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The New Jersey State Police is the state police force for the state of New Jersey. It is a general-powers police agency with state wide jurisdiction.

New Jersey State Police
Headquarters	West Trenton, NJ
Membership	3,040 sworn members and 1,200 professional staff
Current Superintendent	Colonel Joseph R. Fuentes
Founded	March 29,1921
Road Stations	Troops and Road Stations

Contents 1 History 2 Core functions 3 Motto and General Orders 3.1 Motto and Badge 3.2 General Order #1 4 Academy 5 Rank structure 6 Uniform 7 Current Organization 8 In popular culture 9 See also 10 References 11 External links

As with the New York State Police, the primary reason for the creation of the New Jersey State Police was for the protection of rural areas that had never had law enforcement, beyond a local sheriff, who was often not able to provide suitable police services. Legislation for its creation was first introduced in 1914, but it would not be until March 29, 1921, with the passing of the State Police Bill, that a statewide police force was created.Senator Clarence I. Case was the driving force behind the 1921 legislation; however, the person with the most impact on the organization was its first Superintendent Herbert Norman Schwarzkopf. Schwarzkopf was a graduate of West Point and this training and his time in the military heavily influenced how he organized and trained his first group of troopers. The first State Police class reported for training on September 1, 1921 and consisted of 116 men out of an applicant group of 1,600. Training took place in Sea Girt, New Jersey on the same grounds as the current New Jersey State Police Academy. Out of the 116 men who started training only 81 officers and troopers completed the three-month training program. According to the New Jersey State Police Website, "On December 1, 1921, the new troopers were administered the oath of office and on December 5, 1921, in a blinding snowstorm, started out on horseback and motorcycle to their posts throughout the state."

The New Jersey State Police is responsible for general police services, general highway and traffic enforcement, statewide investigation and intelligence services, emergency management, support for state and local law enforcement efforts, maintenance of criminal records and identification systems and regulation of certain commerce such as firearms ownership.

"Honor, Duty, Fidelity", the motto of the New Jersey State Police was adapted from the West Point motto "Duty, Honor, Country". The triangular State Police logo and hat badge represents this motto. The badge has stars in each of its three corners and was created by New York jeweler Julius George Schwarzkopf, the father of founder Herbert Norman Schwarzkopf. The NJSP logo includes the year 1921, date of founding, in place of a badge number.

The General Orders are the guiding principles of the State Police and provide historical bases for its rules and regulations. A full list of the orders can be found here General Order #1.

Training for new troopers takes place at the State Police Academy located in Sea Girt, New Jersey. The recruits live at the academy during the week and are totally responsible for the upkeep of the barracks and academy grounds. The curriculum consists of ten units of study that increase in difficulty and complexity over the 25 weeks of training. Some areas of study include:

• Physical Training: Four two-hour sessions per week. Running is a large component of the physical conditioning and reaches a maximum of five miles at an 8-minute pace. Muscular conditioning is also stressed and recruits must pass all physical tests.
• Self-Defense: Consists of approximately 20 hours of active counter measures, 28 hours of defensive tactics, and 18 hours of PR-24 instruction.
• Firearms: Recruits must show proper usage and care of all firearms issued by the state police, including the SIG P228 handgun and Benelli M3 shotgun. 60 hours of training.
• Water Safety: Consists of 40 hours of water safety and life saving instruction.
• Driving: Driving consists of approximately 21 hours of instruction and each recruit is required to show proficiency in the operation of marked troop transportation.

• Trooper / Detective
• Trooper II / Detective II
• Trooper I / Detective I
• Sergeant / Det. Sgt.
• Staff Sergeant
• Sergeant First Class / Det. SFC
• Lieutenant
• Captain
• Major
• Lieutenant Colonel
• Colonel

In addition to its distinctive triangular badge, Troopers wear a distinctive uniform for regular patrol duties, which is normally reserved for "Class A" functions in nearby state police forces (Delaware, New York, and Pennsylvania). The winter uniform consists of a light blue Army-style coat, known as a blouse, with brass buttons, and gold triangular patches, with "N.J." on the left lapel and "S.P" on the right. The blouse is worn over a dress shirt and navy necktie (light blue shirt for sergeants and below, white for lieutenants and above), with navy blue trousers bearing a gold stripe on each side. In the summer time, the coat is replaced with a long-sleeve blue shirt, a necktie is still worn. For safety reasons, only clip-on ties are worn. A saucer-shaped cap (as opposed to a "Smokey Bear" hat worn in Delaware and Pennsylvania and a "Cavalry" hat in New York) is worn, with two straps--one going over the crown giving the uniform a distinctive, almost German Army-like appearance (New Jersey Transit Police, virtually all municipal police forces, and several county sheriff's offices have a variation on the cap). Unlike most other police agencies, the Troopers' badge is only worn on the hat. For this reason, it is extremely unusual to ever see a Trooper without his cover on. Enlisted troopers wear the rank on the sleeves while officers wear their rank on shoulder epaulets. Both winter and summer uniforms are worn with the full Sam Browne Belt, which was adopted by Col. Schwarzkopf, as the belt gave the wearer a proper "brace" (known by General of the Armies John Pershing as the "West Point Brace;" appropriate at the time since both Pershing and Schwarzkopf were both graduates). It can also be used to stop violent bleeding, which can save lives.

• Office of the Superintendent is currently held by Col. Rick Fuentes.
• Administration Branch, which consists of the Administration Section, Information Technology Section, and the Division Human Resources Section
• Homeland Security Branch, which consists of the Emergency Management Section and the Special Operations Section.
• The Investigations Branch which consists of the Intelligence Section and the Investigations Section
• The Field Operations Branch, which consists of Field Operations Section. The Field Operations Sections is further divided into five troops. Road Stations and Troops
  • Troop A: Southern New Jersey (including the Atlantic City Expressway)
  • Troop B: Northern New Jersey
  • Troop C: Central New Jersey
  • Troop D: New Jersey Turnpike
  • Troop E: Garden State Parkway

Bruce Springsteen's album Nebraska (1982) contains the dark song "State Trooper", in which a traveller on the New Jersey Turnpike, a desperate man who has committed unknown crimes, hopes that he won't be pulled over by a State Trooper. This song was used in The Sopranos.

New Jersey Turnpike ridin' on a wet night 'neath the refinery's glow, out where the great black rivers flow

License, registration, I ain't got none but I got a clear conscince 'Bout the things I done

Mister state trooper, please don't stop me

Please don't stop me, please don't stop me

• List of law enforcement agencies in New Jersey

The 20s History Begins. New Jersey State Police. Retrieved on December 21, 2006.

Core Functions. New Jersey State Police. Retrieved on December 21, 2006.

General Order #1 General Orders. New Jersey State Police. Retrieved on December 21, 2006.

History of the Badge. New Jersey State Police. Retrieved on December 21, 2006.

Academy. New Jersey State Police. Retrieved on December 21, 2006.

• New Jersey State Police website
• Road Stations and Troops
• New Jersey State Police Cars and other vehicles

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