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Organizations

Department of Public Safety

  • Blood Sport

    by Brandi Grissom

    Cockfighting in Texas has been illegal for decades, but a lengthy Humane Society investigation uncovered more than a dozen active rings throughout the state. What's not illegal is raising fighting game cocks, attending a cockfight or possessing paraphernalia related to cock fights — such as gaffs, the razor blades owners strap to the birds' legs to make them even more lethal. Animal rights activists came close in the last legislative session to getting such activities criminalized, which they say is critical to putting an end to cockfighting. They plan to try again next year. Full Story 

    A rooster that was euthanized because it was severely injured during a forced fight at a southeast Dallas cockfighting ring …
    Credit: Brandi Grissom

  • On Your Left

    by Tristan Hallman

    Despite its relatively low number of people who walk and bike to work, Texas ranked 10th-highest among states in fatality rates for bicyclists and pedestrians in a recent survey. Lawmakers who worked on a failed 2009 measure to create a buffer zone, giving bicyclists more room on the road, will try again in 2011. Full Story 

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    Credit: Illustration by Todd Wiseman

  • Dollars For Data

    by Emily Ramshaw

    The goal of the legislation was lofty: to help people who have been exonerated clear their criminal records, quickly and completely. The unexpected result? News organizations must pay hundreds of dollars in monthly fees to keep a copy of the state’s criminal records database. Full Story 

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    Credit: Illustration by Bob Daemmrich/Todd Wiseman

  • TribBlog: Life in the Fast Lane

    by Emily Brown

    More than a third of Texas drivers think roadways are less safe than they were five years ago even though data shows that deaths have steadily decreased, according to a survey by the Center for Transportation Safety at the Texas Transportation Institute. Full Story 

    Trooper Johnny Hernandez patrols Hidalgo County in the Rio Grande Valley.
    Credit: Callie Richmond

  • TribWeek: In Case You Missed It

    by Ross Ramsey

    Grissom (with Tedesco of the San Antonio Express-News) on high-speed police chases on the Texas-Mexico border, Hu and Hamilton draw a roadmap through the tangle of the Speaker's Race, M. Smith on the trouble with electronic supplements to science textbooks, Ramshaw interviews patient privacy advocate Deborah Peel, Aguilar on Cuba and Texas and trade, Hamilton on the latest in biotech from Texas A&M University, Stiles on who's in the money in Congress, Hu on the controversial renewal of the state lottery contract, yours truly on Tom DeLay's victory in the face of his conviction on money-laundering charges, and E. Smith with a Thanksgiving cornucopia of TribLive videos: The best of our best from November 22 to 26, 2010. Full Story 

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  • State of Overdose

    by Brandi Grissom

    Deaths from accidental overdoses increased in Texas by more than 150 percent from 1999 to 2007, according to a recent report from the Drug Policy Alliance. Accidental poisoning during that time was the third-leading cause of injury-related deaths statewide, behind only car crashes and suicide. Full Story 

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    Credit: Graphic by Todd Wiseman

  • Border Troopers See More High-Speed Pursuits

    by Brandi Grissom

    Troopers on the Texas-Mexico border reported more high-speed chases than officers in any other region of the state. The Texas Tribune and the San Antonio Express-News analyzed data from nearly 5,000 DPS pursuit reports from January 2005 through July 2010. Of the 10 counties with the most chases, five were counties along the Texas-Mexico border. In this video, DPS Trooper Johnny Hernandez in Hidalgo County talks about why officers on the border see more pursuits than their colleagues across the state. Full Story 

  • The Getaway

    by Brandi Grissom, The Texas Tribune, and John Tedesco, San Antonio Express-News

    Troopers on the border are involved in far more high-speed chases than officers in any other region of the state, according to an analysis of nearly 5,000 Department of Public Safety pursuit reports by The Texas Tribune and the San Antonio Express-News. Nearly 13 percent of the chases (656) happened in Hidalgo County. Of the 10 counties with the most chases, five were counties along the border. The analysis also reveals that troopers use aggressive pursuit tactics — including firing guns and setting up roadblocks — that many other law enforcement agencies prohibit. Full Story 

