Mike Hager, secretary of the Department of Public Safety and director of the Arkansas State Police, told the Game and Fish/State Police Subcommittee that the agency has increased sworn troopers and expanded investigative capacity since he took the post in January 2023.

"Public safety is our priority, period," Hager said, explaining why the department focused on increasing numbers and creating dedicated units. He said the agency rose from roughly 480 commissioned troopers to about 578 sworn troopers as recruitment accelerated and new classes were added.

The increase, Hager said, has allowed the department to stand up full‑time units for highway patrol, criminal investigations, SWAT and an interstate criminal patrol team. He described the interstate team’s recent narcotics work as a major result: a single seizure earlier this year removed what Hager said amounted to "approximately 165,000 lethal doses" of cocaine and fentanyl.

Nut graf: The State Police told legislators the personnel gains are intended to restore the agency’s ability to serve as an assisting agency to local departments across much of Arkansas; leaders emphasized rural counties rely heavily on state troopers for patrol and major crime investigations and asked lawmakers to continue support for recruitment and equipment.

Hager and his deputies described how the agency is allocating those new personnel. Lieutenant Colonel Jason Aaron, deputy director for field operations, said increased staffing enabled the department to expand its crimes‑against‑children work and dedicate a human‑trafficking task force. Lieutenant Colonel Mike Kennedy, deputy director for administrative operations, described administrative support including recruiting, training and fleet, which he said were central to maintaining the gains.

Committee members pressed leaders on how the State Police decide when to assume or assist with criminal investigations. Hager said the department acts at the request of the agency of jurisdiction or the prosecuting attorney; Lieutenant Colonel Aaron added the department prefers early requests and that manpower and timing can affect whether it takes primary or assisting roles.

Panelists discussed other enforcement priorities, including internet crimes against children. Lieutenant Colonel Aaron said the agency maintains a statewide Internet Crimes Against Children task force and highlighted equipment and analytical costs: "Electronic devices are part of everybody's life … each piece of evidence has got to be processed, and there is a time delay that it takes. And it's expensive."

Members also asked about cooperation with federal immigration enforcement and the 287(g) program. Hager said prosecutors and sheriffs historically used limited 287(g) authorities through county detention facilities; the federal program’s recent proposed changes led the State Police to discuss signing on as a partner but training and program revisions remain pending. He noted current limits on troopers' ability to determine a person's immigration status using state systems and said formal training would be required before troopers could detain and transfer suspected noncitizens under that program.

A persistent theme in the committee exchange was emergency communications and flood alerts. Hager said coordination among the Arkansas Department of Emergency Management, state police, parks and tourism and the private cell providers will be needed to expand phone‑based alerts and fix gaps in cell service across parts of the state. He said the department has used targeted phone alerts in extreme cases but that legal and technical boxes must be checked before the agency can routinely push localized phone warnings. The chair of the subcommittee said she will schedule a future meeting focused on emergency communications and cell coverage.

Representative Wardlaw and others raised rural staffing concerns. Hager and Aaron said recent recruiting classes and a policy shift to assign new troopers to home regions — and, where applicable, place experienced investigators directly into criminal‑investigations roles in their home counties — are intended to reduce turnover and improve coverage in Southeast and Delta counties.

Ending: Committee members praised the State Police leadership for improved morale and outreach since 2023 and invited the department to return with follow‑up briefings on emergency communications, the 287(g) status and cyber and child‑exploitation workload and resource needs.