North Dakota Highway Patrol

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North Dakota Highway Patrol
NDHP Patch.png
Patch of North Dakota Highway Patrol
North Dakota Highway Patrol Logo.png
Seal of North Dakota Highway Patrol
NDHP Badge.png
Badge of North Dakota Highway Patrol
Flag of North Dakota.svg
Flag of North Dakota
AbbreviationNDHP
Agency overview
Formed1935;90 years ago (1935)
Employees197 (as of 2021) [1]
Annual budget$63,811,414 Million USD [2]
Jurisdictional structure
Operations jurisdictionNorth Dakota, USA
Size70,762 square miles (183,270 km2)
Population779,094 (2020 est.) [3]
Legal jurisdiction Flag of North Dakota.svg Statewide
General nature
Operational structure
Headquarters Bismarck, North Dakota
Troopers159 (authorized, as of 2022) [4]
Civilians40 (as of 2021) [5]
Elected officer responsible
Agency executive
  • Colonel Daniel J. Haugen, Superintendent
Parent agency North Dakota State Cabinet
Regions4
Facilities
Aircraft Cessna 206
DJI Matrice 300 RTK
Website
NDHP Website

The North Dakota Highway Patrol, also known as the North Dakota State Patrol, is the state police and highway patrol agency for North Dakota, with jurisdiction over the entire state. It is a division of the North Dakota State Cabinet. Colonel Daniel J. Haugen has been serving as the 18th superintendent since December 15, 2024.

Contents

North Dakota Highway Patrol established in 1935 by the North Dakota Legislative Assembly.

North Dakota state troopers, when hired, attend the Law Enforcement Training Academy in Bismarck. It is a 22-week program in which the recruits learn all Peace Officer Standards and Training as well as advanced traffic information. Troopers are assigned to many different post locations within the four regions upon graduating from the Academy.

Major activities of the State Patrol include: traffic enforcement, crash investigation, reporting road conditions, and enforcement of laws where state property is involved. A major duty of a North Dakota state trooper is the ability to work independently and exercise good judgement accordingly. This may differ from other peace officer agencies where operations are teamwork oriented.

Regions

The state is divided into four regions. Each region is commanded by a regional commander and contains two offices located in the major cities of the region.

Troopers work within their regions, however they have equal jurisdiction throughout the state.

Highway Patrol symbol

The North Dakota Highway Patrol symbol is a profile of Red Tomahawk, a Teton Dakotah (Sioux) Indian who lived on his land near the Cannonball River on the Standing Rock Indian Reservation near Mandan, North Dakota and who is famous for shooting Sitting Bull in the head. The North Dakota Highway Patrol officially adopted the profile of Red Tomahawk as the patrol vehicle door emblem and department symbol in 1951. [6]

Rank structure

The North Dakota Highway Patrol uses a paramilitary rank structure and has the following ranks: [7]

TitleInsigniaNotes
Superintendent (rank of Colonel)
Colonel Gold-vector.svg
The Superintendent holds the rank of Colonel. Appointed by the Governor of North Dakota. must be confirmed by the North Dakota Senate
Major
US-O4 insignia.svg
Majors are responsible for a command within the Highway Patrol.
Captain
Captain insignia gold.svg
A captain is a troop commander in the Field Operations Bureau or a division commander in one of the other bureaus.
Lieutenant
US-O1 insignia.svg
A lieutenant is the assistant commander of a division/unit.
Sergeant
Sergeant (yellow pin).png
A Sergeant supervises an entire Patrol shift in His/Her respective District.
Trooper No InsigniaCandidates successfully completing the academy and field training are appointed as troopers.

Special Assignments

Troopers can serve in special roles including the following:

Superintendents of the North Dakota Highway Patrol

#NameTerm
1Frank Putman1935–1937
2H.G. Lund1937–1938
3Archie O’Connor1939
4Frank Putman1939–1941
5John Jeffery1941–1943
6E.M. Klein1943–1953
7Clark J. Monroe1953–1961
8Ralph M. Wood1961–1978
9James D. Martin1978–1981
10Norman D. Evans1981–1985
11Brian C. Berg1985–1992
12James M. Hughes1993–2003
13 Bryan R. Klipfel 2003– 2007
14 Mark Nelson 2007–2009
15 James Prochniak 2009–2014 [8]
16Michael Gerhart, Jr.2014-2018
17Brandon Solberg2018-2024
18Daniel J. Haugen2024-Present

Fallen officers

Since the organization was established, one North Dakota Highway Patrol officer has died while on duty. [9]

OfficerDate of DeathDetails
Patrolman Beryl E. McLane
Friday, July 30, 1954
Struck by vehicle

Vehicles

Current and historical patrol vehicles used by the North Dakota Highway Patrol.

See also

References

  1. ↑ Senate Bill No. 2011 - Funding Summary
  2. ↑ Senate Bill No. 2011 - Funding Summary
  3. ↑ https://www.census.gov/popest/states/NST-ann-est.html 2020 Population Estimates
  4. ↑ https://www.nd.gov/ndhp/sites/www/files/documents/Annual%20Report%202022.pdf [ bare URL PDF ]
  5. ↑ USDOJ Bureau of Justice Statistices Census of Law Enforcement Agencies 2004
  6. ↑ NDHP History page
  7. ↑ Kidd, R. Spencer (2012). Uniforms of the U.S. State Police & Highway Patrols. lulu.com. p. 11. ISBN   978-1-4717-7729-5. OCLC   929822564.
  8. ↑ "James Prochniak Superintendent, North Dakota Highway Patrol". governor.nd.gov. The State of North Dakota. Archived from the original on 2010-04-24. Retrieved 2009-11-03.
  9. ↑ The Officer Down Memorial Page
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