State Police of Crawford and Erie Counties

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A commemorative cemetery marker with the emblem of the State Police of Crawford and Erie Counties.

The State Police of Crawford and Erie Counties was a volunteer police force in northwest Pennsylvania, not to be confused with the unaffiliated Pennsylvania State Police. It disbanded in 2005 after the state Legislature revoked its authority.

The group was founded in 1872 as a posse who captured, and later hanged, a man who killed a Philadelphia deputy sheriff sent to arrest him. Because there was no police presence in northwest Pennsylvania, the state Legislature passed a law that year giving the posse full police powers.

At its heyday in the 1940s, the State Police of Crawford and Erie Counties had more than 4,000 members. But its ranks dwindled, and the group's duties were eventually relegated largely to crowd and traffic control at local events. Members could still carry firearms and perform arrests, though many chose to simply detain suspects until the police arrived.

Membership in the State Police of Crawford and Erie Counties was solely decided by a three-fourths vote of its members. No training was required, though it was provided by many of the group's senior members.

In 2005, the Pennsylvania State Police, concerned that people would mistake the volunteer group as the actual state police, convinced the state Legislature to repeal the 1872 law. The group has largely disbanded, though a few members are seeking ways to keep the group active.