Here is more information about the agency, including who leads it, how many staff the department employs and what the department does as a whole.
FAST FACTS
Budget: Estimated at $1.4 billion overall, with a $52 million IT budget, according to Industry Navigator.*
Leadership: Bryan Lane is the department’s chief information officer.
Staff: The agency has approximately 10,000-11,000 employees.
MORE ABOUT THE AGENCY
On Aug. 10, 1935, the 44th Legislature established the Texas Department of Public Safety to prevent and detect crime.
“A three-member Public Safety Commission, appointed by the governor for six-year terms, oversaw the department,” according to the Texas State Historical Association. “Department operations were classified into six divisions: the Texas Highway Patrol, Texas Rangers, Bureau of Communications, Bureau of Intelligence, Bureau of Education, and Bureau of Identification and Records.”
In 1937, issuing driver’s licenses were added to the department’s tasks along with the agency's first narcotics section.
Today, five members currently oversee the commission, and approximately 80,179 local- and state-commissioned officers work for 2,768 local and state law enforcement agencies across 254 counties.
So, how does technology come into play? Below are several goals listed in the department’s FY 2023-2027 agency strategic plan:
- Establish an integrated statewide multi-jurisdictional public safety intelligence network capable of generating tactical, operational and strategic intelligence.
- Establish short and long-term capabilities to identify workforce, business and infrastructure requirements.
- Create real-time operations communications centers.
- Maintain the Statewide Interoperability Coordinator (SWIC) Office and the Texas Interoperable Communications Coalition (TxICC), through inclusive stakeholder engagements and by reviewing governance documents to include emerging technologies.
- Implement automated license plate readers and a command and control notification platform.
- Incorporate intelligence-driven platforms and provide a situational awareness application with targeted use by law enforcement officers.
- Increase real-time tactical criminal intelligence by implementing analytical and efficient databases.
- Increase resources and provide training materials to improve investigative and technological expansions.
*Industry Navigator is a product of e.Republic, which also produces Industry Insider — Texas.
