The Connecticut State Police (CSP) is a division of the Connecticut Department of Emergency Services and Public Protection responsible for traffic regulation and law enforcement across the state of Connecticut, especially in areas not served by (or served by smaller) local police departments. The CSP currently has 940 troopers as of October 8, 2020 and is headquartered in Middletown, Connecticut. The Connecticut State Police is also responsible for protecting the Governor of Connecticut, Lieutenant Governor of Connecticut, and their families. History Early history The Connecticut State Police was created under House Bill #247 on May 29, 1903. Initially, five men, paid three dollars a day, were hired to enforce state liquor and vice laws, making it one of the oldest State Police forces in the nation. It was originally composed of five troopers primarily responsible for interdicting the production of moonshine. Early troopers traveled the state by railroad until automobile and motorcycle patrols were instituted, and troopers would often spend five to six days working, eating, and sleeping in the barracks constructed around the state. By 1924, seven such barracks had been built. The organization was heavily militaristic, and its internal culture was similar in this regard to other state police agencies in New England. Modern history In 1968 Louise Smith graduated from the State Police Academy becoming the first black woman to join a state police force in the United States. In 1984 a federal judge found that the State Police systematically discriminated against minorities and ordered the State Police to increase the number of minorities in specialist positions as well as increase minority promotion rates. In 1987 the Connecticut State Police were sued by the Connecticut chapter of Men and Women for Justice for discriminating against Black and Hispanic officers and officer candidates as well as other Civil Rights Act violations. The State Police chose to settle the case and made an agreement that the State Police would hire at least 10% Black and Hispanic officers, an accurate reflection of the State’s demographics in the early 1980s. In 2018 the hiring practices of the State Police remained the minimum allowed under their legally binding agreement with 5% of officers being Black and 5% being Hispanic despite Black and Hispanic Americans constituting over 25% of Connecticut's citizens in 2018. In 1997 the Connecticut State Police was at the center of Connecticut Governor John G. Rowland’s Geargate scandal Surplus military