It describes its four most important goals for the next four years, which include providing agency administrative services and support and is centered around technology.
Goal: Protect Texas from public safety threats.
The plans, programs and activities in the Protect Texas from Public Safety Threats goal include protecting the public, particularly the most vulnerable; investigating violations of law with utmost competence and integrity; and effectively pursuing tactical operations when necessary.
During the FY 2023-2027 period, DPS plans to:
- Provide integrated statewide public safety intelligence.
- Improve statewide interoperability and public safety communications.
- Deter, detect and interdict drug and human smuggling and trafficking.
- Deter and interdict transnational related crimes in high-threat areas.
- Conduct extraordinary border security operations.
- Reduce the threat of organized crime, terrorism and mass casualty attacks.
- Provide statewide major crime, tactical and public corruption enterprise expertise.
- Deter, detect and interdict public safety threats on roadways.
- Provide statewide air patrol, crime surveillance and rescue.
- Provide security for the Capitol complex and state officials.
- Provide statewide emergency response and rescue.
Goal: Provide regulatory and law enforcement services to all customers.
The Provide Regulatory and Law Enforcement Services to All Customers goal within DPS contains myriad programs that provide key services to the public and criminal justice entities.
During the FY 2023-2027 period, DPS plans to:
- Process original and renewal applications and issue regulatory licenses within statutory deadlines for programs regulated by DPS; track the number of license holders; conduct required written examinations; and assist customers via telephone and email.
- Monitor, inspect and take administrative action against regulated providers for violations of statues and related administrative rules; monitor and analyze program data to detect potential criminal or administrative violations; and assess penalties for administrative violations.
- Ensure regulatory services are efficient and reliable by continuing process improvements; set and monitor all regulatory performance measures; and identify best practices and opportunities for efficiency.
- Add technology. Incorporating new and innovative technologies into regulatory services is a key element to continued improvement, reducing wait and processing times, and keeping pace with increasing demand due to population growth and additional state and federal mandates.
- Continue the FBI rap back program, which provides noncriminal and criminal justice entities with the ability to continually vet the criminal history of specific populations in real time.
- Train and audit local users of crime records systems to ensure proper and effective usage of systems provided to authorized Texas users.
- Upgrade mission-critical systems as funding permits so an ever-increasing volume of vetted users can access systems and services.
- Ensure compliance with the international Standard ISO/IEC 17025 and other quality assurance standards for the DPS laboratory system.
- Use the funding provided by the 86th Texas Legislature to continue operating DPS crime laboratories with a focus on efficiency without a decrease in quality of service.
Goal: Enhance public safety through the licensing of Texas drivers.
License and permit specialists ensure that driver’s licenses and identification cards are issued securely, lawfully and to the correct person.
During the FY 2023-2027 period, DPS plans to:
- Process original, renewal and replacement applications for driver’s and commercial licenses and permits, as well as identification cards; conduct required written and skills examinations; assist customers via telephone and email; and track the number of issuances and customers assisted or records updated by the support services.
- Audit, monitor and take administrative action against third-party skills test providers who conduct regular and commercial knowledge or skills examinations for noncompliance with state or federal statutes and related administrative rules; as well as monitor and analyze transaction data to detect potential criminal or administrative violations.
- Ensure driver services are efficient and reliable by monitoring performance measures and identifying best practices and opportunities for efficiency.
- Maintain and enhance the Driver License System (DLS).
- Improve Customer Service Center (CSC) services.
- Increase driver’s license capacity.
- Incorporate new and innovative technologies into driver services as a key element of continued improvement and reduced wait and processing times.
Goal: Provide agency administrative services and support.
This goal includes multiple functions, including administrative operations, financial management and reporting, information technology, cybersecurity, facilities management, fleet management, human resources, procurement, recruiting, and training of recruits and agency staff.
During the FY 2023-2027 period, DPS plans to:
- Recruit and mentor qualified candidates on a continuous basis to fill commissioned vacancies through 2025 and beyond.
- Provide troopers with responsive and high-performing patrol vehicles capable of operating in challenging conditions.
- Pay vendors accurately.
- Reimburse travel and fuel expenditures in a timely fashion.
- Operate CAPPS financial applications smoothly.
- Manage payroll and payment of overtime earned for all staff.
- Create divisional internal operating.
- Develop annual division financial forecasts to track expenditure patterns.
- Compile and submit legislatively required reports.
- Direct and web-based training to enhance skills, tactics and techniques in areas such as active attack response, use of force; arrest, search, and seizure; firearms, driver, and reality-based training; physical fitness; leadership development; human trafficking and crimes against children training.
- Eliminate the need for mainframe computers by FY 2023, including the mainframe that processes millions of criminal history data transactions daily.
- Increase the availability and security of technology solutions that enhance the agency's ability to leverage a “hoteling model” for shared work environments and remote work.
- Expand IT disaster recovery systems to ensure continuous operations of DPS systems in case of cataclysmic failure of primary systems.
- Grow the enterprise data management office to improve data governance, availability and visualization to enhance data-driven decision-making.
- Implement additional network security and segregation to protect the data and systems that support the agency’s mission of “Protect and Serve Texas” from unauthorized access.
- Extend data backup and recovery capabilities to increase the protection of agency data from malware attacks that could result in catastrophic loss of critical driver's license and law enforcement data.
- Develop diverse and professional cybersecurity program capable of supporting a cyber resilient environment. Efforts will result in increased maturity of the cybersecurity model at DPS.
- Leverage the department’s Computer Security Incident Response Team to aid in mitigating the impact of devastating Texas Cybersecurity Framework on Texas government agencies and help expedite recovery efforts.
