The Missouri State Highway Patrol is more than a Highway Patrol; MSHP functions more like a full service state police agency...I stand corrected on the functions of Missouri’s “Highway Patrol”. Why don’t they call them “State Police” then?
To each state, its own terms. I prefer that the state police be called a Highway Patrol, instead of a bureaucratic “department of public safety,” for example. My preference leans toward remaining with the old terms that respected the principle of enumeration of powers: That you only act as authorized.