Nevada Highway Patrol

Nevada Highway Patrol
Patch of the Nevada Highway Patrol
Logo of the Nevada Department of Public Safety
Abbreviation	NHP
Agency overview
Formed	1908; 113 years ago (1908)
Preceding agency	Nevada State Police
Employees	587 (as of 2020)[1]
Jurisdictional structure
Operations jurisdiction	Nevada, U.S.
Map of the NHP's Jurisdiction
Size	110,567 square miles (286,370 km2)
Population	3,115,609 (2019 est.)[2]
Legal jurisdiction	Statewide
Governing body	Nevada Department of Public Safety
General nature	Civilian police
Operational structure
Headquarters	555 Wright Way Carson City, Nevada
Troopers	491 Troopers (as of 2020)[3]
Civilian members	96 Civilian members (as of 2020)[3]
Director of NV DPS responsible	George Togliatti
Agency executives	Colonel Anne Carpenter, Chief of Nevada Highway Patrol Lieutenant Colonel, Deputy Chief of Nevada Highway Patrol
Parent agency	Nevada Department of Public Safety
Facilities
Commands	4
Airplanes	3
Dogs	10 German Shepherds
Website
NHP Website

The Nevada Highway Patrol is the highway patrol agency for Nevada and has jurisdiction anywhere within the state.

The headquarters is located in Carson City with regional commands in Reno, Elko and Las Vegas.^[4]

Colonel Anne Carpenter has been serving as the 3rd Chief since October 19, 2020. She was confirmed by the Nevada Senate on October 19, 2020.^[5]

The Nevada Highway Patrol is a division of the Nevada Department of Public Safety.

History[]

In 1908 the Nevada State Police was created to provide a state level law enforcement presence as a result of labor strikes in the mining communities. When Henry Ford made ownership of the automobile accessible to the populace of America by mass-producing the Model T Ford, the problem of enforcing the laws of the road soon followed. On June 23, 1923, the first Nevada State Highway Patrolman was hired by the Nevada Highway Department under the supervision of the . This officer and the Inspector of the State Police would travel throughout the State collecting automobile registration fees and enforcing the laws of the highway. Nevada was one of the first western states to have an organized highway patrol function.^[6]

By 1934, the highway patrol force had grown to three officers still supervised by the Inspector of the State Police. They were given silver patrol cars with gold stars on the door, red lights and sirens, and told to patrol the roads. One officer was assigned to Las Vegas, Reno and Elko.

This part of the Nevada State Police remained operational until the State Police were reorganized in 1943. At that time, the Nevada State Highway Patrol was absorbed into the State Police who continued highway law enforcement until 1949 when the Nevada Highway Patrol was organized.

The 1949 Nevada Legislature created the Nevada Highway Patrol by consolidating the Nevada State Police, Inspectors from the Nevada Public Service Commission and several Inspectors from the . On July 1, 1949, the Nevada Highway Patrol Division was created within the Nevada Public Service Commission. These officers were directed to act as field agents and inspectors in the enforcement of the State laws as they pertained to Nevada highways. But the history of law enforcement on Nevada highways goes back many years before the Nevada Highway Patrol was created.

In 1957, the Legislature created the and transferred the Nevada Highway Patrol to this new department as a division.

In 1985, the name of the Department was changed to the (DMV&PS) to reflect the law enforcement agencies that had been added. At the same time, Fifty-two Field Enforcement Agents of the Motor Carrier Division of the Department of Motor Vehicles were transferred to the Nevada Highway Patrol and consolidated with existing Commercial Vehicle Safety Officers of the Nevada Highway Patrol to form the Commercial Enforcement Bureau within the NHP.^{[citation needed]}

In 2001, DMV&PS was split into separate departments and the Nevada Highway Patrol is now a division of the Nevada Department of Public Safety.

In 2005, NHP opened a new communications center and emergency operations center in Clark County.

In 2007, DPS Northern Nevada Communications center moved from the Reno Northern Command Headquarters into the State Emergency Operations Center in Nevada's capital city, Carson City.

The Nevada Highway Patrol issues its officers a variety of non-lethal weapons, such as tasers, pepper spray, and a baton. The NHP also issues its troopers take-home cars.

In 2020 , 1st Female Colonel Appointed in Nevada Highway Patrol History

Badge and rank structure[]

Title	Insignia	Notes
Chief (rank of Colonel)		The Chief of Highway Patrol holds the Rank of Colonel and is appointed by the Nevada Department of Public Safety (DPS) Director. The Chief of Highway Patrol must be confirmed by the Governor of Nevada
Assistant Chief (rank of Lieutenant Colonel)		The Assistant Chief holds the rank of Lieutenant Colonel and reports directly to the Chief of Nevada Highway Patrol and has authority over the units.
Major		Majors are responsible for a command within the Highway Patrol.
Captain		A Captain is a troop commander in the Field Operations Bureau or a division commander in one of the other bureaus.
Lieutenant		A lieutenant is the assistant commander of a division/unit.
Sergeant		A Sergeant is a person who supervises an entire Patrol shift in their District.
Trooper	No Insignia	Candidates successfully completing the academy and field training are appointed as troopers.

Commands[]

• Headquarters (Carson City, Nevada)
• Northern Command (Reno, Nevada)
• Central Command (Elko, Nevada)
• Southern Command (Las Vegas, Nevada)

Demographics[]

Reference^[7]

• Male: 94%
• Female: 6%
• White: 89%
• Hispanic: 5%
• African-American/Black: 3%
• Asian: 3%

Flight operations[]

The NHP flight operations unit consisted of three fixed-wing aircraft. The aircraft were predominantly used for speed enforcement, prisoner transport and personnel transport. The planes were additionally used for emergency blood delivery and to assist other law enforcement agencies.

NHP discontinued use of their flight operations in 2010.

Fleet[]

• Cessna Skylane 182 RG based in Las Vegas
• Cessna Centurion 210 RG based in Carson City
• Cessna Cutlass 172 RG based in Elko

Fallen officers[]

Since the creation of the Nevada Highway Patrol, Ten officers have died while on duty.^[8]

The causes of death are as follows:

See also[]

• List of law enforcement agencies in Nevada
• Denver S. Dickerson
• Capitol Police

References[]

External links[]

• Nevada Highway Patrol