaware State Police. Retrieved 18 July 2021.
  7. "Delaware State Police Unit Chooses SIG Sauer SIG516 as Duty Rifle". 22 October 2012.
  8. "Delaware State Police, DE". The Officer Down Memorial Page (ODMP). Retrieved Mar 18, 2021.