New Mexico State Police
| New Mexico State Police | |
|---|---|
| Abbreviation | NMSP |
Patch of the New Mexico State Police
|
|
| Agency overview | |
| Formed | February 15, 1905 |
| Preceding agencies |
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| Employees | 1,000 (as of 2004) |
| Legal personality | Governmental: Government agency |
| Jurisdictional structure | |
| Operations jurisdiction* | State of New Mexico, United States |
| Size | 121,665 square miles (315,110 km2) |
| Population | 1,969,915 (2007 est.) |
| Legal jurisdiction | New Mexico |
| General nature | |
| Operational structure | |
| Headquarters | Santa Fe, New Mexico |
| State Police Officers | 605 (as of 2010) |
| Civilians | 490 (as of 2010) |
| Agency executive | Pete N. Kassetas, Chief |
| Parent agency | New Mexico Department of Public Safety |
| Website | |
| NMSP Website | |
| Footnotes | |
| * Divisional agency: Division of the country, over which the agency has usual operational jurisdiction. | |
The New Mexico State Police is the state police agency for New Mexico, which has jurisdiction anywhere in the state. It was created to protect the lives, property and constitutional rights of people in New Mexico. The State Police is a division within the New Mexico Department of Public Safety.
During World War I, national security became a great concern, particularly in border states like New Mexico. The last time American soil was invaded by a foreign force was in 1916, when Mexican Revolution General Francisco "Pancho" Villa sacked the town of Columbus, New Mexico. The mounted police were reactivated and kept the border with Mexico secure, as well as provided general law enforcement services. For the next several years, the mounted police gained quite a reputation as an effective and professional police force, much to the disdain of the state's lawbreakers, who often had strong political ties in Santa Fe. Finally, on February 15, 1921 - almost sixteen years after its inception - the New Mexico Mounted Police was abolished. In 1937, it was resurrected once again as a volunteer police organization. In 1941, New Mexico Governor John Miles made the volunteer police organization an official state law enforcement agency as it stands today called the New Mexico Mounted Patrol.
The advent of the automobile again highlighted the need for a statewide law enforcement agency. No other police force had jurisdictional authority to enforce laws throughout the state. In 1933, the New Mexico Motor Patrol was established, primarily to enforce traffic laws. The patrol had a civilian oversight board consisting of three members: Governor Arthur Seligman, Attorney General E.K. Neumann, and Highway Engineer Glenn D. Macy. The state of Texas had recently created their own motor patrol, and they detailed Captain Homer Garrison to conduct the first New Mexico Motor Patrol recruit school at St. Michael's College in Santa Fe. One hundred thirty-five men applied for the school; eighteen were selected to attend; and ten were finally chosen and commissioned as the first motor patrol officers. Each officer was issued a Harley Davidson motorcycle with siren, red light, and other accessories. One of the ten graduates, Earl Irish, was appointed as the Chief and was given a monthly salary of $150; Patrolmen made $125 monthly. Officers were allowed $10 per month to maintain their uniforms.
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Wikipedia