North Carolina State Highway Patrol

North Carolina State Highway Patrol
Abbreviation	NCSHP
Shoulder patch of the North Carolina State Highway Patrol
North Carolina State Highway Patrol logo
Trooper badge of the North Carolina State Highway Patrol
Motto	Esse Quam Videri Latin: To be rather than to seem
Agency overview
Formed	1 July 1929; 87 years ago (1929-07-01)
Employees	2,340 (as of 2008)
Volunteers	12 (as of 2008)
Legal personality	Governmental: Government agency
Jurisdictional structure
Operations jurisdiction*	Department of Public Safety of in the state of North Carolina, USA
North Carolina State Highway Patrol Troops
Size	53,865 square miles (139,510 km2)
Population	9,061,032 (2007 est.)
Legal jurisdiction	State of North Carolina
Constituting instrument	North Carolina Constitution
General nature	Law enforcement Gendarmerie
Operational structure
Headquarters	Raleigh, North Carolina
Troopers	1,517 (as of 2004)
Civilian (uniformed and non w/various titles)s	212 (as of 2004)
Agency executive	Glenn M. McNeill, Commander (Colonel)
Parent agency	North Carolina Department of Public Safety
Sections	5 Administrative Services Technical Support Unit Office of Professional Standards Training Field Operations
Troop Headquarters	8 Greenville Fayetteville Raleigh Greensboro Salisbury Newton Asheville Monroe
Facilities
Districts	54
Airbases	4
Lockups	None (local county jails or state juvenile facilities used)
Helicopters	Bell 206 JetRanger, Bell OH-58A+ and Bell 407
Dogs and horses	Police tracking/drug sniffing dogs and ceremonial horses
Notables Anniversary July 1st Award CALEA Accredited
Website
NCSHP website
Footnotes
* Divisional agency: Division of the country, over which the agency has usual operational jurisdiction.

The North Carolina State Highway Patrol is the highway patrol agency for North Carolina which has no per-se "state police" agency. The Patrol has jurisdiction anywhere in the state except for federal or military installations. The Highway Patrol was created in 1929 and is a paramilitary organization with a rank structure similar to the armed forces. NCSHP personnel at times conduct formations, inspections, honor guard activities and drill similar to the armed forces drill and ceremonies. Troopers have a reputation in North Carolina for immaculate uniform and grooming standards. The primary mission of the North Carolina State Highway Patrol is to reduce traffic collisions and make the highways of North Carolina as safe as possible.

The Highway Patrol is one of the largest divisions of the North Carolina Department of Public Safety other than the Department of Correction (DOC). The patrol's headquarters is located in the DPS headquarters in Raleigh in the Archdale Building downtown. This department also includes the NC State Bureau of Investigations (SBI), NC Alcohol Law Enforcement (ALE), NC Department of Corrections (DOC), which includes probation and parole (Community Corrections), NC Civil Air Patrol, Emergency Management, NC State Capitol Police, and the NC National Guard.

Established in 1929, the NC State Highway Patrol's mission is to reduce collisions and make the highways of North Carolina as safe as possible.

North Carolina, like many Southern states, was distrusted by the federal government from starting a "state police" agency, due to concerns that the department would be used for political motives to intimidate blacks from voting in the late 1920s, at a time when lynchings and Ku Klux Klan activities were on the rise following the end of World War I. The vast majority of the 100 NC Sheriffs also did not want to lose political power to a state police agency. These issues were alleviated by establishment of a traffic enforcement agency to police the ever-expanding highways with the enforcement of motor vehicles laws primarily. The original members of the Highway Patrol were the command staff and they were sent to the Pennsylvania State Police Academy for training. Upon their graduation and return to North Carolina, these men established the first basic school at Camp Glenn, an abandoned World War I Army Camp in Morehead City where Carteret General Hospital is now located. Several extra recruits were brought to the original basic school and were sent home as alternates, in the event that original members quit or were fired. Most of these men were never recalled to duty after 8 weeks of training. Over the years, the agency obtained semi-state police powers with the authority of the Governor to implement it, but this has never been fully done by any NC Governor. Changes in the regulations by the general assembly were made in response to political appointees being names as commander. The changes ensured that the commander of the SHP must meet all trooper requirements, including completion of the grueling basic trooper training school, thus preventing unqualified political appointees from being named commander.