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July 9th, 1931
On July 9th, 1869, Governor Stearns was presented a piece of legislation that would lead to the start of the NHSP, which was entitled "An act to create a state police in certain cases". The driving force of this legislation was the enforcement of the anti-drinking laws created by the State Police. This proposed legislation didn't pass due to not having all necessary male voters. -
January 1931
In January of 1931, the "report of state commission to the legislature" was presented. It offered a comprehensive justification for the necessity of creating the State Police. The commission suggested that criminal investigators became a reality due to the fact that up until that point, most criminal investigators were through private detective agencies. Criminal statistics and other methods of identifying suspects were also recomended as well as well as record of gun purchases and permits. -
1937
During the first year of 1937, the NHSP established headquarters in the Statehouse. During this time, ranks were established through individuals who were members of the New Hampshire motor vehicle department and criminal investigators, then employed by the state attorney generals office. This same year, the troopers reached an authorized 48 men, which created a tradition of law enforcement reaching national acclamation. -
Bill number 254
"An act creating a department of State Police" was created on June 29th, 1937 but was not effective until July 1st, 1937. The NHSP were the fifteenth kind of it's organization in the United States. -
1962
In 1962, the department became a division of the brand new New Hampshire department of safety. Since then, their division has experienced constant growth and expansion. -
2008
In 2008, the 80 officers of the New Hampshire highway patrol were merged into the NHSP, with now 380 troopers. -
2008
On April 8th, 2020, Colonel Nathan Noyes was sworn in as director of the NHSP. Noyes is the son of NHSP Sergeant James Noyes who was killed in line of duty. -
1943
In 1943, Mrs. Lee was appointed captain in the New Hampshire State Police, the first woman in the United States to hold such a position. Around the same time, she began work on the Nutshell Studies of Unexplained Death —a series of eighteen miniature crime-scene dioramas for student analysis.