| Texas Highway Patrol | |
|---|---|
 Texas Highway Patrol Crest | |
 Texas Highway Patrol Door Seal | |
 Texas Highway Patrol Badge | |
 Texas Highway Patrol Patch | |
| Abbreviation | THP/TxDPS |
| Motto | Courtesy, Service, Protection |
| Agency overview | |
| Formed | 1929 |
| Preceding agency |
|
| Jurisdictional structure | |
| Operations jurisdiction | Texas, U.S. |
| Size | 261,797 square miles (678,050 km2) |
| Population | 29,360,759 (2020) |
| Legal jurisdiction | State of Texas |
| General nature | |
| Operational structure | |
| Headquarters | Austin, Texas |
| Troopers | 2,802 (authorised, as of 2023)[1] |
| Agency executive |
|
| Parent agency | Texas Department of Public Safety |
| Regions | 7 |
| Districts | 19 |
| Website | |
| [1] | |
The Texas Highway Patrol is a division of the Texas Department of Public Safety and is the largest state-level law enforcement agency in the U.S. state of Texas. The patrol's primary duties are enforcement of state traffic laws and commercial vehicle regulation, but it is a fully empowered police agency with authority to enforce criminal law anywhere in the state. Highway patrol troopers are also responsible for patrolling the state Capitol Complex in Austin and providing security to the governor. The current Chief is Lieutenant Colonel Dwight Mathis.[2]
The highway patrol was founded in 1929 as the Highway Motor Patrol, the first statewide law enforcement agency in Texas since the establishment of the Texas Rangers in 1823, and the first such force to be uniformed and regularly trained. Since 1935, the agency has operated under its current name. Since its inception with just 60 officers, then known as "inspectors", the Texas Highway Patrol has grown to meet the increasing volume of vehicular traffic on Texas roads, modern security threats, and the requirements of twenty-first century policing, currently employing over 2,800 sworn troopers.
The Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS), and by extension the Highway Patrol, is Texas's de facto state police.
- ^ "Highway Patrol Service | Department of Public Safety".
- ^ "Organization chart" (PDF). www.dps.texas.gov. Retrieved 2020-01-02.