State police still eyes and ears of roadways

Dec. 9—SOUTHERN INDIANA — It isn't unusual to see an Indiana State Police car among the traffic on roadways in the area, especially the interstate thoroughfares.

If you are in Clark or Floyd county that trooper probably is assigned to ISP Post 45 in Sellersburg, one of 15 throughout the state. Post 45 also includes Scott, Washington and Harrison counties.

The counties Post 45 serves had a combined 2021 population of almost 300,00 with Clark and Floyd making up a little more than 200,000 of that.

A 2019 report from the Indiana Department of Transportation on the numbers of miles traveled annually in counties listed 4,462,000 in vehicles for Clark and 2,777,000 for Floyd. For commercial vehicles, the report listed 522,000 for Clark and 185,000 for Floyd.

"The police business has gotten much busier," said Sgt. Carey Huls, the Public Information Officer for Post 45, noting that it also has changed a lot in the last 20 years.

Huls said Post 45 now has 45 officers when you combine the personnel he calls "road troopers" and the command positions there to work with, train and help those troopers each day. There are also commercial vehicle officers on the roads patrolling.

It's that road trooper position that he says they can always use. Those eyes and ears on the road often are where vehicles are spotted that lead to quick response to major traffic accidents or apprehensions of fugitives, arrests in drug or weapons trafficking or many of the other aspects of keeping a roadway safe.

ISP was created to serve on the roadways.

A history of the Indiana State Police on the state website explains that the dawn of the automobile also brought forth a new kind of crime, one that was committed by using automobiles. On July 15, 1921 the Indiana legislature created the Indiana Motor Vehicle Police to put a law enforcement presence on the roadways. The history goes on to explain:

"As the 1920's progressed, crime began to increase. With prohibition, the gangsters of the period, and the onset of the Great Depression, the need for a statewide "full service" law enforcement agency was ever increasing. Finally by 1927 the first steps toward creating the much needed full service statewide police agency began to occur. In 1927 an act of legislation created a group of three "bureaus."

"One bureau reported and recorded crashes, one conducted criminal investigations, and the third was the Bureau of Criminal Identification and served as a clearinghouse for fingerprint identification which was becoming a widely accepted method of establishing the identity of individuals.

"In 1932 the citizens of Indiana elected Paul V. McNutt, a Democrat, as Governor. Governor McNutt immediately began to overhaul state government. Through the Executive Reorganization Act of 1933, the governor took 167 state agencies and put them into eight new departments. In addition, he consolidated the law enforcement bureaus into one agency with broad law enforcement authority thus forming the Indiana State Police Bureau.

Today's state police still patrol the state, and, while paid by the state, they work with county and municipal law enforcement agencies statewide.

"No one is over anyone else, not over other agencies," Huls explained. "There's no hierarchy or set of rules. We all respond to help. We're always helping each other out."

Huls said ISP takes most of the calls involving Interstate 65 accidents and other dangerous situations on the highway.

He noted that smaller law enforcement agencies often need ISP officers with specialized training in cases that involve significant evidence-gathering and analysis. Counties and larger cities in the area may have their own trained people but ISP still helps out if needed. And, state police are always involved in officer-involved shootings.

Huls acknowledged that like any business, the police officers work shifts. And, he acknowledged that when there are fewer people, there are fewer shifts.

He and other officers take every opportunity to help out with recruiting new officers and helping any young person interested in a career in police work to talk with them.

"We need road troopers," he said putting in a pitch. "We need anyone interested in law enforcement to give us a look."