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Department of Public Safety

The latest Department of Public Safety news from The Texas Tribune.

  • 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

  • A Fine Mess

    By Brandi Grissom

    Efforts to salvage the problem-plagued Driver Responsibility Program ultimately may not shield it from the wrath of its many detractors, including at least one lawmaker who believes we "shouldn't hesitate in getting rid of it." Full Story 

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    Credit: Graphic by Todd Wiseman

  • TribBlog: Suspending Driver Suspensions

    By Brandi Grissom

    The Texas Public Safety Commission on Thursday approved changes to the Driver Responsibility Program that would include an amnesty program for drivers with outstanding surcharges, reduced fines for poor drivers and new incentives to encourage more people to pay up. Full Story 

    A Texas Department of Public Safety official seal.
    Credit: Jacob Villanueva

  • TribBlog: Getting Drunks Off the Road

    By Forrest Burnson

    The Senate Committee on Criminal Justice met today to talk about ways to stop Texans from getting behind the wheel after imbibing. Judges, police and even a third-time DWI offender told lawmakers some Texas drunken driving laws could use some stiffening, while other measures take punishment too far. Full Story 

    State Sen. John Whitmire speaks to reporters.
    Credit: Associated Press

  • TribBlog: Capitol Reopened After Bomb Threat

    By Ross Ramsey

    The Texas Capitol has been evacuated because of an early morning bomb threat. A spokeswoman for the Texas Department of Public Safety says someone called 9-1-1 and said there is a bomb in the building. Everyone inside was ordered out and people showing up for work this morning are being turned away for now. Full Story 

    State troopers denying visitor entrance to the Capitol due to a bomb threat on June 18, 2010.
    Credit: Jacob Villanueva

  • TribBlog: Traffic Surcharges Attacked

    By Brandi Grissom

    Criminal justice advocates today told the Texas Public Safety Commission that their proposal to fix the broken Driver Responsibility Program fell far short of the comprehensive approach needed to help more than 1.2 million Texans who have lost their licenses because of the program's steep surcharges. Full Story 

    A Texas Department of Public Safety official seal.
    Credit: Jacob Villanueva

  • Driven to Repeal

    By Brandi Grissom

    The Driver Responsibility Act, which levies hefty surcharges on minor offenders, has cost 1.2 million Texans their licenses, and most of the fees that were supposed to be collected have not materialized. At the direction of state lawmakers, the DPS is trying to get people to pay up and square things with the law. But critics want the program ended altogether. Full Story 

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    Credit: Jacob Villanueva

  • TribBlog: Leaders OK Capitol Security Upgrades

    By Brandi Grissom

    The big three state leaders approved seven new security measures for the Capitol, and none of them are X-ray machines or metal detectors that the director of the top Texas police agency said are critical to keep the pink dome safe from armed intruders. Full Story 

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    Credit: Caleb Bryant Miller

  • Potties, Pickups and Preparedness

    By Brandi Grissom

    Local governments, Native American tribes and nonprofit groups in Texas hauled in more than $298 million in federal homeland security grants from 2003 through 2008 and made more than 30,000 purchases, according to a Texas Tribune analysis of a Texas Department of Public Safety database. Much of the money has gone to improve local emergency response and to beef up police and fire departments — critical safety measures that taxpayers might not have been able to afford without assistance from Washington. But it's unclear how some of the expenditures have made the state, or the nation, more resistant to terror attacks. Full Story 

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  • Rick Perry vs. the DPS

    By Brandi Grissom

    While the director of the Department of Public Safety and some state senators argue that X-ray machines and metal detectors are critical in the wake of a shooting at the Capitol, the Governor and others in the Legislature worry that a gamut of security hurdles would make the place unwelcoming to the public. Full Story 

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    Credit: Caleb Bryant Miller

  • Accidents Will Happen

    By Brandi Grissom

    State troopers turned in hundreds of error-riddled crash reports in 2007 and 2008, according to an internal audit by the Department of Public Safety. Full Story 

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    Credit: Jacob Villanueva, Caleb Bryant Miller

  • TribWeek: In Case You Missed It

    By Evan Smith

    Thevenot on the abysmally low community college graduation rate and higher ed's coming budgetary winter. Ramshaw on Terri Hodge's guilty plea and hasty exit. Grissom on the Department of Public Safety's use of dreaded federal stimulus funds to plug a hole in the state's border security budget. Hu on the first of the intraparty face-offs in our Primary Color series. Ramsey and Stiles on the congressional candidates with the most money on hand. Ramsey on whether Farouk Shami's accent and name are an obstacle to his election. Aguilar on the fever-tick epidemic overwhelming South Texas. Rapoport on TxDOT's hard road and the State Board of Education's lack of finance expertise. Philpott on how Barack Obama's budget will impact Texas. M. Smith on whether lawyers giving to judges is a good thing. Hamilton on the latest transportation innovations on the drawing board. The best of our best from February 1 to 5, 2010. Full Story 

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  • Department of Public Stimulus

    By Brandi Grissom

    The Department of Public Safety, which is struggling financially, is planning to use $16 million of the federal stimulus dollars that Gov. Rick Perry begrudgingly accepted to plug a hole in the border security budget. The decision follows a mandate by Perry, Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst, and House Speaker Joe Straus that state agencies cut 5 percent out of their budgets to meet an anticipated shortfall. Full Story 

    Security camera towers loom over the Rio Grande River.
    Credit: Bob Daemmrich