West Virginia State Police

West Virginia State Police
Abbreviation	WVSP
220x140px Patch of the West Virginia State Police
Agency overview
Formed	June 29, 1919 (1919-06-29)
Preceding agency	West Virginia Department of Public Safety
Employees	1018 (as of 2010)
Legal personality	Governmental: Government agency
Jurisdictional structure
Operations jurisdiction*	State of West Virginia, USA
Size	24,230 square miles (62,800 km2)
Population	1,812,035 (2007 est.)
General nature	Law enforcement Civilian police
Operational structure
Headquarters	South Charleston, West Virginia
State Troopers	659 (as of 2010)
Civilians	359 (as of 2010)
Agency executive	C.R. "Jay" Smithers, Colonel
Parent agency	West Virginia Department of Military Affairs and Public Safety
Troops	7
Facilities
Detachments	63
Website
http://www.wvstatepolice.com
Footnotes
* Divisional agency: Division of the country, over which the agency has usual operational jurisdiction.

The West Virginia State Police is a paramilitary organization, state law enforcement agency in the United States that provides statewide police services to the 1.83 million residents in West Virginia. It is the fourth oldest state police agency and was born in the second extraordinary session of the West Virginia Legislature on June 19, 1919 as a result of uprisings surrounding organized labor in the coal and mine industries.

History

Governor John Jacob Cornwell was insistent upon having a State Police force which he said, "was mandatory in order for him to uphold the laws of our state." Part of the compromise was the name of the organization: "West Virginia Department of Public Safety" was the official name until 1995 when the name was changed to "West Virginia State Police" during the legislative session.

Today

Like other state law enforcement agencies, West Virginia troopers enforce traffic laws statewide, investigate crimes and protect the governor and his immediate family. The superintendent of the West Virginia State Police is Colonel C.R. "Jay" Smithers who replaced Colonel Timothy Pack.

West Virginia State Police troopers wear a forest-green uniform and campaign hat. They receive their training at the West Virginia State Police Academy located in Institute, a suburb of Charleston, and near the agency's headquarters in South Charleston. Upon appointment, cadets undergo an intense training program at the academy.

The West Virginia State Police also runs its own forensic laboratory and provide scientific investigation services to law enforcement agencies across the state. Services offered to criminal justice agencies include biochemistry, drug, firearm investigations, latent prints, questioned documents, toxicology and trace evidence. The crime lab is accredited by the American Society of Crime Laboratory Directors/Laboratory Accreditation Board (ASCLD/LAB).

Recruitment and training

The West Virginia Division of Criminal Justice Services is responsible for setting minimum physical ability standards for police officers working in the state. In 2007, following a national trend, it relaxed the physical ability standards for aspiring police officers. Right now, any police applicant must do at least 27 push-ups/minute, 29 sit-ups/minute and be able to run in a maximum time limit of 14 minutes 53 seconds. The State Police, however, chose not to follow those standards unlike most local police agencies in West Virginia. The agency's recruiters still require applicants to perform at least 27 push-ups/minute, 29 sit-ups/minute and those same applicants have to run in no more than 14 minutes 52 seconds, which were all the initial minimum requirements for all police departments in West Virginia.

File:West Virginia State Police Academy.jpg

The West Virginia State Police Academy in Institute

Training at the paramilitary academy lasts about 25 weeks compared to about 16 weeks for officers from other departments (trained at the same academy). When cadets graduate, they are promoted to the rank of "Trooper." They can be stationned anywhere in the 55 West Virginia counties working from detachments (barracks). They serve an eighteen-month probationary period that starts at the time they enter the academy. After completing successfully that probationary period, they are eligible to receive an associate degree in police sciences through the Marshall Technical and Community College program.

Personnel

The State Police has struggled with staffing issues for many years and the problem seems to persist mainly due to lack of funding to dramatically increase the number of road troopers. As of 2013, the agency employed well above 600 sworn officers, making it de facto the largest law enforcement agency in the state. The State Police is heavily relied upon to assist in many of the 55 West Virginia counties. In September 2013, news organizations started reporting a new initiative from the agency to increase manpower. The Accelerated Cadet Program targets local West Virginia police officers who want to join the State Police. Once hired, such officers would train for only 11 weeks instead of the 25 weeks normal cadets go through.

