The Pennsylvania State Police (PSP) is the state police agency of the U.S. state of Pennsylvania, responsible for statewide law enforcement. The Pennsylvania State Police is a full-service law enforcement agency which handles both traffic and criminal law enforcement. The Pennsylvania State Police was founded in 1905 by order of Governor Samuel Pennypacker, by signing Senate Bill 278 on May 2, 1905. The bill was signed in response to the Great Anthracite Strike of 1902. Leading up to the Anthracite Strike, private police forces (the coal and iron police) were used by mine and mill owners to stop worker strikes. The inability or refusal of local police or sheriffs' offices to enforce the law, directly influenced the signing of Bill 278. The Anthracite Strike lasted from May 15 to October 23, 1902 and ended with the help of Theodore Roosevelt, the sitting president at the time. Roosevelt was outspoken in his admiration for the Pennsylvania State Police, having this to say, "The Pennsylvania State Police are a spirited force not to be bought, bent, confused, alarmed or exhausted", and "I feel so strongly about them that the mere fact a man is honorably discharged from this force would make me at once, and without hesitation, employ him for any purpose needing courage, prowess, good judgment, loyalty, and entire trustworthiness."
PSP enlisted members are referred to as "Troopers". Up until 1963, married men were not allowed to apply to the state police, and active troopers had to seek permission from their superior officer to get married. As of 2018, the state police has approximately 4,255 state troopers, 5% of them being women, and more than 1,850 civilian support staff.
The current State Police commissioner is Colonel Robert Evanchick. Colonel Evanchick replaced Colonel Tyree Blocker, who retired from service in 2018. Colonel Blocker replaced Marcus Brown, who failed to secure confirmation by the state's legislature. After resigning, former Colonel Brown was named to Governor Wolf's state office of Homeland Security as the new director.
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