Governor has Ordered Review of NC Highway Patrol

Ordered review will be of the hiring and screening process as well as the supervisory procedures.

September 26, 2007

WAKE COUNTY NC NEWS -- Crime Control and Public Safety secretary, Bryan Beatty and Colonel Fletcher Clay of the N.C. Highway Patrol have been directed by the Governor to conduct a review of the hiring and screening process as well as the supervisory procedures of the Highway Patrol. The action follows a series of incidents in which Troopers were fired for violating Patrol policy. Secretary Beatty, is the head of the Highway Patrol's parent department while Colonel Clay is the commander of the Highway Patrol. Clay, is a 28-year veteran of the force, and took command in 2004.

Governor Easley ordered a review of the Patrol's hiring process to ensure that standards are high enough to screen out the types of behavior that have occurred. He further asked for a review of administrative training and procedures to ensure supervisors are properly managing troopers at the district level.

As a result of recent incidents involving the Highway Patrol, Colonel Clay has taken several internal steps including ordering increased ethics training for all members during the next series of in-service classes and directing his command staff including Troop Commanders to reinforce proper behavior and decision making to all members in their districts. All Highway Patrol members receive ethics and legal training at the Highway Patrol Training Academy and undergo in-service instruction each year to get updates in laws, new Patrol procedures and other training as required. Supervisors attend an 11-week managerial training session as a condition of promotion to sergeant and the Patrol partners with N.C. State University to conduct an Administrative Officers Management Program that is open to any law enforcement officer in the nation.

Governor Easley said, "I am proud of the Patrol and while nearly all are outstanding public servants, there are a few who are not. Colonel Clay is right to fire troopers who violate the law and Patrol policy, but we need to find out how these people get hired in the first place."

Applicant State troopers are required to undergo a criminal record check, background investigation, drug screening, and written and physical tests. In addition, applicant troopers must pass a polygraph exam, a psychological test and appear before an applicant review panel. Applicants are required to have at a minimum high school diploma or GED and be a citizen of the United States. They must complete a six-month Basic Patrol School followed by a 12-week Field Training and Evaluation Program at their duty stations. New North Carolina Highway Patrol troopers then undergo an 11-month evaluation by their immediate supervisor.