Monday, Feb. 26, 1996 | 11:59 a.m.
CARSON CITY -- The Nevada Highway Patrol is more relaxed these days.
Gone is the policy that troopers must wear ties and regulation hats on duty. Top brass in Carson City are being transferred to Las Vegas and Reno where decisions will be made closer to the action.
And patrolmen are spending more time answering calls for assistance from motorists.
It's part of the new management style of Highway Patrol acting Chief Mike Hood, 41, a trooper for 19 years.
Criticism from the troopers' union, has quieted.
"He's got things going in the right direction," said Stewart Handte, a union official and one of the harshest critics of former Chief Paul Corbin, who resigned after being brought in from Missouri.
Making it optional for troopers to wear a tie and hat on duty will make the officers more comfortable, Hood said.
Troopers will be able to use nylon gun belts instead of leather. The nylon rig is two pounds lighter than the leather belt. With the holster, the case for handcuffs and other items, the leather setup is about 28 pounds, Handte said.
This should help reduce back problems, he said.
Nylon belts cost about $150 and the patrolmen have to purchase them with their own money. About 20 percent of the troopers in Southern Nevada have already bought the lighter nylon belt, he said.
The two majors in the Carson City headquarters are being reassigned in a move to decentralize the agency.
"It's tough for me to sit up here and run an organization where there are different needs down there," said Hood, who was stationed in Las Vegas for 13 years. These majors will be making the decisions at the local level.
"I have to listen to the people who do the job," he said. "I don't get out there and investigate accidents or write citations."
Hood characterizes himself as a "participatory manager" who listens to people before making decisions for the force of 365 troopers.
He intends to apply for the chief's job when the search beings.
"The Highway Patrol has been my life," he said.
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