Georgia Department of Public Safety

Georgia Department of Public Safety
Georgia Department of Public Safety seal
Abbreviation	GDPS
Agency overview
Formed	1937
Employees	1,268 (as of 2004) [1]
Jurisdictional structure
Operations jurisdiction	Georgia, U.S.
Georgia State Patrol Troop Map
Size	59,425 square miles (153,910 km2)
Population	9,544,750 (2007 est.) [2]
General nature	Civilian police
Operational structure
Headquarters	Atlanta, Georgia
Troopers	856 (as of 2004) [3]
Civilians	412 (as of 2004) [4]
Agency executive	Colonel William W. Hitchens, III, Commissioner
Child agencies	Georgia State Patrol Georgia Bureau of Investigation Georgia Capitol Police Georgia Motor Carrier Compliance
Website
dps.georgia.gov

The Georgia Department of Public Safety (GDPS) is a state body that is responsible for statewide law enforcement and public safety within the U.S. state of Georgia. The current Commissioner of the department is William W. Hitchens, who is also Colonel of the Georgia State Patrol.

Divisions

On February 28, 1974, the Georgia Bureau of Investigation (GBI) was made an independent agency separate from the Georgia Department of Public Safety.^{[ citation needed ]}

The department of Public Safety cooperates with the US Immigration and Customs Enforcement, designating full time personnel to detaining and investigating federal immigration offenses ^[5] .

Georgia State Patrol

Main article: Georgia State Patrol

The Georgia State Patrol is the highway patrol agency for the U.S. state of Georgia, which has jurisdiction anywhere in the state. GSP Troopers primarily operate on the long stretches of Interstate highway as well as providing SWAT team response to rural areas of the state.^{[ citation needed ]}

A lieutenant colonel serves as commanding officer over field operations; the current Lieutenant Colonel is Kendrick Lowe.^{[ citation needed ]}

Georgia Capitol Police

Georgia Capitol Police is one of the divisions of the Georgia Department of Public Safety responsible for law enforcement of the Capitol Hill area of Atlanta, Georgia. A Major serves as Director of Georgia Capitol Police; Major Gary Langford is the current adjutant.^{[ citation needed ]}

The Division is split into two units:

• Capitol Police Services Unit
• Capitol Square Security Unit

Georgia Commercial Vehicle Enforcement

The Commercial Vehicle Enforcement Division is responsible for the enforcement of the laws and rules of the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration. This division conducts safety inspections of commercial motor vehicles especially buses and trucks, inspects highway shipments of hazardous materials, and performs compliance reviews (aka safety performance audits) on motor carriers. It also enforces laws and regulations that govern vehicle size (height, width, and length) and weight. It operates the 19 weigh stations in the state of Georgia and also performs roadside inspections on Commercial Motor Vehicles. Lastly the MCCD also enforces the High Occupancy Vehicle (HOV) lanes through the city of Atlanta.^{[ citation needed ]}

See also

• Georgia (U.S. state) portal

• List of law enforcement agencies in Georgia
• Georgia Bureau of Investigation
• State police
• State patrol
• Highway patrol

References

1. USDOJ Statistics Archived November 20, 2008, at the Wayback Machine
2. "Population Estimates". Archived from the original on 2010-01-03. Retrieved 2008-12-25. 2007 Population Estimates
3. USDOJ Statistics Archived November 20, 2008, at the Wayback Machine
4. USDOJ Statistics Archived November 20, 2008, at the Wayback Machine
5. Staff (2025-03-17). "ICE to train 1,100 Georgia Department of Public Safety officers". WRDW. Retrieved 2025-07-25.

External links

• Georgia Dept. of Public Safety
• Georgia Capitol Police
• Georgia Motor Carrier Compliance Division