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The Pennsylvania State Police (PSP) is the State Police force of Pennsylvania , responsible for statewide law enforcement. It was founded in 1905 by order of Governor Samuel Pennypacker , in response to the private police forces used by mine and mill owners to stop worker strikes and the inability or refusal of local Police or Sheriff s offices to enforce the law. PSP officers are referred to as "troopers". As of 2006, it has 4,545 state troopers and more than 1,600 civilian support staff. The current Commissioner is Colonel Jeffrey B. Miller. DUTIES The PSP's duties include patrolling all state and federal highways across Pennsylvania, enforcing the Pennsylvania Motor Vehicle Code, overseeing the state's automobile inspection program, enforcing the state's commercial vehicle safety regulations, and providing the full range of police protection for municipalities and unincorporated areas without full-time local police departments. The PSP patrols more than half of the state's 2,565 municipalities and the bulk of its rural areas, as the sheriffs in Pennsylvania are restricted by tradition to performing court services. The PSP's Bureau of Forensic Services provides Crime Lab services for criminal investigations. A special unit of the PSP act as Bodyguard s for the Governor Of Pennsylvania and certain other state officials. The PSP also temporarily patrolled the state's 28 airports and five nuclear power plants in the months following the 9/11 Attacks . The PSP administers the Pennsylvania Instant Check System (PICS), which is responsible for providing background checks in firearms purchases statewide. The PSP are embroiled in a controversy concerning the maintaining of a firearms "registery" contrary to both Federal and State laws. The issue is being addressed in the courts and the legistature. The PSP also administers the PATCH (Pennsylvania Access To Criminal History) background-check database and the Pennsylvania Uniform Crime Reporting System. UNIFORM The uniform worn by PSP officers is unique to that in Pennsylvania. Prior to its introduction in the 1990's, PSP officers wore uniforms that confused them with Pennsylvania State Constables, who wore an identical uniform. By state law, no municipal police department (city, borough, or township) police department can wear the same exact uniform or color configuration as that of the PSP, although some departments have uniforms that nearly match that of the PSP Uniform (Troopers to Sergeants) The current PSP uniform for Troopers, Corporals, and Sergeants consist of a light gray long or short sleeve shirt with black shoulder epaulets, and worn with blackened Commonwealth of Pennsylvania seals on the collar and a black necktie – most municipal police departments omit the necktie for the summertime, but the PSP requires the necktie year round. Charcoal gray trousers with a black strip on each leg is worn, with a Sam Browne Belt with duty gear being worn around the waist. The PSP officer's trademark uniform item, the Smokey Bear hat, is worn whenever the officer is outdoors, and is made of charcoal gray-colored felt (for wintertime wear) or straw (for summertime wear). A black "wooly-pully" sweater is worn by officers for "Class A" functions, with special honor guards wear "full dress" uniforms with a charcoal gray military-style coat closed with four black buttons and worn with charcoal riding breeches and black rider boots. Corporals and Sergeants wear their chevron insignia (identical to those worn in the U.S. Army ) on both sleeves, with all officers wearing the PSP shoulder patch on both sleeves. Uniform (Lieutenants to Colonel) The duty uniform for PSP Lieutenants, Captains, Majors, Lieutenant Colonels, and the Colonel are identical to that of the lower ranks, except for the following
In addition to the minor detail changes, senior officers wear the four-button military coat for "Class A" functions in place of the "wooly pully." The coat has four gold-colored buttons, breast and hip pockets, and shoulder epaulets for the placement of the officer's current rank. A system of "rank rings" are worn on each sleeve, similar to the rank-ring system used by the U.S. Navy , U.S. Coast Guard , and by land units of the Canadian Armed Forces . Currently, the insignia worn by PSP senior officers are as follows:
THE CALL OF HONOR All Enlisted Members of the Pennsylvania State Police are required to memorize the Pennsylvania State Police Call of Honor as listed below: " I am a Pennsylvania State Trooper, a soldier of the law. To me is entrusted the honor of the force. I must serve honestly, faithfully, and if need be, lay down my life as others have done before me, rather than swerve from the path of duty. It is my duty to obey the law and to enforce it without any consideration of class, color, creed or condition. It is also my duty to be of service to anyone who may be in danger or distress, and at all times so conduct myself that the honor of the force may be upheld. " THE OTHER "STATE POLICE" In 2005, the PSP successfully lobbied the State Legislature to repeal an 1872 law that granted full police powers to the State Police Of Crawford And Erie Counties , an unaffiliated volunteer police force. PSP Commissioner Jeffrey Miller said he was afraid people would mistake the Crawford/Erie group for actual state troopers. TRIVIA
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