| (a) To establish that an agency or a prospective agency
meets the minimum standards for the creation or continued operation
of a law enforcement agency, the agency must provide evidence that
the agency:
(1) provides public benefit to the community;
(2) has sustainable funding sources that meet or exceed
the continued operating expenses outlined in a line-item budget for
the agency;
(3) has physical resources available to officers, including:
(A) at least one firearm per officer on duty;
(B) at least one less lethal force weapon per officer
on duty;
(C) effective communications equipment, specifically:
(i) at least one radio communication device per officer
on duty performing patrol, courtroom security, traffic enforcement,
responding to calls for service, assigned to a controlled access point,
acting as a visual deterrent to crime, surveillance, warrant execution,
and service of civil process; and
(ii) at least one cell phone device per officer on
duty who may have contact with the general public and is not performing
any of the duties described in (i);
(D) at least one bullet-resistant vest per officer
on duty with vest panels that:
(i) have been certified as compliant by the National
Institute of Justice (NIJ);
(ii) are within the ballistic performance warranty
period listed by the manufacturer on the affixed tags; and
(iii) have never been shot or otherwise compromised;
(E) at least one uniform per officer whose duties include
any of the following:
(i) performing patrol;
(ii) courtroom security;
(iii) traffic enforcement;
(iv) responding to calls for service;
(v) assigned to a controlled access point;
(vi) acting as a visual deterrent to crime;
(vii) warrant execution; or
(viii) service of civil process;
(F) at least one motor vehicle owned and insured by
an agency created on or after June 1, 2024; and
(G) patrol vehicles owned, insured, and equipped by
the agency and provided to officers whose duties include any of the
following:
(i) performing patrol;
(ii) traffic enforcement; or
(iii) responding to calls for service;
(4) has physical facilities, including:
(A) an evidence room or other acceptable secure evidence
storage for officers whose duties include any of the following:
(i) performing patrol;
(ii) traffic enforcement;
(iii) criminal investigations;
(iv) responding to calls for service; or
(v) executing search or arrest warrants;
(B) a dispatch area for any agency appointing and employing
telecommunicators; and
(C) a public area including written notices posted
and visible 24 hours a day explaining:
(i) how to receive the most immediate assistance in
an emergency;
(ii) how to make a nonemergency report of a crime;
and
(iii) how to make a compliment or complaint on a member
of the agency by mail, online, or by phone;
(5) has policies, including policies on:
(A) use of force;
(B) vehicle pursuit;
(C) professional conduct of officers;
(D) domestic abuse protocols;
(E) response to missing persons;
(F) supervision of part-time officers;
(G) impartial policing;
(H) medical and psychological examination of licensees;
(I) active shooters;
(J) barricaded subjects;
(K) evidence collection and handling;
(L) eyewitness identification;
(M) misconduct investigations;
(N) hiring a license holder;
(O) personnel files;
(P) uniform and dress code;
(Q) training required to maintain licensure; and
(R) outside and off-duty employment;
(6) has an established administrative structure, including:
(A) an organizational chart for the agency that illustrates
the division and assignment of licensed and unlicensed personnel;
(B) a projection for the number of full-time peace
officers, part-time peace officers, and unpaid peace officers that
the agency would employ during the year if at full staffing; and
(C) the number of School Resource Officer (SRO) positions
employed by the agency and working in schools if the agency is not
an independent school district (ISD) police department;
(7) has liability insurance for the agency and its
vehicles;
(8) has a defined process by which the agency will
receive by mail, online, and by phone and document compliments and
complaints on its employees; and
(9) any other information the commission requires.
(b) An entity authorized by law to establish a law
enforcement agency and appoint licensees must first complete training
offered and required by the commission on the establishment and continued
operation of a new agency. The entity may then make application for
an agency number by submitting the current agency number application
form, any associated application fee, and evidence that they meet
the requirements of this rule.
(c) An entity authorized by Local Government Code, §361.022
to operate a correctional facility to house inmates, in this state,
convicted of offenses committed against the laws of another state
of the United States, and appoint jailers requiring licensure by the
commission, may make application for an agency number by submitting
the current agency number application form, any associated application
fee, and a certified copy of the contract under which the facility
will operate.
(d) A political subdivision wanting to establish a
consolidated emergency telecommunications center and appoint telecommunicators,
as required by Texas Occupations Code, §1701.405, may make application
for an agency number by submitting the current agency number application
form, any associated application fee and a certified copy of the consolidation
contract.
(e) The Texas Department of Criminal Justice - Pardon
and Parole Division, a community supervision and corrections department,
or a juvenile probation department may make application for an agency
number if seeking firearms training certificates for parole officers,
community supervision and corrections officers, or juvenile probation
officers by submitting the current agency number application form
and any associated application fee.
(f) All law enforcement agencies must complete and
submit an annual report due between January 1st and March 1st of each
year documenting their continued compliance with the requirements
of this rule.
(g) The effective date of this section for agencies
not in existence before June 1, 2024, is June 1, 2024. The effective
date of this section for agencies already in existence before June
1, 2024, is September 1, 2025.
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| Source Note: The provisions of this §211.16 adopted to be January 14, 2010, 34 TexReg 9475; amended to be effective January 1, 2012, 36 TexReg 8976; amended to be effective February 1, 2016, 41 TexReg 272; amended to be effective June 1, 2024, 49 TexReg 3809 |
