The reason DPS can't fill its cadet classes, said Col. McCraw, is primarily low pay compared to urban Texas jurisdictions. Sen. John Whitmire grilled him regarding whether there were other ways to reduce those vacancies besides raising trooper pay by $52.9 million, which is the first item on the agency's budget wish list. McCraw insisted "no," nothing else would do it. In addition to poaching by other, higher paying law enforcement agencies, he said, some troopers today are leaving what was once considered a lifetime profession for lucrative oilfield work. Whitmire complained that it seemed like "it's gotten to where 400 is an acceptable level" of unfilled trooper positions. McCraw essentially agreed, saying DPS had never in his time been below 300 vacancies.
While McCraw bemoaned the trooper shortage and low pay, the committee blew past what to me are two important, related policy questions driving DPS' staffing retention problems. First is the effect of DPS' deployment shift toward border security, which as McCraw told the committee by definition means there's "someplace in Texas that's less secure." One small example came up at the hearing. Turns out, the Legislature authorized the DPS to purchase its much ballyhooed river boats to patrol the Rio Grande, but they did not give the agency money to staff and operate them. So the agency took those 29 FTEs (full-time equivalent staff positions) for marine operations from funds that would otherwise pay for more troopers. Conveniently, the chronic trooper shortage frees up money in the budget for such impromptu adjustments.
Also, not only do such deployment decisions minimize highway safety elsewhere in the state, short-term trooper deployments to South Texas are disruptive to morale and make troopers' relatively low salaries seem even less enticing. In general, the border is already the safest region of the state, in part because of the alphabet soup of federal agencies who make DPS' border watching redundant.
Senators, though, were for the most part in no mood to confront those sorts of big-picture questions. Indeed, senators from border region said they welcomed the extra deployments there. Nor was there a peep from anyone about backlogs at DPS crime labs, surprisingly. Instead, the issue over which senators mainly questioned the agency's priorities surrounded long wait times for processing driver license applications.
DPS has completed all six of its new "megacenters" (price tag: $63 million) as of a few weeks ago, the committee was told, and hired nearly all 361 FTEs budgeted for them, but everyone at the hearing seemed to agree that hadn't solved the problem of long wait times, nor the great distances some rural Texans must drive to renew their licenses. DPS is requesting $104.5 million for 839 additional FTEs to increase drivers license processing capacity. But Sen. Glenn Hegar thought DPS had under-emphasized the issue, pointing out that the agency's requests for additional funding were prioritized and drivers license processing was number 25, with $400 million in spending requests in front of it. "I have no excuse for my constituents anymore," Hegar told McCraw, citing "continuous complaints." The Colonel, in turn, expressed frustration that he'd returned to Texas to work on homeland security and organized crime and stays up at night worrying about drivers licenses.
That line elicited chuckles across the room, but it wasn't the only comment that made one think Col. McCraw, a former FBI agent, might prefer to be running an agency more like his former federal employer than the traffic-safety focused entity he inherited. He portrayed troopers as "investigators on the road," looking to use traffic enforcement as probable cause to launch investigations into Mexican drug cartels. DPS will soon be issuing a "state intelligence assessment," he announced, similar to its national counterpart but specific to Texas, that identifies and prioritizes threats to the state. There will be a redacted version made available to the public. Like Sen. Hegar, though, I think the public might be more impressed if, instead of the intelligence assessment, he were about to announce plans to reduce lines at driver-license counters across the state.
McCraw similarly expressed frustration when he was gently criticized for DPS' failure to timely process FEMA claims from natural disasters; in some cases claims from 2008 still haven't been processed. There is no general revenue spent toward federal recovery, he noted dryly, deflecting blame back to the legislators. He suggested such work may not be "a core competency" of DPS. Certainly, though, the agency and all its high-paid administrators had just as much flexibility to assign personnel to processing FEMA paperwork as they did to manufacture 29 positions for "marine operations." It's at root a function of priorities.
Not surprising that Drivers' License Division (DLD) issues are not solved. DPS is a rigid top to bottom law enforcement agency. DLD was the red-headed stepchild of the Divisions back in the 2000s'. Personnel tended to promote out as opposed to within. DLD issues were often regulated to the back of the line in terms of priorities...
ReplyDeleteThere are 400 trooper vacancies. Yet, for the most part, people manage to travel the highways of the state and get where they are going in safety. Crime on the highways is not rampant because there are not enough troopers patrolling the roads. The state seems to be functioning just fine without these 400 additional officers. So, the sensible thing to do would be to cut those positions and transfer that funding to the drivers license division.
ReplyDeleteCol. McCraw exemplifies an issue created by the so-called War on Drugs. Too many police officers become obsessed with catching someone with drugs. Just catching someone with a roach clip in their car is a thrill for many officers. It seems McCraw wants to get involved in a battle with the Mexican drug cartels instead of dealing with the day-to-day, less sexy, aspects of his job. Does the state of Texas really want to wage an all out war against the Mexican drug cartels. Have we not learned anything from the failed War on Drugs. Maybe McCraw is not the right man for this particular job.
It appears that Mr. McCraw is your typical government bureaucrat who wants more money and more resources to expand his little kingdom. And they frequently use the fear of things, like drug cartels, as an excuse to do so.
