Wyoming Highway Patrol

Last updated
Wyoming Highway Patrol
Wyoming Highway Patrol.jpg
Patch of Wyoming Highway Patrol
AbbreviationWHP
Agency overview
Formed1933;92 years ago (1933)
Employees339 (as of 2004) [ needs update ] [1]
Jurisdictional structure
Operations jurisdictionWyoming, USA
Size97,914 square miles (253,600 km2)
Population585,501 (2016 est.) [2]
General nature
Operational structure
Headquarters Cheyenne, Wyoming
Troopers208 (authorised, as of 2023) [1]
Civilian Employees151 (as of 2004)[ needs update ] [1]
Agency executive
Parent agency Wyoming Department of Transportation
Website
Wyoming Highway Patrol website

The Wyoming Highway Patrol is the highway patrol and de facto state police agency for the U.S. state of Wyoming, and has jurisdiction across the entire state. The goals of the Wyoming Highway Patrol are to make Wyoming's highways safer by reducing the number of traffic crashes, deaths, and injuries; to apprehend and arrest criminals using Wyoming's highways; and to assist motorists in trouble. It is also tasked with providing security and transportation to the Governor of Wyoming. [3]

Contents

History

The Wyoming Highway Patrol was created in 1933 to protect the lives, property and constitutional rights of all people in Wyoming. It was created after the Wyoming Department of Law Enforcement, whose sole duty was to enforce prohibition laws, disbanded. On May 23, 1933, the Highway Commission named Captain George Smith as the leader of the Wyoming Highway Patrol. Captain Smith, along with six other newly trained Patrolmen, left the state capital charged with the duty to “enforce the laws of the state relating to the registration and licensing of motor vehicles, the laws relating to use and operation of motor vehicles on highways, and all laws for the protection of the highways.”

As of June 2021, the Wyoming Highway Patrol has 208 troopers on patrol. In 2019, troopers investigated nearly 8,000 motor vehicle crashes across the state and removed over 1,300 intoxicated drivers from Wyoming roadways. [4]

Currently and since 2023, the issued sidearm of the Wyoming Highway Patrol is the Glock Model 45 in 9mm Luger. Prior to 2023, the issued sidearm was the SIG Sauer P320 9mm Luger 3.9 Inch Barrel XCarry Pro Series, replacing the Glock Model 35 Gen 4 .40, which replaced the Smith & Wesson M&P .40 S&W, the Generation 3 Glock 22 .40 before that, the Beretta 96G .40 before that, the Beretta 92F 9mm Luger before that, and the Smith & Wesson Model 686 .357 Magnum before that.

Rank structure

A Wyoming Highway Patrol car in Gillette A Wyoming Highway Patrol car in Gillette, Wyoming.jpg
A Wyoming Highway Patrol car in Gillette
TitleInsignia
US-O6 insignia.svg
US-O5 insignia.svg
US-O4 insignia.svg
US-O3 insignia.svg
US-O2 insignia.svg
South Carolina Highway Patrol Sergeant Rank Chevrons.svg
No insignia

Line of duty deaths

The patrol has lost two officers in the line of duty. [5]

See also

References

  1. 1 2 3 USDOJ Bureau of Justice Statistics Census of Law Enforcement Agencies Archived November 20, 2008, at the Wayback Machine
  2. ↑ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on July 12, 2011. Retrieved December 3, 2013.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link) Wyoming Quick Facts
  3. ↑ "Field Operations". Wyoming Highway Patrol. Retrieved June 7, 2021.
  4. ↑ "About Us". Wyoming Highway Patrol. Retrieved June 7, 2021.
  5. ↑ "Wyoming Highway Patrol". The Officer Down Memorial Page. Retrieved 2025-01-24.
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