The South Carolina Highway Patrol is the highway patrol agency for South Carolina, which has jurisdiction anywhere in the state except for federal or military installations. The Highway Patrol was created in 1930 and is a paramilitary organization with a rank structure similar to the armed forces. The mission of the South Carolina Highway Patrol includes enforcing the rules and regulations in order to ensure road way safety and reducing crime as outlined by South Carolina law. The Highway Patrol is the largest division of the South Carolina Department of Public Safety and its headquarters is located in Blythewood. This department also includes the South Carolina State Transport Police Division, and the South Carolina Bureau of Protective Services.
The Highway Patrol has many responsibilities. The primary job of the rank and file trooper is traffic law enforcement. This includes traffic collision investigation, issuing warning tickets and citations for traffic violations, and finding, arresting, and processing impaired drivers. A state trooper is a sworn peace officer, and although their primary duty is traffic enforcement, they can perform other law enforcement functions.
Highway Patrol duties
The agency has specific jurisdiction over all South Carolina state highways, U.S. Highways, Interstate highways in the state and all public roads. Local city police or the counties sheriff's department having a contract with an incorporated city have responsibility to investigate and enforce traffic laws in incorporated cities. However, the SCHP can still enforce traffic laws on any public road anywhere in the state regardless if it is in an incorporated or unincorporated city. SCHP has authority over any incident that would require a Trooper's response.
SCHP officers are responsible for investigating and disposing of car accidents, debris, dead animals and other impediments to the free flow of traffic. They are often the first government officials at the scene of an accident (or obstruction), and in turn summon EMS/Fire (although,their dispatch often does this long before they are one scene), tow truck drivers or SCDOT personnel. The SCHP files traffic collision reports for state highways and within unincorporated areas.
It is the largest police agency in South Carolina with around 1,114 employees, of whom 910 are sworn Troopers, and 204 civilians, according to the SCHP website.
Specialized Units
- The Multi-disciplinary Accident Investigation Team (MAIT): investigates complicated vehicle crashes, using state-of-the-art technology and analysis to reconstruct the scene.
- The Civil Emergency Response Team (CERT): responds to civil emergencies using specialized training, tactics and equipment.
- The ACE (Aggressive Criminal Enforcement) Team: works specifically to curtail trafficking and transportation of illegal drugs on South Carolina roadways and includes the K-9 Corps, which assists in tracking drugs. Also includes the Motorcycle Unit, and Safety Improvement Team.
- The Telecommunications Centers: work dispatching troopers to incident scenes and assist the public with emergency calls.
- The Insurance Enforcement Unit: works closely with the Department of Motor Vehicles to identify uninsured drivers and take them off the highways.
- Community Relations Office: includes uniformed troopers and civilian staff around the state dedicated to educating the public and media about the Highway Patrol and highway safety.
- Governor’s Security Detail: works with the State Law Enforcement Division to provide security for the South Carolina Governor and his or her family.
- Emergency Management Unit: monitors emergency traffic issues and coordinates hurricane evacuation efforts.
Vehicles Used
The South Carolina Highway Patrol use many different varieties of marked, semi-marked, and unmarked vehicles, like many other law enforcement agencies in South Carolina and the rest of the United States. Most vehicles are a part of fleets, usually late 90's to as recent as 2010 Ford Crown Victoria or the modified versions of the Crown Vic (as it is commonly called), The Ford Police Interceptor. Also used are 2007 to present Dodge Charger of modified LX and SRT-8 body styles, and starting in 2012, the Ford Taurus and Ford Explorer, Chevrolet Tahoe and a Holden WM Caprice.
