In Connecticut, the sheriff agencies do not have police responsibilities outside of the courts and prisoner transport, and the state police have the job of providing or supervising all law enforcement in these rural towns. This means that when a trooper leaves the barracks on patrol, he or she may have responsibility for coverage of two, three, or even four towns. And unlike officers in other agencies, when a Connecticut trooper is assigned to one of these incidents, he or she is expected to handle the full investigation, and does not hand it off to another unit. Even if it's a major crime, like a homicide, the trooper originally assigned stays involved in the case. In most cases, their nearest backup is a long way off, and probably not available anyway.
New troopers have to learn quickly to be self-sufficient.
This is not a job where you write tickets and eat doughnuts. Last changes to this page 29 Jan 2001 .