The state Highway Patrol has hired a firm that has reviewed police departments from Los Angeles to Delaware to evaluate the patrol's hiring, training and promotion of troopers.

Kroll consultants will be paid $98,000 to conduct a "formal, in-depth" review, according to a news release from the N.C. Department of Crime Control and Public Safety, Dan Kane reports. The department oversees the 1,800 member force.

Gov. Mike Easley called for a review after several cases of trooper misbehavior over a two-month period.

One of those cases exposed roughly two dozen instances where troopers were involved in affairs either on or off-duty over the past nine years, and has raised questions of disparate treatment.

"We welcome a thorough internal review by an agency that is experienced and respected in the law enforcement and corporate communities," said patrol Commander Col. Fletcher Clay.

New York-based Kroll has assigned a six-person team of law enforcement and government efficiency experts to conduct a four-month review of the force.

The team will meet with patrol leaders, sworn officers and civilian staff, as well as review hiring and turnover, media coverage, allegations of negligent supervision, ethics and supervisory training.