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Wisconsin State Patrol (WI)

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Revision as of 21:59, 31 January 2013 by QDP2012 (talk | contribs) (added category:Transportation)

Overview

In 1939, the Wisconsin Motor Vehicle Department (MVD) was created, including an enforcement division which was the beginning of the State Patrol. The MVD later spawned the Department of Transportation, but the State Patrol stayed a bureau of the Division of Motor Vehicles (DMV) until late 20th Century. At that time, the Bureau of State Patrol became it's own division within DOT - the Division of State Patrol, with the Superintendent answering directly to the DOT Secretary and the Governor.

Effective 2005, the Division of State Patrol no longer has 7 districts. The division, along with its parent agency, the Wisconsin Department of Transportation, have been re-organized. The move realigned DOT, DSP and DMV boundaries to match each other by regions instead of districts. As it pertains to the State Patrol, each region now has one or two Posts, addressed by what city it's located in.

The current regions and State Patrol posts are:

Southwest Region

  • DeForest Post
  • Tomah Post

Southeast Region

  • Waukesha Post

Northeast Region

  • Fond du Lac Post

Northcentral Region

  • Wausau Post

Northwest Region

  • Eau Claire Post
  • Spooner Post

A printable .pdf map of the DSP regions/posts can be found here

Operations

The State Patrol handles day-to-day operations under the following:

Bureau of Field Operations

  • Provides traffic law enforcement services and promotes highway safety, accomplished by troopers and police communications operators located in State Patrol Posts statewide

Bureau of Communications

  • Engineers, administers, operates and maintains sophisticated wireless communications and information systems. These systems include a digital microwave backbone, State Patrol and DNR voice communications systems and the Mobile Data Communications Network (MDCN) serving 160 law enforcement agencies across the state. Of historical note, the WSP BOC installed the first statewide public safety microwave network starting about 1953.

Bureau of Transportation Safety

  • Provides a department-wide focus for safety program and safety policy analysis, carries out public outreach on safety issues, administers the statewide chemical testing program, oversees motor carrier safety and weight facilities (SWEFs), and inspects and regulates motor carriers, school buses and ambulances. This is the bureau that motor carrier Inspectors work out of.

Office of the Academy

  • Provides diverse training for State Patrol and DNR recruits, federal and local law enforcement officers, and state employees. The facility, located at Fort McCoy, is used by other agencies for training programs as well.

Wisconsin State Patrol Radio ID's

Personnel that have a radio number below 100 are announced as "Car xx". Almost all car numbers between 1 and 99 are assigned, but not all of those personnel have radios or even fleet vehicles.

Unit numbers x00 or xx00 are Post BOC technicians.

Central HQ

  • Car 1 Superintendent
  • Car 2 Colonel
  • Car 3-12 Other executive staff/management
  • Car 13-99 Other staff (any bureau, any rank)

WSP Academy

  • Car 21-27, Car 23 & 51-66 Technical Reconstruction Unit (TRU)

Southwest Region

  • 1xx DeForest Post Troopers
  • 11xx DeForest Post MCE Inspectors
  • 5xx Tomah Post Troopers
  • 55xx Tomah Post MCE Inspectors

Southeast Region

  • 2xx Waukesha Post Troopers
  • 22xx Waukesha Post MCE Inspectors

Northeast Region

  • 3xx Fond Du Lac Post Troopers
  • 33xx Fond Du Lac Post MCE Inspectors

Northcentral Region

  • 4xx Wausau Post Troopers
  • 44xx Wausau Post Inspectors

Northwest Region

  • 6xx Eau Claire Post Troopers
  • 66xx Eau Claire Post MCE Inspectors
  • 7xx Spooner Post Troopers
  • 77xx Spooner Post MCE Inspectors

Other State Agencies

  • Cxxx DNR Conservation Wardens
  • Rxxx DNR Park Rangers
  • Jxxx DOJ Agents
  • EMxx WEM staff (Region directors, etc)

Wisconsin State Patrol Radio Network

The WSP Bureau of Communications is responsible for the installation and maintenance of equipment for about 100 base stations, about 600 vehicles and the various communications centers statewide. This equipment serves the State Patrol, DNR and various local and federal agencies as needed.

The statewide backbone consists of a digital microwave system that carries voice and data of various types across the state. It is a standalone network that is not dependent on outside service providers (telco, etc) to function. The voice and data networks use analog conventional VHF channels in the 150-160 MHz range. Several studies concerning trunking and P25 have been undertaken, and those technologies will be leveraged beginning next year as part of the WISCOM system.

Next year as the WISCOM system comes online, this section will be modified accordingly. Some/all of WSP operations may be moved to the WISCOM statewide TRS.

Each Post has a primary dispatch channel that is used for day-to-day operations, but recently the State Patrol has started to add tactical frequencies at some sites to allow specific incidents to be handled off the dispatch channel. All regions have several WISPERN and Point bases to cover their area. There are also several MARC repeaters operated by WSP in some areas of the state where there otherwise wouldn't be one.

The State Patrol's Mobile Data Communications Network (MDCN) is an IP-based data system used by the State Patrol, DNR, DOJ and about 160 local/county agencies. Since the MDCN uses the State Patrol's robust digital microwave network to move data around, it is generally unaffected by public network service interruption (wireless, telco etc).

Each State Patrol cruiser assigned to field personnel comes equipped with a 110w P25-compliant Kenwood VHF radio, a VHF vehicular repeater for communications outside the unit, a VHF data radio for MDCN access and a laptop dock for the officer's Panasonic Toughbook computer. Each officer carries a conventional VHF Kenwood portable radio for use outside of the unit or for interoperable communications. Both VHF voice radios are programmed with the latest interoperable channel plan.

Some personnel are issued 800 MHz trunked mobile and/or portable radios for communications on some county trunked radio systems used in parts of the state.



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