The State Police is and has been the only agency to operate a law enforcement academy in West Virginia. It trains its own troopers but also all other law enforcement officers from the state: sheriff deputies, city and college police officers, and motor carrier enforcement officers who, unlike in some states, are not part of the State Police but have their own separate agency.

Rank Structure

Title	Insignia
Chief of Police
Assistant Chief
Deputy Chief
Captain
Lieutenant
Sergeant	35px
Corporal	35px
Officer

Vehicles

File:WVSPunmarked.jpg

An unmarked Chevy Impala parked at the West Virginia State Police Academy

State Police vehicles are composed of a variety of makes with blue and gold colors accompanied by the agency's logo on the side front doors. For many years, the agency has used Ford Crown Victorias for the road. In recent years however, State Police has phased in Chevy Impalas and the new Ford Police Interceptor and Police Interceptor Utility into its fleet. The agency also uses unmarked vehicles (usually assigned to command staff members statewide). Vehicles are mainly equipped with blue, LED, lights.

Organization

• Cabinet Secretary
• Superintendent of the State Police
  • Deputy Superintdent
    • Executive Services
      • Media Relations Unit
      • Personnel Unit
      • Medical Unit
    • Staff Services
      • Accounting Unit
      • Communications Unit
      • Criminal Records Unit
      • Forensic Laboratory
      • Planning and Research Unit
      • Procurement Unit
      • Promotional Standards Unit
      • Traffic Records Unit
      • Training Academy
      • Uniform Crime Reporting Unit
    • Professional Standards
    • Legal Services
    • Field Operations
      • Field Troops 1 - 8
      • Bureau of Criminal Investigations
        • Regional Offices 1 - 6
        • Investigative Support Services
          • Insurance Fraud Unit
          • Polygraph Unit
          • Drug Diversion Unit
          • Marijuana Eradication
          • Digital Forensics Unit
          • Technical Operations Unit
          • Cold Case Unit
        • Criminal Intelligence Unit
      • Special Operations Unit
        • Special Response Teams
        • Aviation Section
        • K‐9 Unit
        • Explosive Response Teams
      • Crimes Against Children Unit
      • Executive Protection Unit

Troops and detachments

Troop 0 Command - South Charleston

• Headquarters
• Forensic Laboratory
• Executive Protection
• Special Operations

Troop 1 Command - Shinnston

• Bridgeport Detachment
• Fairmont Detachment
• Grafton Detachment
• Hundred Detachment
• Kingwood Detachment
• Morgantown Detachment
• Moundsville Detachment
• New Cumberland Detachment
• New Martinsville Detachment
• Wellsburg Detachment
• West Union Detachment
• Wheeling Detachment

Troop 2 Command - Charles Town

• Berkeley Springs Detachment
• Charles Town Detachment
• Keyser Detachment
• Martinsburg Detachment
• Moorefield Detachment
• Romney Detachment

Troop 3 Command - Elkins

• Buckhannon Detachment
• Elkins Detachment
• Franklin Detachment
• Glenville Detachment
• Marlinton Detachment
• Parsons Detachment
• Philippi Detachment
• Sutton Detachment
• Webster Springs Detachment
• Weston Detachment

Troop 4 Command - South Charleston

• Clay Detachment
• Elizabeth Detachment
• Grantsville Detachment
• Harrisville Detachment
• Parkersburg Detachment
• Quincy Detachment
• Ripley Detachment
• South Charleston Detachment
• Spencer Detachment
• Mason County Detachment
• Winfield Detachment
• St Marys Detachment

Troop 5 Command - Logan

• Hamlin Detachment
• Huntington Detachment
• Logan Detachment
• Madison Detachment
• Williamson Detachment
• Wayne Detachment

Troop 6 Command - Beckley

• Beckley Detachment
• Gauley Bridge Detachment
• Hinton Detachment
• Jesse Detachment
• Lewisburg Detachment
• Oak Hill Detachment
• Princeton Detachment
• Rainelle Detachment
• Richwood Detachment
• Summersville Detachment
• Welch Detachment
• Whitesville Detachment
• Union Detachment

Troop 7 Parkways (WV Turnpike) Command - Beckley

• Parkways - Beckley Parkways Detachment
• Parkways - Charleston South Parkways Detachment
• Parkways - Princeton Parkways Detachment

Troop 8 Bureau of Criminal Investigation (BCI)

Fallen officers

Since the establishment of the West Virginia State Police, 40 officers have died in the line of duty.

