West Virginia State Police
| West Virginia State Police | |
|---|---|
| Abbreviation | WVSP |
Patch of the West Virginia State Police
|
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| Agency overview | |
| Formed | June 29, 1919 |
| 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 | |
| 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.wvsp.gov | |
| 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.
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.
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).
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 1.5 miles (2.4 km) 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 1.5 miles (2.4 km) in no more than 14 minutes 52 seconds, which were all the initial minimum requirements for all police departments in West Virginia.
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