Page 19 - MSP Pipes & Drums 20th Anniversary Booklet

Later that year, on September 1, 1921, Public Safety Commissioner Alfred F. Foote issued the oath of
office to forty men on the steps of the State House in Boston. The forty new members of the Uniformed
Branch undertook their primary mission: to patrol and provide professional police services across the
Commonwealth. In 1933, the Department adopted its current uniform, the distinctive French and
Electric Blue colors, based on the design of uniforms worn by French officers during World War I.

On July 1, 1992, responding to the ever changing needs of the Commonwealth, the current Department
of State Police was created within the newly formed Executive Office of Public Safety and Security. The
same legislation merged the Department of Public Safety - Division of State Police, Metropolitan
District Commission Police, Registry of Motor Vehicles - Division of Law Enforcement, and
Massachusetts Capitol Police, into one new cohesive department with a broader scope of
responsibilities.
The Department grew to over 2,300 men and women at full staffing. Today, the Massachusetts State
Police continues to provide the citizens of the Commonwealth with a level of professionalism inspired
by the 150 year history of the Department. The methods of policing and the modes of travel have
changed drastically since 1865, but the character and integrity of those called to serve has persisted since
the first State Police were appointed 150 years ago.

In 1996 the Department celebrated the 75th Anniversary of the Uniform Branch. From 1921 to 1996 the
Massachusetts State Police had been performing uniformed patrol, and to commemorate this, the
Department affixed 75th anniversary seals to patrol vehicles and a 75th Anniversary Gala was held.
On the 150th Anniversary of the Massachusetts State Police, the tradition continues, as the nation’s first
and the world’s finest evolves to deal with the ever changing societal and technological issues of our
time.