How DPS is Part of Your Life – Part 2

1. If you use Minnesota’s roads and highways, you may encounter two DPS divisions. The Office of Traffic Safety (OTS) is one of them. Have you heard the seatbelt-safety motto, “Click it or Ticket”?  Maybe you received a pamphlet on child car seats when you left the hospital with your new baby. Or you may be aware of additional law enforcement patrols searching for impaired drivers on certain weekends and holidays. All those things are attributable to OTS. They educate, they arrange extra enforcement, they do community outreach to discourage distracted driving and impaired driving.  With federal funding, they are working to reduce traffic crashes and deaths in Minnesota. (Crash Facts, Table 1)
   
   
2. The other DPS division that serves you on our roadways is the Minnesota State Patrol (MSP). State Troopers are well-known for a couple of things: Stopping the guy who passed you at the speed of light four miles back, and stopping to help victims at crash scenes. They spend much of their work days in squad cars, stopping drunk drivers, tracking down scofflaws and assisting motorists. They also deliver bad news, deliver testimony…they’ve even delivered babies. These men and women spend a lot of time in dangerous situations — you know what’s going to happen when the trooper pulls you over; he or she does not. Remember to move over when you see a Trooper, or any emergency vehicle, on the side of the road. It’s the law and it’s appreciated.
   
   
3. There are more than 300 agents, analysts, scientists, IT experts, trainers and support staff working at the DPS Bureau of Criminal Apprehension (BCA) in St. Paul, Bemidji and 10 field offices. Yes, they’re everywhere — investigating, analyzing, fingerprinting, compiling criminal histories, arresting criminals and locating missing people. BCA work is rewarding, and sooner or later, it affects most people in Minnesota. A crime prevented is one that doesn’t affect you; the one that’s solved promotes justice.
   
   
4. Alcohol and Gambling Enforcement (AGE) sounds like a bunch of people who don’t want you to have any fun. But what this DPS division really does is assure that nobody’s ruining your fun. They enforce the laws that require the beer on tap to be what the tap-handle says it is; the slot machine pays out with reasonable frequency; the wine, beer and spirits you consume are manufactured under specific conditions; and that casino games are legal — and the “house” doesn’t have an unfair advantage. They enforce Minnesota’s laws in all things alcohol-and-gambling, and in so doing, assure that purveyors of those experiences follow them. That helps assure that your drinking or gambling experience is a safe, fair and legal one.
   
   
5. The Office of Justice Programs (OJP) is unlike other divisions of DPS; they’re not so much concerned with regulation, enforcement or emergencies. OJP works to protect the rights of crime victims and make the criminal justice system more effective. They do research and publish data, provide training and assistance to agencies that fight crime, and award reparations to victims of violent crime. When OJP was created in 2003, it combined five programs from other state agencies into one operation that advocates for children in the justice system, abused individuals, and other victims whose voices sometimes aren’t heard.

DPS Mission is Part of Your Life – Part 1

2. The State Fire Marshal Division (SFMD) is a DPS divison, too. The name may not ring a bell, but their work is all around you. The SFMD helps create and enforce fire codes to keep you fire-safe at home and elsewhere. (Local codes apply, too.) State Fire Marshal employees provide fire safety education, investigate fires, inspect public buildings and businesses, and help stop juvenile fire-setters. The “Fire Prevention Week” message your child brings home from school may have been created at DPS, and the “Change Your Clock, Change Your Battery” campaign — that’s DPS, too.