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Fewer state troopers are patrolling the road
Agency is down 200 officers, can't afford to hire many more, chief of State Police says.
By the numbers
Indiana State Police in 2004:
34,787,409
Miles traveled by State Police
170,613
Hours spent on criminal investigations
1,349
Hours spent on manhunts
867
Hours spent delivering blood or organs
516
Hours spent on parade details
14,797
Number of car crashes investigated
5,484
Arrests made on drug charges
600
Number of troopers patrolling the roads
Source: Indiana State Police
Money is so tight at the Indiana State Police that the superintendent is making his headquarters staff hit the road, patrolling state highways and interstates.
Indiana's top law enforcement agency, which does everything from cruising hundreds of miles of interstates to busting methamphetamine labs, is down 200 troopers from the authorized strength of 1,334. By the end of this year, the number of vacancies could climb to 300.
There may be few, if any, officers to replace them. If they can afford to have a recruiting class this fall, the number of trainees will be cut in half, to about 30. Even if the department can afford to train new officers, it can't afford to give them weapons, uniforms or police cars, according to Superintendent Paul Whitesell.
Whitesell also said the cost of the vacancies hurts public safety.
The agency, like many other branches of state government, is faced with a budget crunch and has been asked to trim even more this year.
Miles traveled by State Police officers are down 14 percent, to less than 34.8 million miles last year from 40.5 million miles in 2001. And hours on traffic patrol are down 18 percent, to 271,324 last year from 332,140 in 2001.
The number of detectives also has fallen, which means if the trooper who responds to a burglary doesn't investigate, it's likely no one will.
To save money on overtime, officers are asked to take time off rather than collect the extra pay -- adding to the short staffing.
Headquarters staff, which includes 284 officers ranging from the staff attorney and lab technicians to detectives and Whitesell himself, also are working the road at least two days a month. The goal, Whitesell said, is not only to save money and put more troopers on the roads but also to remind his headquarters staff what it's like to work in the field.
"We deal with death and injuries," said Whitesell, 54, a former state trooper tapped in December by Gov. Mitch Daniels to lead the department. "You never know how many lives we save because of our presence. And we don't know how many we don't save because we're not there."
According to the State Police's own statistics, the number of deaths in vehicle crashes increased to 940 last year, up from 787 the year before and 781 in 2002 -- the same time the number of troopers was declining.
Making financial matters worse, Daniels has directed all agencies to cut 7 percent of their budgets to help the state's bottom line. The State Police force isn't exempt.
"We're asking the governor to reconsider," Whitesell said. "We can no longer shuffle things around or move people around. We're at crisis level."
Daniels said he'll make sure there's enough money for a new recruiting class. "The one place we will never scrimp is life and death areas like the State Police," Daniels said.
The State Police also have a morale problem, which the superintendent said he confronted by visiting every post, driving a marked police car, responding to officers' e-mails and phone calls, and working alongside them. Troopers, for example, noticed that he worked the raucous night before the Indianapolis 500 -- something superintendents rarely have done.
Usually, no more than three troopers at a time work the roads from the Pendleton post, covering a district that includes three counties, three prisons, Verizon Wireless Music Center and 34 miles of well-traveled I-69.
"We're stretched pretty thin," said 1st Sgt. Tim Kaiser, the post commander.
On a rainy Tuesday last week, Pendleton Post Trooper Dave Poynter, a six-year State Police veteran, spent part of his midday shift driving the 34-mile I-69 stretch, back and forth. Few motorists were speeding, however, so he spent his time checking abandoned vehicles and making sure a stranded motorist was OK.
"I'd rather be working the interstates," Poynter said.
But he's often needed elsewhere. At the end of his Tuesday shift, about 8 p.m., he joined nearly a dozen officers from different agencies to execute a search warrant at a house not far from the post. There, officers found marijuana, drug paraphernalia and guns.
Poynter, like other troopers, also participates in special details such as traffic control at the Indianapolis Air Show.
And still, Pendleton's bench of troopers is deeper than most.
"Some districts are really hurting," said Whitesell, who's having his staff calculate which part of the state needs extra help. In some parts, especially rural areas, the State Police are the chief law enforcers.
