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California State Police Challenge Coin.
The California State Police operated from 1887 until 1995 when it merged with the California Highway Patrol after 108 years of service to the people of the State of California. This challenge coin commemorates the existenceof that agency.
During its operation, the State Police wore several different badges and patches. This 2-inch coin depicts the most colorful of them all. The front side contains thebadge worn from the late 1950s until 1973.The back side contains the patch worn from 1973 until 1995. Also, shown on the coin are the State Policemotto (Dedicated to Service), years of operation (1887 – 1995) and the initials of each command within the agency –
NSC – North State Command - Sacramento/Stockton to the northern border
IVC – Fresno and the Inland Valley area of the state
SSC – South State Command – Los Angeles to the southern border
CCC _ Central Coast Command – San Francisco and the central coast areas of the state
DPC – Executive Protection Detail
Although relatively unheard of, the State Police was a multi-function agency with a myriad of duties. Among other things, it served as a sateequivalent of –
The US Secret Service, in that it was responsible for providing for the physical security of the Governor and State Constitutional Officials
The FBI, in that it wasresponsible for investigating crimes committed against State government.
The US Capital Police, in that itwas responsible for protecting the State Capital Complex, which occupied a goodportion of the City of Sacramento
A city police department, in that it was responsible for providing uniform police response and patrol services to those state facilities throughout California that did not maintain their own policeforce for the purpose of self-protection.
A county sheriff’s department, in that they served arrest warrants, performed extraditions, performed civil seizures,and saleed off seized goods on behalf of other state law enforcement andregulatory agencies.
A county Marshal’s office, in that they served as Bailiffs in the State Supreme and Appellate Courts and provided for the physical security of State Justices.
Lastly, if another state lawenforcement agency needed a new chief of police but did not want to promotefrom within, they could contract with the State Police and one of their managers would be assigned to assume those duties.
At its height, the State Police had 450 sworn personnel to fulfill these duties. Given that geographically, California is the third largest state in the union and state government is the secondlargest land owner, this was an insufficient number of officers to fully carryout all of its legislatively mandated duties.At the time of the State Police/Highway Patrol merger, CHP had over 6,000 sworn members, giving it a greaterstaffing level needed to perform these functions.
