Mich. State Police begin closing all but 29 posts

LANSING (AP) -- The Michigan State Police have begun closing posts as part of a plan to regionalize trooper coverage statewide. State police director Kriste Kibbey Etue said in a news release Monday that the number of posts open to the public statewide will drop from 62 to 29. Nineteen posts will remain open as work sites for officers. Fourteen posts will permanently close, including two shuttered last month. Etue says the plan will make the state police "more mobile and flexible" and increase trooper visibility. It also will help the department save nearly $18 million in the new budget year without laying off any of the department's more than 1,000 troopers. More information on the Regional Policing Plan can be found on the state police website at www.michigan.gov/msp. Published: Wed, Oct 5, 2011