Does anyone here have any experience with State Troopers? 

In general, their duties consist of speed/violent enforcement and traffic stops. Are they happy with this line of work? Is it less stressful than a city police officer? Is it more/less "fun"?

As someone doing an internship with the North Carolina State Highway Patrol I cannot speak with 100% accuracy but I can tell you what I know. It's gonna be different in each state to a certain extent, but i'll speak on North Carolina HP. So basically here our Trooper's focus on 4 things. Speed, DUI, Wrecks, and seatbelts. Then you take Alaska State Troopers which has a lot more things they do. From what i've seen and heard, State Troopers have a lot more freedom and it's generally a lot less stressful then city or county. 

23 minutes ago, Trooper Sutton said:

As someone doing an internship with the North Carolina State Highway Patrol I cannot speak with 100% accuracy but I can tell you what I know. It's gonna be different in each state to a certain extent, but i'll speak on North Carolina HP. So basically here our Trooper's focus on 4 things. Speed, DUI, Wrecks, and seatbelts. Then you take Alaska State Troopers which has a lot more things they do. From what i've seen and heard, State Troopers have a lot more freedom and it's generally a lot less stressful then city or county. 

Aside from being struck by a vehicle, would you say it is safer too? I know they can be shot on a traffic stop still but a lower chance of being in a domestic dispute, riot, or ambush. I assume it would ne nice to work without dealing with domestic disputes constantly and raiding homes for warrants. They get to see a lot of nice scenery too...

20 minutes ago, SpikeTerm said:

Aside from being struck by a vehicle, would you say it is safer too? I know they can be shot on a traffic stop still but a lower chance of being in a domestic dispute, riot, or ambush. I assume it would ne nice to work without dealing with domestic disputes constantly and raiding homes for warrants. They get to see a lot of nice scenery too...

Some states do respond to domestic's North Carolina may respond depending on how far away and how busy our county is. But overall safety, I think it's more dangerous to be a Trooper considering how far backup response time for a Trooper is and if shit hits the fan in the rural areas like mine backup could be at least 20 minutes away.

I've gotten two tickets by Alabama State Troopers within 4 days. One ticket, I was going 23 over and the second I was going 21 over. I was stupid as a freshman in college. 

 

In the first instance, I was going 88mph in a 65mph. He was not very happy. He was hiding and I wasn't paying attention until he pulled up behind me. This was my first ticket. He pulls over me over and the first thing he says "Why the hell were you going so GOD DAMN fast! License and registration, NOW." I was scared. Very intimidating and scary but I can't really say I blame him, I was going recklessly fast. Had I gone 2 more mph, he could have arrested me. 

 

The second ticket, I was actually pulled over alongside another vehicle as we were both going 85+ in a 65. He was much nicer. I guess it depends on the trooper.

 

I manage a local chicken restaurant and we give police officers/troopers/sheriffs free food every time they come back (store policy). I told one of them I was thinking about becoming a trooper. He said "I wanted to become a trooper too. But there isn't camaraderie between troopers. They work alone and the closest back up is god knows how far away. That's scary. I prefer having a partner or someone nearby to help me, especially nowadays."

 

 

46 minutes ago, SeniorPepper said:

I've gotten two tickets by Alabama State Troopers within 4 days. One ticket, I was going 23 over and the second I was going 21 over. I was stupid as a freshman in college. 

 

In the first instance, I was going 88mph in a 65mph. He was not very happy. He was hiding and I wasn't paying attention until he pulled up behind me. This was my first ticket. He pulls over me over and the first thing he says "Why the hell were you going so GOD DAMN fast! License and registration, NOW." I was scared. Very intimidating and scary but I can't really say I blame him, I was going recklessly fast. Had I gone 2 more mph, he could have arrested me. 

 

The second ticket, I was actually pulled over alongside another vehicle as we were both going 85+ in a 65. He was much nicer. I guess it depends on the trooper.

 

I manage a local chicken restaurant and we give police officers/troopers/sheriffs free food every time they come back (store policy). I told one of them I was thinking about becoming a trooper. He said "I wanted to become a trooper too. But there isn't camaraderie between troopers. They work alone and the closest back up is god knows how far away. That's scary. I prefer having a partner or someone nearby to help me, especially nowadays."

 

 

 

3 hours ago, Trooper Sutton said:

Some states do respond to domestic's North Carolina may respond depending on how far away and how busy our county is. But overall safety, I think it's more dangerous to be a Trooper considering how far backup response time for a Trooper is and if shit hits the fan in the rural areas like mine backup could be at least 20 minutes away.

I agree that aspect seems bad, but if you look at the majority of officers killed it happens in seconds regardless of how much backup is there. The top three circumstances are ambushes in the previous year, serving arrest warrants, and being shot in a traffic stop. In most circumstances I don't  believe it would matter, but in a fist fight of course. 

Do city police/sheriffs not respond when a trooper needs assistence if they're way closer? Or can they only call other troopers for backup? If so, doesn't sound like a very efficient system...

4 hours ago, Antia said:

Do city police/sheriffs not respond when a trooper needs assistence if they're way closer? Or can they only call other troopers for backup? If so, doesn't sound like a very efficient system...

Speaking from experience in southern Alabama, the sheriffs are often the first ones to help troopers. The highway is usually well out of the way for a police officer so it would take even longer for them to respond. 

4 hours ago, Antia said:

Do city police/sheriffs not respond when a trooper needs assistence if they're way closer? Or can they only call other troopers for backup? If so, doesn't sound like a very efficient system...

When police complete their initial training, they are certified to enforce laws for the entire state. So technically speaking, an LAPD officer is able to make an arrest in San Francisco, it would just be a huge hassle that would cause bad relations between the departments.

 

Local agencies often do support state troopers, especially in more rural areas, and vice versa. The issue is that those rural areas often don't have the funding for enough law enforcement. Say a county with a large area size and a small budget has 2 sheriff's deputies, a local cop, and a trooper working graveyard. A domestic comes in that ties up the locals. Then a trooper does a traffic stop and encounters problems.

 

While the system isn't the most ideal, cops in that situation have learned to work with it.

 

 

State Police here are full service, not just highway patrol.

 

Call 911 here, a city cop, county deputy or trooper could respond.

So what is the American take on efficiency?

In New York, the State Troopers are the local police for many small villages. Where I live, they have a barracks right around the corner, so if you call 911 here a Trooper would be responding. The only other agency with jurisdiction here is the County Sheriff, and I barely ever see them around; we don't have a town or village police department.

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Edited June 26, 20241 yr by tobeymaguire

In my area in particular, it would be rare to see a state trooper anywhere other than the highway. The local police officers normally stay around the areas prone to crime. The sheriffs are usually the ones you'd see responding to crimes out of the "prone" areas. However, the only time you'd see a sheriff on a highway is if they are responding to a call or are going to a different town. I drive 2 hours a day for classes on a highway and I see a ton of troopers every time. This is south Alabama, to clarify.