[quote name='James' post='324906' date='Jul 28 2009, 12:54 ']The Texas Constitution of 1956 (Article 5, Section 18) provides for the election of a constable in each precinct of a county, and counties may have between four and eight precincts each depending on their population. Currently, the term of office for Texas constables is four years. However, when vacancies arise, the commissioners court of the respective county has the authority to appoint a replacement to serve out the remaining term.
In Texas, constables and their deputies are fully empowered peace officers with county-wide jurisdiction and thus, may legally exercise their authority in any precinct within their county;[44] however, some constables' offices limit themselves to providing law enforcement services only to their respective precinct, except in the case of serving civil and criminal process. Constables and their deputies may serve civil process in any precinct in their county and any contiguous county and can serve warrants anywhere in the state.
The duties of a Texas constable generally include providing bailiffs for the justice of the peace court(s) within his precinct and serving process issued therefrom and from any other court. Moreover, some constables' offices limit themselves to only these activities but others provide patrol, investigative, and security services as well.
You must have at least an Associates Degree and a TCLEOSE certification. Or be a current or retired law enforcement officer to waive the education requirement.
The counties with the large populations (Dallas-Fort Worth, Houston, Laredo, El Paso, San Antonio, etc) tend to have the larger and "more complete" constables that do routine patrol. I know the ones in Dallas County get a lot of heat because they will conduct high-speed chases and because the constable is elected the county Sheriff and Dallas PD can't tell them to not chase...There was a recent chase in Houston that made it live on Fox News during the afternoon and while Houston PD was involved all of the lead cars were Harris County Constable Precinct 4 & 5 cars. Those two precinct in Harris County are actually the largest constable offices in Texas with something like 300 deputy constables per precinct.
As for the Webb cars being different. Precinct 2 has two paint schemes, the red one is the newer one, I don't know why they never repainted the one car, but I like the older scheme better. Beyond that since the chief constable are elected, they must provide their own equipment for the office, so they can decal/paint them however they want. Which is another reason that more rural (poorer) sections don't have patrol divisions since they have to provide their own vehicles.
The County Commissioners in Jim Hogg decided to purchase that Ford Explorer for all 4 precinct constables to use when they need an "official" vehicle. The Precinct # 2 constable had it that day, his regular civilian F-150 4x4 XLT has a lightbar on it, and a door star on it, but regular civilian plates as it's his own personal vehicle. The Explorer doesn't get much use however, as the S/O had to jump it <img src='http://www.firepics.net/groupboards/public/style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/hysterical.gif' class='bbc_emoticon' alt='
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Being a regular "city police" in Dallas County, Texas, I can attest that the animosity between the "city police" and deputy constables is on the rise. Originally relegated to serving as bailiffs in JP Court or serving civil papers (subpoenas, eviction notices and the like), constables have taken on a new and higher profile in the Dallas area with the addition of "traffic constables" whose sole purpose is to go out and write tickets to pad the county's coffers. They have no other responsibilities, they don't investigate wrecks (or even respond to them), they wont show up if you call 911, and are, for the lack of a better term, generally rogues. Not a single constable precinct in Dallas County has any patrol responsibility, yet they go out and write tickets, get in long high speed chases with as many other constables that they can possibly throw into the fray, and get in the way of other law enforcement agencies who are actually out doing real police work and answering to the public.
There, I feel better...
In Texas, constables and their deputies are fully empowered peace officers with county-wide jurisdiction and thus, may legally exercise their authority in any precinct within their county;[44] however, some constables' offices limit themselves to providing law enforcement services only to their respective precinct, except in the case of serving civil and criminal process. Constables and their deputies may serve civil process in any precinct in their county and any contiguous county and can serve warrants anywhere in the state.
The duties of a Texas constable generally include providing bailiffs for the justice of the peace court(s) within his precinct and serving process issued therefrom and from any other court. Moreover, some constables' offices limit themselves to only these activities but others provide patrol, investigative, and security services as well.
You must have at least an Associates Degree and a TCLEOSE certification. Or be a current or retired law enforcement officer to waive the education requirement.
The counties with the large populations (Dallas-Fort Worth, Houston, Laredo, El Paso, San Antonio, etc) tend to have the larger and "more complete" constables that do routine patrol. I know the ones in Dallas County get a lot of heat because they will conduct high-speed chases and because the constable is elected the county Sheriff and Dallas PD can't tell them to not chase...There was a recent chase in Houston that made it live on Fox News during the afternoon and while Houston PD was involved all of the lead cars were Harris County Constable Precinct 4 & 5 cars. Those two precinct in Harris County are actually the largest constable offices in Texas with something like 300 deputy constables per precinct.
As for the Webb cars being different. Precinct 2 has two paint schemes, the red one is the newer one, I don't know why they never repainted the one car, but I like the older scheme better. Beyond that since the chief constable are elected, they must provide their own equipment for the office, so they can decal/paint them however they want. Which is another reason that more rural (poorer) sections don't have patrol divisions since they have to provide their own vehicles.
The County Commissioners in Jim Hogg decided to purchase that Ford Explorer for all 4 precinct constables to use when they need an "official" vehicle. The Precinct # 2 constable had it that day, his regular civilian F-150 4x4 XLT has a lightbar on it, and a door star on it, but regular civilian plates as it's his own personal vehicle. The Explorer doesn't get much use however, as the S/O had to jump it <img src='http://www.firepics.net/groupboards/public/style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/hysterical.gif' class='bbc_emoticon' alt='
' />[/quote]Being a regular "city police" in Dallas County, Texas, I can attest that the animosity between the "city police" and deputy constables is on the rise. Originally relegated to serving as bailiffs in JP Court or serving civil papers (subpoenas, eviction notices and the like), constables have taken on a new and higher profile in the Dallas area with the addition of "traffic constables" whose sole purpose is to go out and write tickets to pad the county's coffers. They have no other responsibilities, they don't investigate wrecks (or even respond to them), they wont show up if you call 911, and are, for the lack of a better term, generally rogues. Not a single constable precinct in Dallas County has any patrol responsibility, yet they go out and write tickets, get in long high speed chases with as many other constables that they can possibly throw into the fray, and get in the way of other law enforcement agencies who are actually out doing real police work and answering to the public.
There, I feel better...
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