State elected and appointed officers, but also often to visiting dignitaries who might not have their own protective staff and provided training for like units from other agencies, Threat Assessment Investigations, armorers, and clerical personnel as well as routine uniformed patrol officers and vehicles. CSP sworn personnel were regulated and certified by the State's Department of Justice Commission On Peace Officer Standards and Training (POST). CSP officers were expected to, at any time, at any place, perform the same duties of any city, county or other state law enforcement personnel except those relating to custodial duties (jail/prison). As such, they were the State's oldest general law enforcement agency. Beyond the previously described duties, CSP personnel regularly served and executed State tax warrants, notices of seizure and maintained the peace (bailiff duties) in thousands of State Administrative Court hearings, meetings and procedures. The CSP regularly provided support personnel to other law enforcement agencies such as the State's Alcoholic Beverage Control (ABC), the State's Department of Justice Bureau of Narcotic Enforcement (BNE), State DMV investigations, Department of Health Services investigations, local law enforcement and coordinated State, Federal, Local Joint Agency Task Forces. Organization The last Chief of the CSP was long-time Sacramento County Sheriff (1971–1983) Duane Lowe. Lowe served as a Deputy Commissioner of the California Highway Patrol (CHP) during the transitional period of the merger of the two organizations. Lowe retired in 1996, a year after the CSP and CHP merged into one agency. Lowe would pass away ten years later at the age of 90. Rank structure Penal Code Status At the time of the merger into the California Highway Patrol the California State Police received its peace officer authority under the California Penal Code (CPC). California State Police Officers were defined as Peace Officers under CPC section 830.2 and its Security Officers were defined as Peace Officers under CPC section 830.4. A California State Police Officer had to attend and pass a California Peace Officer Standards and Training (POST)-certified Academy consisting of up to 23 weeks of instruction depending on academy location. Equipment In the final years of its existence the CSP fleet consisted of white Dodge Diplomats, then Chevrolet Caprices and finally Ford Crown Victorias with a large green and gold stripe running the length of the car. On the trunk lids in gold with green trim were the words “State Police". On each driver and front passenger