Troop 7's legacy continues in Cape Region

Last year, Delaware State Police celebrated a major milestone, marking its 100th anniversary of service to the state.

The growth of DSP is mirrored in the growth of the state, and in particular the Cape Region.

It's an understatement to say that Sussex County has changed a lot since 1923. The first DSP stations were located in Wilmington, New Castle, Dover and Georgetown. A fifth station was added in 1925 in western Sussex County.

At the time, a troop in the Lewes-Rehoboth area was not even considered. The need for a major police presence in eastern Sussex County did not occur until many decades later.

It wasn't until 1957 that DSP began seasonal coverage with the opening of Troop 4A, which was a small brick building along Route 1 on the Forgotten Mile. Seasonal coverage from Memorial Day to Labor Day continued until the fall of 1970, when Troop 7 was established at the Forgotten Mile location. Troopers were then assigned to year-round duty in eastern Sussex.

To handle the increase in complaints during the summer season, staffing and additional troopers from throughout the state were reassigned to Troop 7 and then returned to their permanent duty stations after Labor Day. As many as 30 additional troopers were assigned to Troop 7 during the 1970s.

As growth continued and the demands for more police coverage expanded, the state built a new Troop 7 building in 1983 on the southbound side of Route 1 across from the Wescoats Road intersection near Lewes.

No one could have anticipated the growth spurt the eastern side of the county would experience starting in the late 1990s. It became obvious that the old Troop 7 building was fast becoming obsolete and in need of major renovation.

That 6,000-square-foot, two-story modular building served as Troop 7 until late 2019, when a new, state-of-the-art Troop 7 opened at 19444 Mulberry Knoll Road. The old building was considered vacant at 10 a.m., Dec. 18.

But that was the not the end of the story of the old Troop 7 building. The closing of an emergency winter homeless shelter left a void. Thanks to the efforts of Rep. Pete Schwartzkopf, D-Rehoboth Beach, who as member of DSP served out of the old Troop 7, and former Sen. Ernie Lopez of Lewes, and several passionate advocates, the state allowed the use of the building as a Code Purple shelter in 2020, and then again in 2021 and 2022 prior to the Code Purple shelter opening at St. Jude the Apostle Church about a mile north.

Not only did they have to cut through government red tape quickly to use the building, but also had to deal with the craziness of the COVID-19 pandemic restrictions.

In 1985, the fatal accident investigation and reconstruction team became part of Troop 7. The team, now known as the Collision Reconstruction Unit, investigates all vehicle crashes in the county and provides support to county municipalities when requested.

In 2004, under the command of Capt. Greg Nolt, who grew up in Seaford, DSP resurrected its motorcycle unit. The four motorcycles in the unit allowed for quicker response times along Route 1. The unit is still active, and is ceremonial and symbolic of the DSP mission.

Other Sussex troops include Troop 4 near Georgetown and Troop 5 near Bridgeville.

Funds for more Sussex troopers

Growing pains hit the DSP as complaints from residents started to surface about slow response times. Give Sussex County officials a pat on the back, because they worked out a memorandum of understanding in 1994 with DSP to provide four more troopers to patrol the county to help alleviate that problem.

That partnership has continued for nearly 30 years.

And it's not been cheap. This past year, the county budgeted $4.1 million to cover the costs of 23 additional troopers. Now, more than 190 troopers are working in Sussex County.

Under the most recent contract, for every trooper the county funds, DSP must fund an additional trooper.

That first year, there were 96 troopers assigned to Sussex County with a population of 124,000 people. Today, the population has increased to 250,000, with 193 troopers assigned to the county.

In the “whatever happened to” category is a 2020 study conducted by the Delaware Office of Management and Budget concerning possible uses for the old Troop 7 building. The study, authorized by the General Assembly, includes public input on ideas for the reuse of the building, including a permanent homeless shelter and a service center.

To date, no plans for the building have been released. There is no doubt the building needs major renovation, but the valuable property should be reused to benefit the community, which has been its role since 1983.