Texas Department of Public Safety facing shortage of troopers

Posted on Sat, Jun. 21, 2008

Texas Department of Public Safety facing shortage of troopers
By JOHN MORITZjmoritz@star-telegram.com

AUSTIN — The presence of just a single state trooper posted at the Governor’s Mansion when the pre-dawn arson fire gutted the historic residence this month is symptomatic of a larger problem for the state’s elite law enforcement agency, the Texas Department of Public Safety and a police advocacy group say.

"They’re just stretched too darn thin. It’s as simple as that," said Don Dickson, an Austin lawyer who represents the Texas State Troopers Association. "We don’t have enough people to do the job."

Dickson’s comments applied not only to the skeletal detail at the Governor’s Mansion since the building was vacated for a renovation in October but to the entire cadre of DPS officers from Amarillo to Edinburg.

The department is short about 250 troopers from its authorized strength of 3,458, according to a legislative panel’s intensive review made public two weeks before the June 9 fire at the mansion.

And that shortage is expected to get worse. More than 100 troopers have put in for retirement Aug. 31, and the department could be down as many as 600 over the coming three years, a spokeswoman said.

"We are expecting a great many retirements as the baby boom generation begins to age out," said Tela Mange, DPS director of communications. "Plus that, we’re seeing a lot of competition from federal and local law enforcement agencies, private security companies and the military. There’s still a very deep talent pool, but there’s a lot of competition out there.”

Recruiting 24/7

The report by the Texas Sunset Commission, an arm of the Legislature that periodically evaluates the performance and usefulness of state agencies, said the DPS has consistently failed to meet its recruitment goals in recent years. It also said the agency harms its own retention efforts by limiting the options of troopers seeking promotions or to choose their own duty stations.

"From numerous conversations with DPS staff, this policy appears to deprive the agency of personnel who could perform well in the positions but choose to not move their families across the state, and can have an impact on morale," the report said.

In its preliminary fire report, DPS acknowledged that too few officers were assigned to guard the residence, even though Gov. Rick Perry’s family had moved to temporary housing during the repairs. The department also acknowledged lapses in training for the troopers on that detail.

Mange said the department recruits "24 hours a day, seven days a week and 365 days a year." But the agency does not compromise its standards, she said. Applicants must have at least 90 college semester hours, or the equivalent in law enforcement experience, and must complete a 27-week training program that is considered as rigorous as Marine Corps boot camp, she said.

Other findings in the report included faulting the department’s ability to respond to a terrorist attack and recommending that it rely less on uniformed officers to perform duties more suited for civilians.

Further straining the DPS is Perry’s push to post more troopers in South Texas to crack down on immigrant smuggling and crime related to warring Mexican drug cartels that is spilling across the Rio Grande.

DPS officials would not say how many troopers have been shifted to the border region in response to the governor’s initiative.

Intense competition

Dickson said DPS is at a competitive disadvantage with many local police forces. The base pay for a recruit entering the DPS academy is just under $35,000 a year, and it is bumped to $38,200 upon graduation. The trooper’s pay advances to about $45,100 after a year of service. By comparison, a Fort Worth police recruit makes $36,300 and then gets a raise of nearly $10,000 once he or she hits the street.

"It’s not only the pay, it’s the conditions," Dickson said. "Take a police officer in Plano or Fort Worth or some other good-sized town. He can start out making more money and serve out his entire career without ever having to transfer his kids out of the local school or uproot his wife from her job so she can follow him to whatever duty station DPS wants to send him."

Mange said the ability for troopers to secure the duty station of their choice is not quite as limited as the commission’s report suggests. Troopers can request one station or another, and if they are sent somewhere else, they can renew their request after a year, she said.

The Legislature sets the troopers’ salary scale.

In its response, DPS has acknowledged some of the shortcomings identified in the report, and top DPS officials are scheduled to appear before the panel next week when the report will be discussed publicly for the first time.

Online: www.sunset.state.tx.us, www.txdps.state.tx.us


By the numbers
3,458: DPS trooper positions authorized by the Legislature.

248: The number of vacancies as of May.

100: The approximate number of retirements expected in August.

108: The number of recruits expected to graduate in September.

$34,965: Starting salary for a DPS recruit.

$45,099: Trooper salary after one year.

Sources: DPS, Texas Sunset Commission


It’s not only the pay, it’s the conditions.

Don Dickson,
an Austin lawyer who represents the Texas State Troopers Association

John Moritz reports from the Star-Telegram’s Austin bureau. 512-476-4294.

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By the numbers 3,458: DPS trooper positions authorized by the Legislature. 248: The number of vacancies as of May. 100: The approximate number of retirements expected in August. 108: The number of recruits expected to graduate in September. $34,965: Starting salary for a DPS recruit. $45,099: Trooper salary after one year. Sources: DPS, Texas Sunset Commission
By the numbers 3,458: DPS trooper positions authorized by the Legislature. 248: The number of vacancies as of May. 100: The approximate number of retirements expected in August. 108: The number of recruits expected to graduate in September. $34,965: Starting salary for a DPS recruit. $45,099: Trooper salary after one year. Sources: DPS, Texas Sunset Commission
By the numbers 3,458: DPS trooper positions authorized by the Legislature. 248: The number of vacancies as of May. 100: The approximate number of retirements expected in August. 108: The number of recruits expected to graduate in September. $34,965: Starting salary for a DPS recruit. $45,099: Trooper salary after one year. Sources: DPS, Texas Sunset Commission