Georgia State Patrol Analysis

The Georgia State Patrol

January 15, 2014

The Department of Public Safety is in charge of the Georgia State Patrol that has many different divisions within the program. The Department of Public Safety divisions includes the capitol police who investigates criminal incidents, traffic crashes, close lanes and exits for events, and conducts inspections of vehicles transporting hazardous materials. There is the motor carrier compliance division that conducts vehicle inspections on commercial vehicles and drivers. This division is broken up into five units, The High Occupancy Vehicle Lane, School Bus Safety, Compliance Program, Size and Weight Enforcement, and Commercial Motor Vehicle and Safety Units. These units have
duties ranging from safety inspections of specific vehicles to education and data collection for future references (Wright, 2007). The Commissioner of the Department of Public Safety Patrol is Mark W. McDonough. He is responsible for the direct supervision over the legal services and special investigations. He holds the rank of Colonel in the Georgia State Patrol. Commissioner McDonough and Special Investigations which is led by Angie Holt and the Legal Services led by Melissa Rodgers are at the top of the organizational chart. The Deputy Commissioner is Lt. Colonel Russell Powell. The Lieutenant Governor oversees the daily operations of several divisions, including GSP Field Operations (Troops A - I, SCRT, SWAT, GSP Dive Team, Nighthawks DUI Task Force, Criminal Interdiction, and Implied Consent), Motor Carrier Compliance Division, Capitol Police, Headquarters, Human Resources, Public Information Office, Training, Records Management and HQ Security, Governor 's Task Force, Executive Security, Regional K-9 Task Force, Honor Guard, FBI Liaison, GOHS Liaison and the GISAC Officers (2014). He is on the same line as Aviation which is led by Billy Smith and Comptroller that is led by Peter Adams. The last line of the organizational chart for the Department of Public Safety is Field Operations led by Major Eddie Grier, Motor Carrier Compliance led by Major Gene Davis, Capitol Police that is led by Captain Ronnie Rhodes, the Headquarters Adjutant led by Major Hank Fielding, and Human Resources led Lisa Maier. The Georgia State Patrol is a division of the Department of Public Safety. The main duties and responsibilities of the Georgia State Patrol are to keep the lives and the property of the public safe. Their focus is to control accident investigations and enforce pertinent traffic laws. During the accident investigation the troops basically gathers information of the incident. Traffic enforcement is one of the main responsibilities of the Georgia State Patrol. Traffic stops are the most dangerous encounters that a troop might make. The beginning troopers would make traffic stops of individuals who would have traffic violations, or a driver that is driving erratically. Today troopers are equipped with radar and laser detectors to help assist them with traffic stops. Even though there are some larger agencies within the state of Georgia, the troopers are still the first to be called to handle traffic investigation. The Georgia State Patrol investigates over ten thousand traffic accidents a year. The Georgia State Patrol also provides security for the Governor, the Lieutenant Governor, the Speaker of the House and their families. The Commanding Officer the Georgia State Patrol of Field Operations is Major Eddie Grier. His job is to overseas the daily operations of all Troops (A-I) and Posts (1-51), the State of Georgia SWAT, the Georgia State Patrol Dive Team, Specialized Collision Reconstruction Team (SCRT), the Criminal Interdiction Unit, the Motorcycle Unit, the Regional K-9, and the Nighthawks DUI Task Force (Cook, 2013).
The Specialized Collision Reconstruction Team is responsible for investigating fatal collisions. There are five teams across the state that helps assist field troopers gather data in order to save lives in the future. This team is also equipped with the latest technology and they are available 24/7 to help with homicide cases, officer involved shootings, fatal crashes, and large crime scenes. The State of Georgia SWAT Team is led by Captain Steve Bone.
This is a functional team that provides weapon and tactical expertise. They focus on resolving issues of critical incidents to reduce the risk of injury or loss of the life of citizens, police officers, and suspects. The SWAT team is highly trained and efficient on tactical tasks. They are available as a resource to all law enforcement agencies throughout the state of Georgia. The Aviation Unit operates fourteen helicopters in the state of Georgia. These helicopters are in six locations around the state. These locations are Kennesaw, Thomson, Athens, Albany, Reidsville, and Perry. The Georgia State Patrol Dive Team assists local agencies in the recovery of drowning victims and finding evidence or objects that were lost in the waterways of Georgia. All members of the team are certified SCUBA divers and qualified from the Department of Public Safety. Most of the operations are done by the driver’s by themselves, with zero visibility, and cold water temperatures. The Georgia State Patrol Motorcycle Unit focuses on the public safety of drivers on the Georgia highways. The unit members focus on the speeding, seat belt violators, crash sites, and improperly changing lane offenders. The motorcycle unit focuses on more on the metro Atlanta are the most due to high traffic
