Colorado State Patrol

• 60 pages
• Confidential
• For Official Use Only
• January 1, 2008

Core Competencies and Structure

The Colorado State Patrol’s fundamental statutory charge is to facilitate the safe and efficient movement of all motor vehicle traffic and to help motorists in need of assistance. The powers and duties of the Patrol are broadly defined in the Patrol Act, which can be found in the Colorado Revised Statutes (24-33.5-201 et seq.). The Patrol has the following responsibilities, all of which are tailored toward a total traffic safety management program:

• Enforce all the laws of the State of Colorado.
• Direct, control and regulate motor vehicle traffic on public roadways.
• Inspect vehicles for safety-related equipment violations.
• Provide community education and administer safety programs to the public.
• Perform criminal interdiction on Colorado highways, focusing on the transport of illegal drugs.
• Assist in state homeland security efforts.
• Regulate road closures for special events, inclement weather, or when necessary, to prevent further injury or damage following an emergency.
• Promulgate and enforce rules and regulations for commercial motor vehicles.
• Operate a statewide law enforcement telecommunications system.
• Provide emergency assistance in the event of major disasters, civil protests or when requested by local law enforcement.

This division is organized into 6 field districts and 19 troop offices. There are five CSP Regional Communication Centers that provide dispatching services for troopers and for other federal, state and local agencies.

In FY 2007-08, the Patrol has been authorized 479.0 FTE1 field troopers in order to enforce motor vehicle laws and all other laws on approximately 8,400 miles of state and federal highways and on more than 57,000 miles of county roads.

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Critical Strategic Challenges

The following strategic issues must be addressed in order for this state law enforcement agency to execute its mission successfully during this planning cycle:

• Recruiting, developing, equipping, training and retaining a high-caliber uniform and civilian workforce that is dedicated to upholding the division’s high standards.
• Overcoming statewide funding, classification and compensation issues related to rewarding high-performing CSP members within a restrictive statewide personnel system while simultaneously holding teams and individuals accountable for meeting agency goals.
• Convincing state officials that the Colorado State Patrol requires increased resources and fiscal flexibility in order to offset the cumulative impact of inadequate funding, which has historically not kept pace with workload increases – specifically traffic volume and population.
• Merging new technologies into the Patrol’s work processes in order to increase efficiencies in a cost-effective manner and improve the quality of public safety services provided to Colorado’s residents and visitors.
• Integrating homeland security and criminal interdiction capabilities into its patrolling activities so that the public is afforded protection from foreign and domestic threats.
• Changing the public’s mindset so that traffic injuries and deaths are no longer considered acceptable.

The Patrol’s charge is to be courteous but firm in handling diverse communities – all too often in emergency settings under a watchful public eye. Internal and external communication skills and protocol need to be continually developed and refined – particularly in a service-orientated business where people make the difference between mediocrity and excellence.

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