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ILL SEC STATE POLICE

The Illinois Secretary of State Police force is not the same organization as the State Police, or even a part of it. In fact, the Secretary of State Police department is the oldest policing division in the state of Illinois, and it is one of the more unique policing organizations in the United States. The Secretary of State Police Command Center is in Springfield, Illinois, and five district headquarters are spread throughout the state. With only 130 investigators, as the officers are called, the unit’s primary concerns are auto theft investigation and auto industry regulation. The small, low-profile force was the first of its kind to regulate the auto industry in the world and continues to be successful today.

Around the turn of the twentieth century, the invention of the automobile greatly affected American culture. A boom in auto sales resulted in the proliferation of cars across the nation. As the number of cars increased, the number of car-related crimes increased. In 1913, the Department of Police undertook the task of investigating automobile and motorcycle thefts. This group of “Special Representatives” eventually broke from the Department of Police to form its own department under the Secretary of State (History, 2003, 1).

The Secretary of State Police department was officially formed in 1919, in response to the rising number of automobiles in the state. It was difficult to track and recover stolen vehicles, so state officials decided to initiate vehicle registration requirements, including the use of license plates. Illinois was one of the first states to require license plates on automobiles. The Secretary of State Police was in charge of the enforcement of these registration laws. Since then their responsibilities have expanded. Their identity, however, has remained obscure, as investigator Mike Cobb explains, “Most people don’t even know who we are or what we are authorized to do” (Fehringer...

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ILL SEC STATE POLICE. (1969, December 31). In LotsofEssays.com. Retrieved 11:31, March 29, 2024, from https://www.lotsofessays.com/viewpaper/1685709.html