Capitol police in the United States are agencies charged with the provision of

security police Security police usually describes a law enforcement agency which focuses primarily on providing security and law enforcement services to particular areas or specific properties. They may be employed by governmental, public, or private institutio ...

services for various

state State most commonly refers to: * State (polity), a centralized political organization that regulates law and society within a territory **Sovereign state, a sovereign polity in international law, commonly referred to as a country **Nation state, a ...

agencies, but especially state legislatures. Capitol police may function as part of the

state police State police, provincial police or regional police are a type of sub-national territorial police force found in nations organized as federations, typically in North America, South Asia, and Oceania. These forces typically have jurisdiction o ...

or may be an independent agency. There is also a federal capitol police agency.

Security police Security police usually describes a law enforcement agency which focuses primarily on providing security and law enforcement services to particular areas or specific properties. They may be employed by governmental, public, or private institutio ...

for government facilities are a very old idea, dating back at least to the guards posted at Solomon's temple and including such units as the

Praetorian Guard The Praetorian Guard (Latin language, Latin: ''cohortes praetoriae'') was the imperial guard of the Imperial Roman army that served various roles for the Roman emperor including being a bodyguard unit, counterintelligence, crowd control and ga ...

and the

Coldstream Guards The Coldstream Guards is the oldest continuously serving regular regiment in the British Army. As part of the Household Division, one of its principal roles is the protection of the Monarchy of the United Kingdom, monarchy; due to this, it often ...

United States Capitol Police

The

United States Capitol Police The United States Capitol Police (USCP) is a federal law enforcement agency in the United States with nationwide jurisdiction charged with protecting the United States Congress within the District of Columbia and throughout the United States an ...

is the agency charged with the protection of the

United States Capitol The United States Capitol, often called the Capitol or the Capitol Building, is the Seat of government, seat of the United States Congress, the United States Congress, legislative branch of the Federal government of the United States, federal g ...

and some surrounding buildings, including the

Library of Congress The Library of Congress (LOC) is a research library in Washington, D.C., serving as the library and research service for the United States Congress and the ''de facto'' national library of the United States. It also administers Copyright law o ...

State capitol police agencies

Current

* Arkansas State Capitol Police * Connecticut State Capitol Police * Delaware Capitol Police * Florida Capitol Police * Georgia Capitol Police * Illinois Capitol Police * Indiana Capitol Police * Kansas Capitol Police * Maine Capitol Police * Maryland Capitol Police * Missouri Capitol Police * Mississippi Capitol Police * Nevada: ** Nevada Capitol Police ** The Capitol Police Division Nevada Capitol Police Division) * North Carolina: ** North Carolina State Capitol Police ** North Carolina General Assembly Police * Pennsylvania Capitol Police
Rhode Island Capitol Police
* Vermont Capitol Police * Virginia Capitol Police * West Virginia Capitol Police * Wisconsin State Capitol Police

Former

* Arizona State Capitol Police (defunct as of 2011; merged with the

Arizona Department of Public Safety Arizona is a state in the Southwestern region of the United States, sharing the Four Corners region of the western United States with Colorado, New Mexico, and Utah. It also borders Nevada to the northwest and California to the west, and ...

as Capitol Police Division) * California State Police (merged with the

California Highway Patrol The California Highway Patrol (CHP) is the principal state police agency for the U.S. state of California. The CHP has primary jurisdiction, including patrol and Criminal investigation, investigations, over all California Controlled-access highw ...

) * The Iowa Capitol Police (defunct as of 2000; merged with the Iowa Capitol Police/District 16) * Massachusetts Capitol Police (merged with

Massachusetts State Police The Massachusetts State Police (MSP) is an agency of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts' Executive Office of Public Safety and Security, responsible for law enforcement and vehicle regulation across the state. As of 2024, it has 2,500 sworn troop ...

in 1992) * Nevada Capitol Police Patch only (merged with Nevada State Police in 2021) * Texas Capitol Police (merged with Texas Department of Public Safety)

References

{{Types of law enforcement agencies * Law enforcement in the United States Legislatures State capitols in the United States

United States Capitol Police

State capitol police agencies

Current

Former

See also

In other countries

References