Patrol officers employed pursuant to Section 45-7-21 are authorized to do, in the performance of their duties, all acts authorized to be done by the sheriff, constable, or any peace officer. Said patrol officers, in addition to their duties as peace officers, shall note the condition of the roads and bridges of the county and make report thereof to the board of supervisors as may be required by said board.
Said patrol officers shall not have the power and authority to enforce the traffic laws, rules and regulations of this state, or any related laws upon any highway of the state highway system, unless and until they have been authorized and empowered to enforce such laws and to aid and assist in the enforcement thereof by the commissioner of public safety. The commissioner of public safety may grant or withhold such authority to the patrolmen of each individual county in his discretion, and may provide and promulgate reasonable rules and regulations under which the patrol officers to whom such authority has been granted shall act in enforcing such laws.
In the performance of their official duties, such patrol officers shall have the power and authority to wear uniforms, but they shall not wear the same uniforms as are worn by members of the highway safety patrol of Mississippi, nor shall they wear uniforms substantially identical thereto.