State Patrol commissioned personnel, known as "troopers", have jurisdiction throughout Washington, with the exception of federal property and the territory of Indian nations.

[2] Six years later a Criminal Investigation Division was added and, in 1947, the WSP academy established in former U.S. Navy barracks in Shelton, Washington.

[9] Specialized units of the State Patrol include SWAT, charged with providing tactical support in high-risk situations; the Rapid Deployment Forces, composed of five mobile field forces based in Tacoma, Bellevue, Spokane, Marysville, and Bremerton; the Motors Team, consisting of 42 motorcycle-deployed troopers operating on Interstate 5; the Honor Guard, providing ceremonial support during official funerals and other special events; and the Criminal Investigations Division and the Investigative Assistance Division, charged with investigating serious crimes or assisting local law enforcement in doing so, when requested.

Upon successful completion of arming training, candidates are advanced to a Trooper Basic Cadet Class which consists of 28 weeks of classroom instruction covering water rescue, emergency vehicle operation, collision and crime scene investigation, criminal law, and other topics in police science.

The course concludes with a further eight weeks of field training during which the cadet works alongside a veteran trooper during the course of his or her regular duties.

However, the CJTC utilizes the State Patrol Academy and its EVOC instructors for its nationally acclaimed emergency vehicle operations course.

Commissioned personnel of the Washington State Highway Patrol began wearing uniforms – consisting of grey jackets and riding breeches with brown leather accessories – in 1924, three years after the force was established.

[2] In 1937, four years after the force was reconstituted as the Washington State Patrol, blue uniforms were adopted and neckties were replaced with bowties; the longer form of neckwear had a tendency to flap in the breeze when a trooper was on motorcycle duty.

[18] As of 2017, the Aviation Section managed a fleet of seven fixed wing aircraft which operate under the call sign "Smokey".

However, as of January 1, 2013, all radio systems used by WSP will move to a conventional digital format called P25 and all old analog equipment will be taken out of service.

One judge who presided over a case involving false positives ruled that the lab performing testing in a contaminated area amounted to "gross governmental mismanagement".

Five personnel have fallen to gunfire; Patrolman John H. Gulden was the first to die of gunshot, which he received while attempting to apprehend a pair of robbers in 1942.