Executive Protection Unit

The Executive Protection Unit (EPU) provides 24-hour-a-day security for the Governor and his immediate family, as well as the Executive Mansion. They further provide protection for the Lt. Governor, Secretary of State, & Attorney General. Special protective details may be assigned to visiting dignitaries, including governors from other states, heads of state from foreign countries, and other dignitaries not covered by the United States Secret Service or the U.S. State Department.

The Executive Protection Unit, formerly known as Executive Security, has had a quiet evolution within the ISP. The EPU began as a specialty unit within the Criminal Investigation Bureau of the 1970’s. The unit was re-assigned to the Superintendent’s Office within the Division of State Troopers in the late 1970’s, where it remained until 1991, when it became an entity of the director’s office.

The unit changed its’ name to Executive Protection in the summer of 1995. In 2020 the EPU became a part of the Division of Patrol. Its’ mission has broadened over the years to provide the highest protective and security functions available, utilizing education, training, and through cooperative nationwide links to other law enforcement agencies.