California Rangers facts for kids
The California Rangers were California's first statewide law enforcement agency, formed in 1853 to deal particularly with the outlaw gangs troubling the Gold Country during the early 1850s, and was commanded by Captain Harry Love. The California Rangers were also considered to be part of California's early state militia, one of the predecessors to the current California Army National Guard, with its members holding rank within that state military force. The original posse disbanded following their success in bringing the violent Five Joaquins gang to justice.
As California's first state marshals, the California Rangers were the precursor of all later California state police, and state-level criminal investigators, including the Special Agents of the California Department of Justice, which is a state-wide law enforcement/criminal investigative force that exists in similar fashion in other states; such as in Texas with the famous Texas Rangers.
Legacy
As the first state police force, the California State Rangers were the precursors of the later state police organizations.
California State Capitol Police was created in 1887, local to Sacramento. The Capitol Police later became the California State Police, a division under the General Services Administration which was merged with the California Highway Patrol in 1995, which manages traffic on freeways.