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    Credit: Callie Richmond

  • Driving While Impaired?

    by Matt Largey, KUT News

    Some law enforcement officials — including Austin Police Chief Art Acevedo — are pushing to criminalize driving with a blood alcohol level lower than 0.08. Matt Largey of KUT News reports that state lawmakers could consider making "Driving While Ability Impaired" a crime to help local police departments get a handle on drunk driving in Texas. Full Story 

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  • DNA Crime Lab Gets Clean Bill Of Health

    by Mose Buchele, KUT News

    A former Austin Police Department employee’s allegations of misconduct at the city's DNA Crime Lab prompted an outside audit of the lab. As Mose Buchele of KUT News reports, the results of that audit have been released. Full Story 

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    Credit: Rodolfo Clix

  • A Place to Shoot

    by Matt Stiles

    In a pattern that's playing out in San Antonio and other major metro areas in Texas, residents in low-income neighborhoods aren't taking advantage of the state's concealed-carry law as often as residents living in wealthier, more conservative areas. Full Story 

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  • TribBlog: Murder at Falcon Lake

    by Julián Aguilar

    Law enforcement agencies are again warning patrons of Falcon Lake in South Texas to stay on the U.S. side of the popular fishing spot. The warning follows the fatal shooting of a U.S. man by Mexican pirates who allegedly attacked him after he traveled into Guerrero Viejo, Tamaulipas, on his Jet Ski. Full Story 

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  • A Big Dam Issue

    by David Martin Davies

    The fifth anniversary of Hurricane Katrina has people thinking about whether the state and coastal cities are prepared for another big storm — especially with peak storm season again upon us. As Texas Public Radio’s David Martin Davies reports, there’s concern in particular over the sturdiness of dams. Full Story 

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  • TribBlog: Driver Debt Debate

    by Elizabeth Titus

    On Tuesday, a House committee heard arguments over the future of the controversial Driver Responsibility Program — which pits outrage over heavy traffic fines on the poor against the state's need to finance trauma care in hospitals, which benefit from the fines. Full Story 

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    Credit: Graphic by Todd Wiseman

  • TribWeek: In Case You Missed It

    by Ross Ramsey

    Thevenot on bogus public school accountability rankings, Garcia-Ditta on what locals think of increased patrols on the border, Stiles and Ramsey on where Kay Bailey Hutchison's donors have landed, Grissom on the pay gap between state and local police, Cervantes on how tweaks to the treatment of post-traumatic stress disorder will impact Texas, M. Smith on the sinking prospects for an East Texas wetlands project, Ergenbright on the challenge of educating autistic children, Aguilar on efforts to legalize medicinal marijuana, Ramshaw on former foster children having trouble getting records from the state and Burnson on public health officials battling imported infectious diseases: The best of our best from August 2 to 6, 2010. Full Story 

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    Credit: Graphic by Todd Wiseman

  • State of Pay

    by Brandi Grissom

    According to a review by the State Auditor’s Office, the salaries of state law enforcement officers in DPS, the Alcoholic Beverage Commission and other agencies lag as much as 20 percent behind those of big-city police. Full Story 

    Poor pay and strict training and promotion standards have contributed in no small part to a large vacancy rate at DPS.
    Credit: Graphic by Todd Wiseman

  • TribWeek: In Case You Missed It

    by Evan Smith

    Stiles' and Torres' three-parter on the changing Texas political map, Ramsey on questions about Brian Birdwell's voting history and residency, Aguilar on the Obama administration's immigration crackdown, Reed on hospitals that won't induce early labor, Stiles on what Troy Fraser left off his financial disclosure form, the latest installment of Hu's Face-Off video debate series, Grissom on the problem-plagued Driver Responsibility Program, Galbraith on the controversy over fracking and M. Smith's interview with former Texas Supreme Court Justice Harriet O'Neill: The best of our best from July 26 to 30, 2010. Full Story 

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    Credit: Graphic by Todd Wiseman