Captain Dennis Smith Nevada Highway Patrol

Captain Dennis Smith
Nevada Highway Patrol

From 1967-1970 Captain Smith served in the United States Navy, with approximately eight months of overseas duty. He has worked as a truck driver, private detective and as a small business owner in Fort Worth, Texas. He was a police officer with the Grand Forks, North Dakota Police Department from 1978 until 1986. During this period he attended college at the University of North Dakota. He earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Police Administration as well as a Juris Doctor. After college Captain Smith worked as a legal intern for the Tucson, Arizona City Prosecutor’s office before joining the Nevada Department of Public Safety, Division of Parole and Probation (NPP) in January of 1991. Captain Smith completed training in Las Vegas, then he was transferred to the NPP Tonopah sub-office. He supervised offenders from Pahrump to Hawthorne during this period. Eventually he was promoted to a first line supervisor (sergeant) position. During 2000 he was promoted to Unit Manager (lieutenant) in the Elko Central Command Office. Shortly thereafter he became the acting District Administrator (Captain). He was subsequently promoted to DPS Captain in NPP’s Central Command. Captain Smith transferred to the Nevada Highway Patrol’s Central Command on July 23, 2007.

Captain Smith holds various police training and POST certificates. He is a firearms instructor as well as capable of instructing other law enforcement classes. Captain Smith has instructed criminal justice courses at Great Basin College as an adjunct professor. He is a life member of the Veterans of Foreign Wars. His hobbies include cowboy action shooting (SASS Life Member), western frontier history, horseback trail riding and off road Jeep Jamborees.

Captain Dennis Smith
Central Command
3920 East Idaho Street
Elko, Nevada 89801
E-mail: dsmith@dps.state.nv.us