The Florida Highway Patrol has posted its history on the internet. It's full of interesting information, such as its activities during World War II:

When World War II erupted in Europe, many of our patrolmen enlisted to do their patriotic duty. Other patrolmen were called up for defense work. Because of the war, it was hard to get and keep patrol officers. The Patrol's sworn officers were down to 100 and were kept busy escorting military convoys, including gasoline tankers filled with fuel for military installations, and patrolling Florida's 1,197 statute miles of coastline looking for illegal aliens trying to slip ashore. The Patrol, working closely with the military police, was spread thin during these war years, but did not give in or give up.

In April 1942, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, aided by the Florida Highway Patrol, launched a series of raids on Florida's east coast. They entered 67 homes of German and Italian nationals, seized guns, ammunition, dynamite, caps, fuses, and radio receivers. Some of the persons captured were classified by the FBI as dangerous. Throughout the war, patrolmen aided in the search and apprehension of prisoners of war.

Although it traces its roots to the early 1930s,the FHP's formal creation came in 1939 when the Florida Legislature created the State Department of Public Safety. The new department contained two divisions, the Division of State Motor Vehicle Drivers Licenses and the Florida Highway Patrol.