37 Tex. Admin. Code § 211.16 - Establishment or Continued Operation of an Appointing Entity
(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 provided to
officers whose duties include either performing patrol, traffic enforcement, or
responding to calls for service that:
(i) are
owned, insured, and equipped by the agency; or
(ii) may be personally owned for agencies in
existence before June 1, 2024, that have not provided agency-owned patrol
vehicles from June 1, 2024, to the present;
(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 any vehicles used for agency purposes;
(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.
Notes
State regulations are updated quarterly; we currently have two versions available. Below is a comparison between our most recent version and the prior quarterly release. More comparison features will be added as we have more versions to compare.
(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.