| West Virginia lawmakers have been told to commence a major revamping of the West
Virginia State Police.
A study says the Legislature should immediately close 32 of 62 detachments.
The rest should be closed later and operations should come out of the state's seven regional commands.
The sweeping overhauls have reportedly come after internal review committees have heard
several years of complaints linked to management and operational problems within the
State Police.
Ed Conners of the Institute for Law and Justice in Alexandria, Va., told lawmakers that West Virginia has far too many State Police detachments, most underused and most in disrepair.
Conners said the detachments are a throwback to when there were no interstate highways, and when troopers often used the detachments for living quarters.
The study was ordered by the the Joint Committee on Government and Finance who hired the institute last January to conduct a comprehensive review of the State Police.
The recommendation to pare down the detachments was one of about 60 in a 108-page draft report.
The report says the state could save five million dollars by basing the State Police out of its seven
regional troop commands.
According to the study, the state also needs more troopers, recommending a force of 704
from the current level of about 650.
Other recommendations include a wireless telecommunications system for troopers,
re-instituting midnight patrols and integrating the State Police dispatch system with
county 9-1-1 operations.
With fewer troopers and the unionizing of the organization, shift coverage is scattered.
The study also recommends the State Police follow a trend by law enforcement nationwide
and rely on computers to analyze crime data.
The report noted that the Kentucky State Police has 16 detachments and the Maryland State Police has 24. Kentucky has more than twice as many residents as West Virginia, and Maryland has nearly three times as many residents.
"We really see no justification for all these detachments," said Conners.
He said most of the detachments are underused, with four or fewer troopers assigned to 28 of the 62. He said most troopers use the detachment only to write reports, something they will soon be able to do from their patrol cars.
He said each detachment's utilities, maintenance and repairs cost between $225,000 and $300,000 a year, and each is staffed by a full-time office assistant, amounting to personnel costs of more than $1.5 million a year.
"You're spending millions, and millions and millions of dollars on it, and you don't even need it," said Conners.
Some committee members questioned whether detachments should be closed, given the rough terrain and inaccessibly of some parts of the state.
Earlier recommendations to have a civilian review board to have oversight of the organization was apparently not included in the study, nor where any other changes in the what areas of law enforcement the State Police should focus.
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