The New Hampshire State Police is a state police agency within the Department of Safety of the U.S. state of New Hampshire. Police employees of the State Police are ex officioconstables and have the primary role of patrolling the state highways, enforcing the laws and regulations of the highway and motor vehicles, providing law enforcement for municipalities with no or part time coverage, and regulations relating to the transportation of hazardous materials. The jurisdiction of the State Police is generally throughout the state of New Hampshire (although see the caveat below with regard to towns of more than 3,000 or any city).
The State Police utilizes an APCO Project-25 Digital Radio System. Some of the State Police dispatch centers provide primary dispatch for some communities in the state.
Jurisdiction
New Hampshire RSA 106-B:15[5] sets out that troopers have primary jurisdiction on all turnpikes, toll roads, limited access highways, interstate highways and towns without full time police coverage.
A State Police trooper has a more restricted jurisdiction in towns of more than 3,000 or any city. Within any such place a trooper may only act when:
enforcing motor vehicle laws or the regulations relative to the transportation of hazardous materials;
witnessing a crime;
is in pursuit of a law violator or suspected violator;
in search of a person wanted for a crime committed outside its limits;
in search of a witness of such crime;
is faced with public safety exigent circumstances;
acting as an agent of the director of motor vehicles enforcing rules pertaining to driver licenses, registrations and the inspection of motor vehicles;
requested to act by an official of another law enforcement agency;
Troop G: Concord (formerly the New Hampshire Highway Patrol)
Statewide
Commercial vehicle/hazmat enforcement
DMV-specific missions relating to inspections, licenses, pupil transportation, registrations, auto dealers, and more
Overlap coverage and provide extra troopers to other Troop Stations as needed
Field Operations Bureau
Marine Patrol
History
The NHSP has absorbed smaller law enforcement groups such as the Gaming Enforcement unit and the State Hospital Security, incorporating the 55 police officers of the Division of Enforcement in 1996. In 2008 the eighty officers of the New Hampshire Highway Patrol of the Division of Motor Vehicles were merged into State Police.[6] This latest merger has swelled the NH State Police to approximately 380 troopers.[7]
On April 8, 2020, Colonel Nathan Noyes was sworn in as director of the New Hampshire State Police, replacing Colonel Christopher Wagner, who retired after three years in the position. Noyes is the son of NHSP Sergeant James Noyes, who was killed in the line of duty on October 3, 1994.[8]
Fallen officers
Since the establishment of the New Hampshire State Police, ten officers have died in the line of duty.[9]
