The plate had black characters painted over a reflective deep blue background.
The plate measured the same as the earlier issues, but made of embossed aluminum and the year on the right margin had been dropped. In 1950, a multi-year permanent plate was issued. 6 1/8" x 8 7/8".įirst year for aluminum plates for the MSP. It has been speculated and believed that the number reflected the badge number of the trooper assigned to the vehicle for these earlier issues, but this has not yet been confirmed.Īnnual plates were issued from 1936 right on through to 1949. The title STATE over POLICE occupied the top center of the plate over the assignment number with 1936 stacked along the right margin. It was painted black over orange and had the state name stacked along the left margin.
#Maine motorcycle plates license#
The plate was made of embossed steel and measured only 6 1/8" x 8 7/8", which was quite small for contemporary automobile license plates of the day. The earliest such confirmed plate was issued in 1936. Titled Maine State Police license plates for patrol cars may have began in 1935, however no surviving specimen or photograph of one can be found. H were embossed over POLICE over MAINE 19#. The colors matched the civilian motorcycle plates of each year. It is likely that in those earliest of days that only motorcycles were used on patrol.ĭesigns varied, but the known SHP motorcycle plates of that time were made of embossed steel and measured approximately 6 1/8" x 4 1/2". No car plates have yet been discovered or recorded for the Maine State Highway Police. The Maine State Police has had a history of issuing distinctive license plates for their patrol vehicles from their earliest days.Īs early as 1925, the newly-formed Maine State Highway Police had their own distinctive plates for their motorcycle fleet. Today, the MSP has in excess of 300 sworn officers who wear their uniform proudly. A Special Services Unit handles matters involving Canine, Aviation, Underwater Recovery Team and Executive Protection. Troop K is the largest troop and is home to the Inspection Section and Commercial Vehicle Enforcement.
Troop J covers Hancock and Washington counties, and Troop K is the Traffic Division located in Gardiner. The Maine Department of Public Safety was established in 1972 with the MSP falling under its direction. 1970 was the first year 4 door cars were put into service. Blue patrol cars with white roofs were experimented with from 1968 to 1972 when the MSP decided to go back to all blue cars. This was also the year that MSP license plates went from red over white to white over blue. In 1965, MSP patrol car color went from black to medium blue. The following year, roof lights were installed on patrol cars for the first time. This was also the first year that MSP license plates went from annual issues to a standard multi-year red character over silvery white background. In March of 1942, the MSP covered 6 Troop areas: Troop A (Wells) Troop B (West Scarborough) Troop C (Fairfield) Troop D (Thomaston) Troop E (Bangor) Troop F (Houlton) In 1955, Troop G is established to patrol the Maine Turnpike from Kittery to Augusta. MSP patrol cars were black and Highway Safety cars were white. In 1936, the first 47 patrol cars were purchased to replace most of the 46 Harley Davidson motorcycles and 25 sidecars that patrolled Maine highways and by-ways year-round. The number of sworn officers reaches 100 that year.
In 1925, it was determined that there was a need to increase the size and scope of the State Highway Police, and by 1935, the force was then officially called the Maine State Police with Inspectors re- titled as "Troopers". The Maine State Highway Police was founded in July of 1921 with 34 new officers, known as Inspectors, working under the authority of the State Highway Commission.