Texas Administrative Code › Title 37 - PUBLIC SAFETY AND CORRECTIONS › Part 7 - TEXAS COMMISSION ON LAW ENFORCEMENT › Chapter 211 - ADMINISTRATION › Section 211.16 - Establishment or Continued Operation of an Appointing Entity

Current through Reg. 49, No. 28; July 12, 2024
(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.