History
In 1937, the Oklahoma Highway Patrol was created under Governor E. W. Marland. That same year the first 125 graduated from the Highway Patrol Academy. The new state troopers met resistance from Oklahoma motorists who were not used to living within the bounds of traffic regulations when none had ever before existed. But the troopers were prepared for this as they paved the way for all future officers by exerting good manners and service to all citizens. A total of 288,277 warnings compared with only 5,518 arrests and citations were written in the first nine months of patrol.
With over 800 troopers statewide, the division has grown into several areas of special services including Public Information, Capitol Patrol, Marine Enforcement, Training, Bomb Squad, Motorcycle, Tactical Teams, Special Operations, Aircraft, Audits and Fraudulent Driver License. The department revived "The Flying Squadron", a motorcycle division. A bomb squad was organized who operate state-of-the-art equipment unparalleled in Oklahoma including two bomb trucks and robots. The east and west tactical teams continue to send their troopers through specialized training programs that elevate them to the best in the state. Special Operations, formerly Criminal Interdiction, now has troopers who each have a well-trained drug canine.
OHP automobiles are among the most traditional in their paint scheme. They are black and white, with a distinctive angular patch of white just behind the passenger compartment, The identification 'Oklahoma Highway Patrol' is contained in an outline of the state in black on the side doors. This has been the uniform scheme since the first unit of 1937. For several decades, the angular patch of white on the rear fenders has been a reflective applique for improved visibility at night.
The mission of the Oklahoma Highway Patrol is this: Working to provide a safe, secure environment for the public through courteous, quality and professional services.
Read more about this topic: Oklahoma Highway Patrol
Famous quotes containing the word history:
“All history becomes subjective; in other words there is properly no history, only biography.”
—Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803–1882)
“History ... is, indeed, little more than the register of the crimes, follies, and misfortunes of mankind.
But what experience and history teach is this—that peoples and governments have never learned anything from history, or acted on principles deduced from it.”
—Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel (1770–1831)
“We know only a single science, the science of history. One can look at history from two sides and divide it into the history of nature and the history of men. However, the two sides are not to be divided off; as long as men exist the history of nature and the history of men are mutually conditioned.”
—Karl Marx (1818–1883)