Officer	Date of Death	Details
Ernest Ripley	Thursday, November 18, 1920	Gunfire
Charles M. Kackley	Wednesday, May 25, 1921	Gunfire
William L. McMillion	Tuesday, June 28, 1921	Gunfire
George A. Duling	Sunday, August 28, 1921	Gunfire (Accidental)
Howard A. Deem	Saturday, June 3, 1922	Automobile accident
James Shrewsbury	Thursday, July 12, 1923	Gunfire
Ulric C. Crawford	Friday, June 20, 1924	Gunfire
Theodore R. Meadows	Saturday, April 17, 1926	Motorcycle accident
James L. Lowe	Monday, June 28, 1926	Gunfire
Blake A. Michael	Sunday, May 1, 1927	Motorcycle accident
Arza A. Allen	Thursday, November 1, 1928	Motorcycle accident
William Hall	Sunday, October 19, 1930	Motorcycle accident
Farley K. Litton	Friday, November 8, 1935	Motorcycle accident
Allen Henry Bennett Jeffreys	Sunday, July 16, 1939	Vehicular assault
Franklin D. Patrick	Sunday, August 27, 1939	Automobile accident
Newton Tressel Sites	Monday, August 31, 1942	Aircraft accident
Burr White Harrison	Monday, December 3, 1945	Automobile accident
Joseph Pierce Horne	Monday, September 9, 1946	Gunfire
Arthur M. Hurst	Friday, June 17, 1949	Drowned
Robert F. Rulong	Monday, February 10, 1958	Vehicular assault
Harry E. Robinson	Tuesday, November 27, 1962	Automobile accident
William Joseph Shrewsbury	Saturday, September 28, 1963	Gunfire
Robert Ball Noechel	Monday, November 1, 1965	Gunfire
Hugh Donald Swartz	Monday, October 5, 1970	Gunfire
Thomas Dean Hercules	Wednesday, January 12, 1977	Gunfire
Charles Henry Johnson	Wednesday, January 12, 1977	Gunfire
Bruce Thompson Brown	Friday, October 14, 1977	Gunfire
Dewey C. Shrewsbury	Wednesday, October 25, 1978	Gunfire (Accidental)
Philip S. Kesner	Wednesday, November 7, 1979	Gunfire
Carlen Bill Stone	Thursday, December 16, 1982	Aircraft accident
Harry G. Lucas Jr.	Wednesday, September 12, 1984	Aircraft accident
Jonathan David Harris	Thursday, July 11, 1985	Automobile accident
William Howard Phillips	Thursday, July 30, 1987	Automobile accident
First Class James Thomas Brammer	Saturday, April 15, 1989	Gunfire
Larry Gene Hacker	Friday, April 9, 1993	Gunfire
Charles Matthew Turner	Thursday, April 4, 1996	Aircraft accident
Douglas Wayne Bland	Thursday, January 19, 1999	Automobile accident
Brian W. Linn	Friday, November 2, 2007	Automobile accident
Marshall Lee Bailey	Tuesday, August 28, 2012	Gunfire
Eric M. Workman	Friday, August 31, 2012	Gunfire

See also

• List of law enforcement agencies in West Virginia
• West Virginia State Police Academy
• State Police (United States)
• State Patrol
• Highway Patrol

Additional references

• State Journal (in a May 2005 article)
• State Trooper: America's State Troopers and Highway Patrolmen (Turner Publishing Company)

External links

• West Virginia State Police website
• West Virginia State Police Association website