Texas Department of Public Safety

Overview

The Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS) is responsible for statewide law enforcement functions in Texas, including highway enforcement, combating gangs and drug cartels, investigating public corruption, apprehending fugitives, and solving serial criminal cases.

Working alongside local and federal law enforcement agencies, DPS is a critical part of Texas’ overall law enforcement system.

Functions

DPS employs hundreds of specialists, such as forensic analysts, cyber investigators, and surveillance experts, who help local, federal, and state law enforcement handle serious criminal cases and emergency situations, including:

• Hostage Negotiations
• Serial Murder Investigations
• Gang and Cartel Investigations
• Arson, Bomb, and Sniper Cases
• Mass Shootings
• Drug Trafficking and Human Trafficking
• Air and Boat Patrol and Rescue Operations.

The department also provides services for the general public, including issuing drivers licenses and maintaining a publicly accessible database of criminal records.

Structure

The Texas Department of Public Safety is composed of more than a dozen divisions, including the Texas Rangers, Highway Patrol, Intelligence and Counterterrorism, Training Operations, Aviation Operations, Crime Laboratories, and Criminal Records.

These divisions are grouped into three categories — Homeland Security Operations, Law Enforcement Operations, and Law Enforcement Services — each of which is headed by a deputy director with the rank of lieutenant colonel.

The department as a whole is headed by a director with the rank of colonel.

Additionally, the department has regional directors responsible for commanding DPS operations within particular parts of the state. Six regional commands are headquartered in Garland (near Dallas), Houston, Weslaco (near McAllen), El Paso, Lubbock, and San Antonio.

The seventh regional command, Capitol Complex Region 7, is charged with securing the State Capitol, Governor’s Mansion, and other state buildings in a 46-block area of Austin. However, the Capitol Command isn’t responsible for Austin as a whole, which falls within Region 6 headquartered in San Antonio. Department personnel assigned to Region 7 provide security to the governor, lieutenant governor, speaker, and other officials as necessary.

Governance and Oversight

A five-member Public Safety Commission serves as the policy-making body for the department. Its members are appointed by the governor and confirmed by the Texas Senate. They serve without pay for staggered six-year terms.

The commission appoints the DPS director and consents to appointments of deputy directors and assistant directors.

The governor may assume command of the department during a “public disaster, riot, insurrection, or formation of a dangerous resistance to enforcement of law,” according to the Government Code sec. 411.012.

Relationship to Local Law Enforcement

Texas DPS provides a variety of services to local law enforcement agencies, which generally don’t have resources to hire specialists, operate crime labs, or conduct specialized trainings. About 50% of the state’s law enforcement agencies have ten or fewer officers.

DPS provides the following services to local law enforcement:

• operating crime laboratories;
• maintaining a searchable criminal history database;
• maintaining a searchable sex offender registry;
• maintaining an index of gang intelligence information;
• maintaining a combined DNA index system;
• providing access to national crime databases;
• providing an automated fingerprint identification system; and
• grants and federal grant application assistance.

DPS’s Crime Laboratory Division employs approximately 600 personnel.

Driver Licenses and Other Public Services

In addition to its law enforcement role, the Texas Department of Public Safety administers the following programs:

• handgun licensing;
• issuance of Driver Licenses and IDs;
• issuance of licenses for motor vehicle inspectors;
• issuance of licenses for metal recycling businesses; and
• issuance of licenses for private security.