February 16, 2012 |
2012-R-0112 | |
HISTORY OF STATE POLICE STAFFING STATUTE | ||
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By: Veronica Rose, Chief Analyst | ||
You asked how the law on state police staffing levels has changed over time.
A 1903 act created the Connecticut State Police Department under a board of commissioners. It required the board to appoint five state police officers and allowed it to appoint an additional five if needed (1903 Ch. 141).
Since 1903, the staffing level provision has been amended 20 times to increase the number of officers on the force; add female officers; and modify the appointing authority's charge, by mandating appointments in some cases and making it discretionary in others.
The law has always specified the staffing level for the force, except for 1973-1998, when it authorized the appointment of an “adequate number” to “efficiently maintain the operation of the division in keeping with budgetary allowances” (CGS § 29-4). During the periods when the law set staffing levels, it did so in one of four ways, by specifying:
1. both the maximum and minimum of officers (1903 to 1920),
2. only the maximum number (1921 to 1928),
3. a set number (1929 to 1972), and
4. only the minimum number (1998 to the present).
On January 11, 2012, a Superior Court judge ruled that the 1998 law requiring the public safety commissioner (now Department of Emergency Services and Public Protection commissioner) to appoint and maintain a minimum of 1,248 state police officers is mandatory ((State Police Union v. DESPP Commissioner, Doc. No. HHD CV 116024776, (2012)). The defendants in the case had argued that the statute is not mandatory, and the commissioner was not required to maintain 1,248 state police officers (see OLR Report 2012-R-0071).
Until 1940, the law provided for the appointment of male officers only. A 1941 law added two females to the force, and a 1945 law raised the number to 12. It remained at 12 for 31 years, while the number of male officers increased from 290 to 810. In 1973, the statute eliminated gender-based appointments, thereby allowing the commissioner to appoint officers regardless of gender.
Attachment 1 shows the changes affecting staffing levels since the statute was enacted.
Attachment 1: Changes in State Police Staffing Statute
Year/Legislation |
Number of Officers Appointing Authority Shall or May Appoint |
Gender of Officers |
1903 (1903 Ch. 141) |
Shall appoint five; may appoint additional five as “necessity may require” |
Male |
1913 (1913 Ch. 121) |
Shall appoint five; may appoint additional 10 “as necessity may require” |
Male |
1921 (1921 Ch. 273) |
Shall appoint up to 50 |
Male |
1923 (1923 Ch. 202) |
Shall appoint up to 80 |
Male |
1927 (1927 Ch. 292) |
Shall appoint up to 100 |
Male |
1929 (1929 Ch. 214) |
Shall appoint 125 |
Male |
1935 (1935 Ch. 298) |
Shall appoint 175 |
Male |
1937 (1937 Ch. 389)* |
Shall appoint 200 |
Male |
1937 (1937 Ch. 453)* |
Shall appoint 225 |
Male |
1941 (1941 Ch. 74) |
Shall appoint 277 |
275 males; two females |
1945 (PA 154) |
Shall appoint 302 |
290 males; 12 females |
1947 (PA 67) |
Shall appoint 312 |
300 males; 12 females |
1953 (PA 427) |
May appoint 362 |
350 males; 12 females |
1957 (PA 431) |
May appoint 462 |
450 males; 12 females |
1963 (PA 633) |
May appoint 512 |
500 males; 12 females |
1965 (PA 290) |
May appoint 602 |
590 males; 12 females |
1967 (PA 127) |
May appoint 677 |
665 males; 12 females |
1969 (PA 587) |
May appoint 777 |
765 males; 12 females |
1972 (SA 53) |
May appoint 822 |
810 males; 12 females |
1973 (PA 73-374) |
May appoint “an adequate number. . . to efficiently maintain the operation of the department in keeping with budgetary allowances” |
None specified |
1998 (PA 98-151) |
Shall appoint and maintain a minimum of 1,248 |
None specified |
Source: Compiled by OLR from a review of Public Acts
* Two separate acts were passed in 1937
VR:km