Colonel Adam G. Reiss
Colonel
Adam G. Reiss devoted 32 years to the service of the Ohio State Highway Patrol,
including three years as its superintendent.
Colonel Reiss was born July 18, 1924, in Cleveland. After his 1942 graduation from Cleveland West Technical High School, he served four years in the U. S. Marine Corps, attaining the rank of staff sergeant before his discharge in 1946.
After graduation from the Academy in 1947 as a member of the 23rd Academy Class, Colonel Reiss spent over 20 years in the field, serving at Salem, Poland, Northfield, Canfield, Hiram, Warren, Delaware, and Cambridge. He transferred to general headquarters in 1968 at the rank of major.
His extensive field experience eminently qualified him for the position of commander of the division's field operations, a position he held prior to assuming the superintendency in 1976.
It was during Colonel Reiss's tenure as superintendent that the Ohio State Highway Patrol hired and trained the first female officer in the history of the division. With the influx of women into the ranks, Colonel Reiss decided the word "Patrolman," which appeared on the Highway Patrol badge, was inappropriate. In 1977 he implemented the first design change in 43 years when the designation "Trooper" was instituted.
Implementation of the division's first federally funded selective traffic enforcement program came about during Col. Reiss's office as superintendent. Called SMASH (Selective Management of Accident Site Highways), the crash reduction program was so successful that many additional selective enforcement programs followed and variations of the original exist yet today. These programs continue to prove that innovative enforcement in high crash frequency areas reduces property damage, injuries, and fatalities.
Among Colonel Reiss's many important achievements was a hazard pay supplement enacted in late 1978 which provided supplemental pay to officers in compensation for hazards faced in the line of duty. He also placed strong emphasis on public information and education. The Junior Trooper program, conducted in 1977 to teach safety concepts to children aged 6 to 12 years, reached thousands of youngsters throughout the state.
Colonel Reiss was an exemplary leader during a time of many changes.