California Highway Patrol
Overview
Law enforcement agency
In North American English, a law enforcement agency is a government agency responsible for the enforcement of the laws.Outside North America, such organizations are called police services. In North America, some of these services are called police while others have other names In North American...
of the U.S. state
U.S. state
A U.S. state is any one of the 50 federated states of the United States of America that share sovereignty with the federal government. Because of this shared sovereignty, an American is a citizen both of the federal entity and of his or her state of domicile. Four states use the official title of...
of California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
. The CHP has patrol
Patrol
A patrol is commonly a group of personnel, such as police officers or soldiers, that are assigned to monitor a specific geographic area.- Military :...
jurisdiction
Jurisdiction
Jurisdiction is the practical authority granted to a formally constituted legal body or to a political leader to deal with and make pronouncements on legal matters and, by implication, to administer justice within a defined area of responsibility...
over all California highways
State highways in California
Each state highway in the U.S. State of California is maintained by the California Department of Transportation and is assigned a Route number in the Streets and Highways Code . Most of these are numbered in a statewide system, and are known as State Route X...
and also acts as the state police
State police (United States)
In the United States, state police are a police body unique to each U.S. state, having statewide authority to conduct law enforcement activities and criminal investigations...
.
The California State Legislature
California State Legislature
The California State Legislature is the state legislature of the U.S. state of California. It is a bicameral body consisting of the lower house, the California State Assembly, with 80 members, and the upper house, the California State Senate, with 40 members...
created the California Highway Patrol as a section of the Division of Motor Vehicles
California Department of Motor Vehicles
The California Department of Motor Vehicles is the state agency responsible for the registration of motor vehicles and boats and the issuance of driver's licenses in the U.S. state of California. It is responsible for regulating new car dealers , commercial cargo carriers, private driving...
in the Department of Public Works, with legislation signed by Governor C. C. Young
C. C. Young
Clement Calhoun Young was an American teacher and politician who was affiliated with the original Progressive Party and later the Republican Party. He was elected to five consecutive terms in the California State Assembly, serving from 1909 to 1919, then as the 28th lieutenant governor of...
on August 14, 1929. Governor Earl Warren
Earl Warren
Earl Warren was the 14th Chief Justice of the United States.He is known for the sweeping decisions of the Warren Court, which ended school segregation and transformed many areas of American law, especially regarding the rights of the accused, ending public-school-sponsored prayer, and requiring...
made it a separate Department in 1947. The CHP gradually assumed greater responsibility beyond the enforcement of the State Vehicle Act and eventually merged with the California State Police
California State Police
The California State Police was a security police agency founded in 1887 which served to protect the State Capitol Building, the Governor and other state agencies located throughout the state. They provided police services to all state agencies that did not have their own police force...
in 1995.
In addition to its highway patrol duties, the CHP provides many other services including protecting state buildings and facilities (most notably the California State Capitol
California State Capitol
The California State Capitol is home to the government of California. The building houses the bicameral state legislature and the office of the governor....
), and bodyguard
Bodyguard
A bodyguard is a type of security operative or government agent who protects a person—usually a famous, wealthy, or politically important figure—from assault, kidnapping, assassination, stalking, loss of confidential information, terrorist attack or other threats.Most important public figures such...
ing state officials.
