NORTH CAROLINA -- The highway patrol needs about 200 more troopers statewide, but there were a lot of empty seats at a recruitment event Thursday night in Winston-Salem. 

• The highway patrol is looking to recruit more troopers statewide.
• Master Trooper Erick Carroll reassures against the negative perception that they are looking to strive for excellence and ethical people. 
• Highway Patrol raised its salaries in hopes to bring in more applicants.

We asked Master Trooper Erick Carroll, who was leading the event, if he thinks a negative perception of law enforcement possibly lead to the low turnout. 

He explains, "We have a lot of negative things that happen in law enforcement, in general. That's why we're looking for good, quality people. People that are going to make good decisions when nobody is looking; ethical people that do the right thing. We strive for that, we strive for excellence, and that's what we want."

Highway Patrol bumped up its salaries to get applicants.

The salary range for troopers is between $37,000 and $64,000.