Posted on 05/09/2011 09:43

Gov. Samuel Pennypacker signed the legislation that created the organization, which became the first such uniformed organization in the United States. As such, it served as a model for those that came after throughout the nation.

There was concern, at first, that the state police would mirror earlier quasi-police forces that were often used as arms of coal and steel operators against their workers. And for that reason, the initial complement of state police was 228 individuals, divided into four troops and located in Greensburg, Wilkes-Barre, Reading and Punxsutawney. John C. Groome was the first superintendent of the organization.

It was a little more than a year later, on Sept. 2, 1906, that the state police suffered its first fatalities in the line of duty, when two officers - Pvt. Francis Zehringer and Pvt. John Henry - were killed in Jefferson County.

Throughout its 106 years, the state police has lost 93 officers in service to the commonwealth. A dozen of those deaths have occurred in the patrol area that encompasses Lebanon, Schuylkill and Berks counties.

From its beginnings, the state police grew through the decade and diversified its service to the people of Pennsylvania. The State Highway Patrol was formed in 1923 to enforce the vehicle laws on Pennsylvania's burgeoning roads. In 1924, the organization conducted its first driver's license examinations.

It was also in 1924 that a state police training facility was established in Hershey. The Cocoa Avenue facility was used until 1960. In 1940, 150 men underwent police training at Fort Indiantown Gap because there wasn't enough room at the Hershey facility. The new State Police Academy opened on March 2, 1960 and remains in use today in the Hershey area. In 1932 came the Photographic Section and Crime Lab Division; the first polygraph was purchased and a Criminal Intelligence Section was also formed.

In 1937 the Highway Patrol merged with the state police.

On Oct. 1, 1963, it became permissable for married men to apply to positions with the organization. On Oct. 1, 1971, the first female applicant was accepted as an academy cadet, and the academy class containing the first women graduated on July 7, 1972.

In December 1982, the Pennsylvania State Police created the Pennsylvania Crime Watch Program, which was designated as the best of its kind in the nation by the National Crime Prevention Council in 1984.

The first DNA laboratory opened in Greensburg on Sept. 22, 1992, and in another technological leap, the state police began using airborne thermal imaging for surveillance and rescue in 1993.

The Pennsylvania State Police has grown and changed with the times, adopting new technology and expanding its role in providing for the public safety of the people of Pennsylvania.

It's good to see that the history of Pennsylvania's state police is enmeshed with that of the Lebanon Valley, from our hosting of the police academy to the use of Fort Indiantown Gap as an annex training facility.

We congratulate and honor the Pennsylvania State Police for its 106 years of service and dedication to the people of this commonwealth. We've been glad to have them around.

We owe a debt to the Pennsylvania State Police Historical, Educational and Memorial Center at psp-hemc.org for information used in this piece. The group is raising funds to build a museum dedicated to the state police, and we happily offer it a plug for its efforts in exchange for the information it provided.