Office of the Director

About the Director

Gov. Mike Parson appointed Sandy Karsten as the 15th Director of the Missouri Department of Public Safety on Aug. 27, 2018. Prior to her appointment, Karsten served as the Superintendent of the Missouri State Highway Patrol. Karsten was the first woman in the history of the Missouri State Highway Patrol to serve as Colonel and is the first woman to serve as Director of the Department of Public Safety.

As the leader of DPS, Director Karsten is responsible for operational oversight of seven divisions – the Missouri State Highway Patrol, State Emergency Management Agency, Division of Alcohol and Tobacco Control, Missouri Capitol Police, Division of Fire Safety, the Missouri Veterans Commission and the Missouri Gaming Commission – and direction of DPS’s central management division, known as the Office of the Director. In addition to overseeing DPS divisions, the Office of the Director directly administers the Missouri Office of Homeland Security, DPS Grants, the Peace Officer Standards and Training (POST) Program and the Office for Victims of Crime. These programs support local law enforcement and other first responders, emergency management, school safety, crime victims, and interoperable communications across the state through grants, training and information sharing.

Director Karsten has over 38 years with DPS and has earned the distinction of obtaining every rank from trooper to colonel, and now director. Director Karsten holds a Bachelor of Science degree in criminal justice from Truman State University, Kirksville, and a master’s degree in public administration from the University of Missouri. Karsten is also a graduate of the Northwestern University Traffic Institute’s School of Police Staff and Command. Karsten and her husband, Tim, have two married sons and one granddaughter.