California State Police

The California State Police (CSP) was the state-level security police agency from 1887 to 1995 for the U.S. state of California. It was merged into the California Highway Patrol in 1995.

Founded on March 15, 1887, the police agency primarily served to protect the California State Capitol Building, the governor and other state officials, and other state agencies that did not have their own police force. The CSP also provided services to many different California state agencies, including performing tax seizures for the California Franchise Tax Board and Board of Equalization, as well as patrolling the California Aqueduct. They provided investigative services to elected officials through their Threat Assessment Detail and criminal investigations of crimes committed against the state through the Bureau of Investigative Services. Detectives and line officers routinely conducted investigations with other state agencies and allied law enforcement departments. The California State Police was merged into the California Highway Patrol in 1995.

The agency traces to 1853, when the California State Legislature authorized a law enforcement body called the California Rangers, their primary objective being to capture notorious gang leader Joaquin Murrieta. Following his arrest and execution, however, the rangers were disbanded. On March 15, 1887, the California State Legislature authorized a law enforcement body with former leader of the Rangers, Captain Harry Love, and one other ranger, as its sole members to protect the State Capitol and grounds. They were paid $100 monthly and grew to a force of 12 officers. In 1911 the legislature approved more positions, uniforms, and defined the department giving it the official name of, "California State Capitol Police". Eventually, as the department grew to approximately 400 personnel and its duties expanded, the word "Capitol" was dropped from the agency's name.

The California State Police (CSP) Division was a small agency, with its official title being a division of the California Department of General Services. Officers and patrol cars of this division were rarely seen outside of the state’s larger metropolitan areas, with its largest presence being situated in the areas of Sacramento (State Capitol Division), Los Angeles, San Francisco, Redding, and San Diego. Its aircraft could be seen flying along the California Aqueduct.

Some of the most visible personnel of the CSP were its State Security Officers (SSOs) who were peace officers while on duty. SSOs held powers of arrest as regular police officers under the California Penal Code (CPC), but were not full-time peace officers. Their powers of arrest were only while on duty performing their specific assignments. SSOs were usually at fixed locations at state buildings on foot beats. SSOs sometimes performed patrol (automobile) duties in very limited geographical areas such as Exposition Park in Los Angeles.

Despite the California State Police presence in large metropolitan cities, at the State Capitol, at busy State office buildings, on foot beats, on patrol in fully marked police vehicles on the streets and highways, there were many Californians who were still unaware that California had its own State Police. This public knowledge of the California State Police didn't fully come to light until its merger with the California Highway Patrol when it received major state news coverage in 1995.

At the time of the merger, the California State Police was the state’s oldest law enforcement agency (1887-1995 (~108 years)), a record that is still held today. The California Highway Patrol (CHP) was founded in 1929 and its officers were classified as "State Traffic Officers" until the merger. After the merger and subsequent charter responsibilities were taken over by the CHP, their official title was simply reduced to "Officer", thus dropping "traffic" from their current seven-point star badge.

While they did maintain security personnel at major State facilities, they also maintained SCUBA units, Air Patrol Sections with their own fixed wing aircraft, equestrian mounted units, special investigations personnel, EOD (Explosive Ordnance Disposal) bomb techs and equipment, Special Weapons And Tactics teams (SWAT), bicycle patrols, 4WD patrol units, regional detective squads, training personnel, Dignitary Protection Command, which saw to not only the security and safety of State elected and appointed officers, but also often to visiting dignitaries who might not have their own protective staff and provided training for like units from other agencies, Threat Assessment Investigations, armorers, and clerical personnel, as well as routine uniformed patrol officers and vehicles.