California State Police

California State Police
California State Police patch
California State Police patch
AbbreviationCSP
MottoDedicated to Service
Agency overview
FormedMarch 15, 1887; 137 years ago (March 15, 1887)
DissolvedJuly 12, 1995; 29 years ago (July 12, 1995)
Superseding agencyCalifornia Highway Patrol
Employees271 remained by 1995 (Prior to the CSP-CHP merger hundreds of CSP officers left the department to work for other Law Enforcement Agencies)
Jurisdictional structure
Operations jurisdictionCalifornia, United States
Map of California State Police's jurisdiction
Legal jurisdictionCalifornia State Capitol
Governing bodyCalifornia State Legislature
General nature
Operational structure
HeadquartersSacramento, California

The California State Police (CSP) was the state-level security police agency from 1887 to 1995 for the U.S. state of California. It merged with the California Highway Patrol in 1995.

Founded on March 15, 1887, the police agency primarily served to protect the State Capitol Building, the governor and other state officials, and other state agencies that did not have their own police force. The CSP also provided services to many different California state agencies, including performing tax seizures for the California Franchise Tax Board and Board of Equalization, as well as patrolling the California Aqueduct. They provided investigative services to elected officials through their Threat Assessment Detail and criminal investigations of crimes committed against the state through the Bureau of Investigative Services. Detectives and line officers routinely conducted investigations with other state agencies and allied law enforcement departments. The California State Police merged with the California Highway Patrol in 1995.[1]