Skyrocketing gasoline prices are further taxing the department, which uses 200,000 gallons each month. Whitesell ordered officers last week to cut gas consumption by one-third, which will require more stationary patrols -- staying put on the interstates to watch for traffic violators.
A memo he wrote last Wednesday to commanders warns that the next step is to rescind off-duty use of police vehicles. Whitesell said he will add five motorcycles, which use less gas, to the department's fleet of 20.
To save money, the State Police also have done everything from canceling newspaper subscriptions to salvaging old batteries, alternators and other parts from old squad cars. And Whitesell raised health insurance premiums for troopers by $100 a month.
A more radical but potentially unavoidable cost-cutting move being considered is closing one or more of the 18 State Police posts. On average, it costs $320,000 a year to keep one open, and several are plagued with problems.
The Terre Haute post is small and needs $15,000 in window repairs. Last year, it caught fire because of faulty wiring.
The Connersville post has persistent water leaks from the ceiling and in the basement. The State Police spent $165,000 on repairs, but they are expected to last only three years.
"I'm trying to save them," Whitesell said of the posts.
State Police posts are visible offices of state government that do more than serve as offices for troopers. The Pendleton post, for example, serves as an exchange point for parents in child custody situations.
The dispatchers log dozens of calls a day. Last Tuesday, the day after Hurricane Katrina tore through the South, one woman called the Pendleton post wanting to know road conditions in Mississippi. A stranded motorist couldn't get the lug nuts off his flat tire, so dispatcher Alicia Foster gave him the number for a local wrecker service. When the State Police needed to find the family of a man involved in a car accident, dispatcher Donna Decker placed the calls.
Jason Barclay, special counsel to Daniels, said the state is researching ways to save the posts. One possibility is to combine the law enforcement efforts and offices of the State Police, Department of Natural Resources, the Alcohol and Tobacco Commission and Homeland Security.
"We're looking at why they all need different dispatchers, different spaces," Barclay said. "But they all have the same mission of making the state safer."
Agency is down 200 officers, can't afford to hire many more, chief of State Police says.
By the numbers
Indiana State Police in 2004:
34,787,409
Miles traveled by State Police
170,613
Hours spent on criminal investigations
1,349
Hours spent on manhunts
867
Hours spent delivering blood or organs
516
Hours spent on parade details
14,797
Number of car crashes investigated
5,484
Arrests made on drug charges
600
Number of troopers patrolling the roads
Source: Indiana State Police
Money is so tight at the Indiana State Police that the superintendent is making his headquarters staff hit the road, patrolling state highways and interstates.
Indiana's top law enforcement agency, which does everything from cruising hundreds of miles of interstates to busting methamphetamine labs, is down 200 troopers from the authorized strength of 1,334. By the end of this year, the number of vacancies could climb to 300.
There may be few, if any, officers to replace them. If they can afford to have a recruiting class this fall, the number of trainees will be cut in half, to about 30. Even if the department can afford to train new officers, it can't afford to give them weapons, uniforms or police cars, according to Superintendent Paul Whitesell.
Whitesell also said the cost of the vacancies hurts public safety.
The agency, like many other branches of state government, is faced with a budget crunch and has been asked to trim even more this year.
Miles traveled by State Police officers are down 14 percent, to less than 34.8 million miles last year from 40.5 million miles in 2001. And hours on traffic patrol are down 18 percent, to 271,324 last year from 332,140 in 2001.
The number of detectives also has fallen, which means if the trooper who responds to a burglary doesn't investigate, it's likely no one will.
To save money on overtime, officers are asked to take time off rather than collect the extra pay -- adding to the short staffing.
Headquarters staff, which includes 284 officers ranging from the staff attorney and lab technicians to detectives and Whitesell himself, also are working the road at least two days a month. The goal, Whitesell said, is not only to save money and put more troopers on the roads but also to remind his headquarters staff what it's like to work in the field.
"We deal with death and injuries," said Whitesell, 54, a former state trooper tapped in December by Gov. Mitch Daniels to lead the department. "You never know how many lives we save because of our presence. And we don't know how many we don't save because we're not there."