volumes. The Nighthawks Task Force was initiated in October 2004 with only ten members. The Nighthawks patrol only five counties during the DUI peak hours. This particular task force was funded by a grant from the Governor’s Office of Highway Safety. In 2009, the South Georgia county of Bulloch started a team that patrols the Savannah and Statesboro area. Their focus is to reduce the number of impaired driving crashes. The task force expanded so much that they were divided into North and South divisions with the focus on Fulton, Gwinnett County, and Athens-Clarke County. These three counties have the highest rate of impaired drivers within the state. In 2012, the Nighthawks spawned a Middle Georgia team that focuses on the areas of Macon and Columbus, Georgia. This team was assigned six troopers in these counties that help reduce DUI situations as well.
The Georgia State Patrol also has a responsibility dealing with medical relays.
Troopers are responsible for transporting organ donations when they are requested. Bio-chemicals, animal remains, and blood used for testing are some of the items that troops today are responsible for transporting to medical facilities. The Georgia State Patrol is divided up into nine troops that are different regions within the state of Georgia. These troops consist of posts which are cities in the states, and within those posts are counties assigned to them. These troops also may consist of special teams, i.e. SCRT team assigned to them as
well.
The ten troops are labeled A-J and the posts are 1-51. Georgia is a state with 159 counties and has over a hundred thousand miles of highway, streets, and roads to cover. The Georgia State Patrol has to post personnel to maintain safety in all of those counties within the state of Georgia. Troop A is commanded by Captain E. Joe Hamby. The posts (cities) of Troop A are Cartersville, Dalton, Jasper, Rome, LaFayette, and Calhoun. These are posts 3, 5, 28, 38, 41, and 43. Troop A is responsible of Specialized Collision Reconstruction Team. Troop B is commanded by Captain Tommy E. Waldrop, Jr. The posts cities include Gainesville, Tocoa, Blue Ridge, Athens, and Cumming. These posts are 6, 7, 37, 32, and 37. Troop B is responsible for the SCRT Team B. Troop C is commanded by Captain Mark A. Hambert. The posts cities are Marietta, Forest Park, Atlanta, and Gwinnett. These posts are 9, 47, 48, 49, and 51. Troop B is responsible motorcycle unit, nighthawks north, SCRT Team C, and communication center HQ. Troop D is commanded by Captain Nikki R. Renfroe. The posts cities are Griffin, LaGrange, Villa Rica, Newnan, Thomaston, Manchester, and Forsyth. Troop D is responsible and SCRT Team D. Troop E is commanded by Captain Allen Marlowe. The posts cities are Madison, Washington, Grovetown, Milledgeville, and Monroe. Troop E is responsible SCRT Team E. Troop F is commanded by Captain Derick Durden. The posts cities are Helena, Reidsville, Swainsboro, Dublin, Sylvania, and Statesboro. These posts are 16, 18, 1920, 21, and 45. Troop F is responsible for SCRT Team F. Troop G is commanded by Captain Buddy Johnson. The posts cities are Americus, Thomasville, Colquitt, Cuthbert, and Albany. These posts are 10, 12, 14, 39, and 40. They are responsible for SCRT Team G. Troop H is commanded by Captain Chris Wright. The posts cities are Tifton, Perry, Cordele, Valdosta, and Douglas. These posts are 13, 15, 30, 31, and 36. Troop H are responsible for SCRT Team H. Troop I is commanded by Captain Billy Hitchens. The posts cities are Hinesville, Waycross, Brunswick, Jekyll Island, and Rincon. These posts are 11, 22, 23, 35, and 42. Troop I is responsible for Nighthawks South and SCRT I. The last troop is Troop J, which are the Specialized Education Unit and the Implied Consent Unit. These units provide assistance and support to the Georgia Bureau of Investigation and overseeing the breath-alcohol program for the state of Georgia.
In conclusion, the Georgia State Patrol travels throughout the whole state keeping our streets and highways safe. The Department of Public Safety created The Georgia State patrol to enhance the protection of the Georgia citizens. The Georgia State Patrol maintains a great working relationship with the local law enforcement agencies to keep the whole state of Georgia safe which is the main objectives.
References
(Wright, 2007). The History of the Georgia State Patrol, Atlanta, GA Department of Public
Safety.

(2014). Retrieved from http://dps.georgia.gov/about-dps

Cook, R. (2013). Georgia state patrol: Metro Atlanta "got the message". The Atlanta Journal
Constitution, 11-13.