ARIZONA HIGHWAY PATROL

The Arizona Highway Patrol

THE Arizona Highway Patrol came into existence in 1931, when the legislature in regular session passed a bill creating the patrol and setting up its maintenance under the Arizona highway department. Appointive power and selection of personnel was vested in the governor of the state.

The law provided for a superintendent, a chief clerk, and fourteen patrolmen, allowing for one patrolman for each county in the state.. In 1933 the law was amended to increase the number of patrolmen on the basis of registration of motor vehicles registered in the state. Under this arrangement, one patrolman was appointed for every 3500 registered vehicles, and with the natural growth of the state a corresponding increase in registrations has followed. The increase in the registrations of motor vehicles now provides for a total of 42 patrolmen on the highways of the state.

Soon after the original law became effective, a group of men were selected to take a training course under a highly qualified instructor, loaned by a neighboring state where a patrol has been funetioning successfully for years. Instruction was given in the Motor Vehicle Code and in first aid and safety work.

Despite the change in administration, necessitating changes in personnel, the patrol has met with great success in this state and is performing a valuable mission to the motorists who use the highways. First aid is stressed in all the courses of study given patrolmen, and in this particular work great benefits have resulted to the citizens of the state and to visitors.

The primary function of the patrol under the original law was to increase the registration of motor vehicles and was designed as a revenue producing agency. Highway inspection stations at points of entry were established. Patrolmen were sent to outlying districts heretofore not patroled and the revenue of the Highway Department and county assessors was increased three-fold. The patrol at the very beginning paid its own way in dollars and cents, and served as a humanitarian agency of great value.

The duties of the patrol since 1933 have been increased each year, with changes in the law being made in relation to the operation of trucks, assisting in the enforcement of the laws concerning the movement of livestock, the licensing of used car dealers, the enforcement of traffic laws and registration, the licensing of chauffeurs and operators and many other duties.

So manifold were the duties of the patrol that it became necessary to relieve it of extraneous activities so as to devote more time and attention to the enforce ment of traffic laws. The collection of revenue and the issuance of chauffeurs and operators licenses have now become a function of the Motor Vehicle Division. During the past year the patrol has been exceptionally effective in combating the death toll on the state high way.

In the matter of first aid to the injured, the Red Cross, with the assist ance of the patrol, has established permanent stations on the main arteries of travel, with a competent person in charge of each station. The patrol has been equipped with five ambulance cars, driven by patrolmen and placed at points throughout the state where there are no commercial ambulances available. These ambulances have more than compensated for themselves, with hundreds of reports being filed showing instances where lives have been saved when injured have been rushed to medical attention. In addition of assisting persons injured in accidents, the patrolmen have been called upon to take people to hospitals in time of emergency and serve in many different ways not in line with the actual duty of the patrol. A patrolman is "always on duty" and serves the citizens in many ways.

The highway patrol renders assistance not only to citizens of the state but to tourists. In the northern part of the state, during periods of extreme weather, patrolmen have rendered assistance to many visitors whose automobiles were stalled in snow or "ditched" because of slippery roads. In the vast Indian country, where water is at a premium, oftentimes motorists have been cheered by the sight of a patrol car, with a courteous patrolman offering succor in whatever way needed.In the files of the Arizona Highway Patrol in Phoenix can be found hundreds of letters from grateful motorists, testifying to innumerable instances where the helping hand of a patrolman has saved a life, where thoughtful acts have saved motorists from inconveniences and trouble.

The Arizona Highway Patrol is an instrument of service on the highways, designed to make the highways safer for travel, to make travel easier and more of a pleasure.Under the supervision of Tom Rumans, the patrol has directed its activities to a large extent to the elimination of drunken driving. Fine results have been forthcoming, and to this single factor has the work of Rumans and the patrol been so effective. Under a program inaugurated by the superintendent, the patrol offices have been open in Phoenix, the largest city in state, 24 hours a day. In cooperation with city police, the patrol has functioned effectively in the recovery of stolen automobiles, investigation of accidents, and has participated, with the sheriff's office and the police department, in the investigation of other crimes.

The cooperation between the Arizona Highway patrol and the other agencies of law enforcement in the state has been genuine and lasting, leading to a greater effectiveness in the prevention and investigation of accidents. The patrol has through the medium of the radio and addresses by patrol officials and patrolmen at schools and civic clubs crusaded in this state in behalf of safety on the highways, and the patrol has also played an important part in the statewide safety program led by the Arizona State Safety Council.