According to the State Police's own statistics, the number of deaths in vehicle crashes increased to 940 last year, up from 787 the year before and 781 in 2002 -- the same time the number of troopers was declining.
Making financial matters worse, Daniels has directed all agencies to cut 7 percent of their budgets to help the state's bottom line. The State Police force isn't exempt.
"We're asking the governor to reconsider," Whitesell said. "We can no longer shuffle things around or move people around. We're at crisis level."
Daniels said he'll make sure there's enough money for a new recruiting class. "The one place we will never scrimp is life and death areas like the State Police," Daniels said.
The State Police also have a morale problem, which the superintendent said he confronted by visiting every post, driving a marked police car, responding to officers' e-mails and phone calls, and working alongside them. Troopers, for example, noticed that he worked the raucous night before the Indianapolis 500 -- something superintendents rarely have done.
Usually, no more than three troopers at a time work the roads from the Pendleton post, covering a district that includes three counties, three prisons, Verizon Wireless Music Center and 34 miles of well-traveled I-69.
"We're stretched pretty thin," said 1st Sgt. Tim Kaiser, the post commander.
On a rainy Tuesday last week, Pendleton Post Trooper Dave Poynter, a six-year State Police veteran, spent part of his midday shift driving the 34-mile I-69 stretch, back and forth. Few motorists were speeding, however, so he spent his time checking abandoned vehicles and making sure a stranded motorist was OK.
"I'd rather be working the interstates," Poynter said.
But he's often needed elsewhere. At the end of his Tuesday shift, about 8 p.m., he joined nearly a dozen officers from different agencies to execute a search warrant at a house not far from the post. There, officers found marijuana, drug paraphernalia and guns.
Poynter, like other troopers, also participates in special details such as traffic control at the Indianapolis Air Show.
And still, Pendleton's bench of troopers is deeper than most.
"Some districts are really hurting," said Whitesell, who's having his staff calculate which part of the state needs extra help. In some parts, especially rural areas, the State Police are the chief law enforcers.
Skyrocketing gasoline prices are further taxing the department, which uses 200,000 gallons each month. Whitesell ordered officers last week to cut gas consumption by one-third, which will require more stationary patrols -- staying put on the interstates to watch for traffic violators.
A memo he wrote last Wednesday to commanders warns that the next step is to rescind off-duty use of police vehicles. Whitesell said he will add five motorcycles, which use less gas, to the department's fleet of 20.
To save money, the State Police also have done everything from canceling newspaper subscriptions to salvaging old batteries, alternators and other parts from old squad cars. And Whitesell raised health insurance premiums for troopers by $100 a month.
A more radical but potentially unavoidable cost-cutting move being considered is closing one or more of the 18 State Police posts. On average, it costs $320,000 a year to keep one open, and several are plagued with problems.
The Terre Haute post is small and needs $15,000 in window repairs. Last year, it caught fire because of faulty wiring.
The Connersville post has persistent water leaks from the ceiling and in the basement. The State Police spent $165,000 on repairs, but they are expected to last only three years.
"I'm trying to save them," Whitesell said of the posts.
State Police posts are visible offices of state government that do more than serve as offices for troopers. The Pendleton post, for example, serves as an exchange point for parents in child custody situations.
The dispatchers log dozens of calls a day. Last Tuesday, the day after Hurricane Katrina tore through the South, one woman called the Pendleton post wanting to know road conditions in Mississippi. A stranded motorist couldn't get the lug nuts off his flat tire, so dispatcher Alicia Foster gave him the number for a local wrecker service. When the State Police needed to find the family of a man involved in a car accident, dispatcher Donna Decker placed the calls.
Jason Barclay, special counsel to Daniels, said the state is researching ways to save the posts. One possibility is to combine the law enforcement efforts and offices of the State Police, Department of Natural Resources, the Alcohol and Tobacco Commission and Homeland Security.
"We're looking at why they all need different dispatchers, different spaces," Barclay said. "But they all have the same mission of making the state safer."
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