2012Citizenship Award Recipient

The Massachusetts State Police established Troop B in 1921 as one of the two original State Police Troops, to provide police services to the four western counties of the Commonwealth.  The original complement of 22 Troopers was housed in a converted residence and barn in the Leeds section of Northampton.  In 1931, the Northampton Barracks was built and now serves as Troop B Headquarters.  Over the years, additional Barracks, or sub-stations, emerged as the population and the Department increased in number.  Today, Troop B is one of seven field Troops, and consists of Barracks in Lee, Shelburne Falls, Springfield, Cheshire, Russell and Northampton.  It covers an area of approximately 2500 square miles and 86 cities and towns.  The nature of the police work is as diverse as the area itself, from patrolling major interstate highways in the Pioneer Valley to acting as the primary law enforcement agency for dozens of towns in the western hilltowns and Berkshires.

Although formally Troop B refers to the approximately 200 uniformed Troopers who staff the Barracks, any Trooper who lives or works in Western Massachusetts is a “B Trooper.”  The Troop has a wide range of personnel who deploy on a regular basis in the City of Holyoke and throughout Western Massachusetts to partner with local law enforcement agencies.  There is a State Police unit in the Troop ready to respond to virtually any incident or crime, from tactical units such as the Airwing, Special Tactical Operations Team, K-9s, Underwater Recovery and Crisis Negotiators to traffic units such as the Collision Analysis and Reconstruction Team and Commercial Vehicle Enforcement Section to investigators who comprise the Homicide, Narcotics, Gang, Fugitive, Auto Theft, Organized Crime, Crime Scene, Ballistics and Fire Marshals Units.

In addition to the hundreds of sworn personnel, the Troop has a number of civilian support staff dedicated to operations behind the scenes.  They include administrative assistants, dispatchers, laborers, fleet mechanics, and radio technicians. 

Troop B is rich in history and tradition.  Untold numbers of stories have been passed down from the original Troopers who rode on horseback and slept in barns at night along their patrol route, to those in the mid 1900’s who lived in the Barracks and worked a regular tour of fifteen consecutive patrol days with one day off, to those in this generation tasked with policing in the 21^stcentury.  Today, the men and women of Troop B remain committed to duty, honor and integrity that are the core values of the Massachusetts State Police, “the French and Electric Blue.”