ReplyDeleteThe escalation in the War on Drugs in the way he is thinking is a very dangerous thing-its dangerous to liberty. If the state of Texas builds an army to go after the Mexican drug cartels-which is what it appears Mr. McCraw would like to do--then we will see an escalation of violence on this side of the border similar to what is taking place in Northern Mexico. Then what? Well, then bureaurcrats like Mr. McCraw will insist they need more officers, more military vehicles, etc. to combat the problem. Before you know it you have a completely militarized police state (even more so than Texas already is).
I have a friend who is a conspiracy nut and would say this is their plan. I don't think its a plan, but I think it is an inevitable result.
You would hope that someone with Mr. McCraw's experience and someone in his position would realize that we have to drastically change our approach to the war on drugs.
DPS Troopers make traffic stops on a daily basis that turn into major criminal investigations and criminal arrests. Just because you live in a self absorbed world that doesn't see how the criminal element affects YOU doesn't mean it doesn't happen. Troopers on a daily basis make traffic stops on human trafficking smugglers that are smuggling sometimes up to twenty people in a car. Many of the treatment these people (illegal immigrants) experience is just simply inhumane; but, I guess since you don't see it...it doesn't really happen or who cares right (2/8 11:39 A.M.) I can go on and on about the criminal activity that goes on in Texas on a daily basis that you don't see, because there are people out there like the Agents, Rangers, and Troopers of the Texas Dept. of Public Safety that protect you from having to experience it; but, somehow I doubt it would do any good what so ever. Those men and women perform a PUBLIC SERVICE that many are unwilling to do or have the heart to do. They get paid very little and their benefits shrink every single year, but the danger of their job doesn't. Show me a salesman, lawyer, judge, doctor, lobbyist, legislator, therapist, or what ever other job out there where they MUST wear a bullet proof vest and are armed with weapons because at any point in their day their LIFE may be in harms way. The job of a police officer is like that of a fire extinguisher. Its easy to look at it and think, what good is that thing it just sits there and collects dust. Yet, if a fire happened it could possibly save your life and you would be the first person saying, "Where is the fire extinguisher." Remember that when some crazy psychotic comes charging into a movie theater, restaurant, church, or what have you and starts shooting up the place and targeting you and your family, police officers are the people that are running IN while YOU ARE running OUT. Give them the respect they deserve, and pay them the salary they deserve to continue to protect people like you even though you obviously have no regard and no respect for the sacrifices they and THEIR FAMILIES make for YOU on a daily basis!
ReplyDeleteWow 2:40, that's some chip on your shoulder you have there. I sincerely hope you aren't carrying a gun with that kind of anger bottled up. Did I say anything about trooper's pay? Did I say anything disprespectful of troopers? See, this is the problem--any criticism at all and you are labeled as the bad guy who support criminal, or crime or whatever. My comments were directed at the bureacracy of DPS and the war on drugs. So, instead of ranting about what saints DPS officers are and how rampant crime is, etc. Why don't you address what my comments were really about. It's amazing how many people claim to believe in limited government, but in reality want it increased. Is that you 2:40. Here's your chance 2:40, lets hear an angry rant about increasing the bloated state bureaucracies. Apparently that is what you are really upset about. At least that's what my comments were about. The state is getting along just fine without those 400 troopers. So, are they really needed. Why don't you address that point. Furthermore, why don't you justify the war on drugs. How about a rant defending that? Yes, lets just keep adding more and more to the government and use more and more reasons to scare people into supporting huge government expansion. How about it 2:40?
ReplyDeleteFurthermore, I will now criticize DPS troopers. So, feel free to rant in defense of this practice. If there is so much crime out there that requires 1400 more troopers, why do two troopers have the time to conduct a roadside body cavity search on the side of a busy highway because one of them allegedly smelled marijuana. I guess its possible that those ladies were human traffickers and had several people hidden in their...... and..... Its a good thing those troopers were there, huh?
And another thing, since you mentioned the glorious Rangers in your rant... Let's see we have the debacle with the Mormon sect out west..we have Phillip Kemp who royally screwed up and committed perjury in the Mineola case...we have..can't remember his name, was promoted to a very high position, committed perjury in the Anthony Graves case...just read of another instance the other day, can't remember details right now, where a Ranger lied on the stand. Seems to me like Texas might be better off with a few less Rangers. Oh, also, Sheriff Boutwell who screwed up the case that send Michael Morton to prison was also a former Ranger, wasn't he---oh and he also got all those confessions from Henry Lee Lucas that turned out to be bogus by feeding him info...boy that's some great investigative work there, isn't it.
As far as your ridiculous rant about some psycho shooting up a theatre, etc. I can protect myself thank you, instead of waiting for someone like you to arrive too late. Let me keep my gun and I'll be fine. But, when we have a total police state, citizens will be disarmed.
I suppose we should add those 1400 more officer Col. McCraw wants. Then we'll need to build more prisons...wait, sound familiar? More officers will mean more people in prison. More goverment spending...Boy, 2:40, you must really be a big government liberal. You want to increase the size, scope, and power of government and limit individual freedom. I thought most law enforcement folks were conservative...guess you're an exception.
One more thing, 2:40. I was a police officer so I know what the job is about. I also no that I saw a lot that made me uncomfortable. While there are many good and honest officers who deserve respect, there are also those who love the power and abuse that power and think that a badge makes them privileged to lie. These don't deserve any respect. Which are you?
ReplyDeleteBtw, I mentioned the body cavity search incident -- maybe instead of trying to hire a lot more people and putting officers like this on the street, they should focus on training the ones they have.
Dear 02:40,
ReplyDeleteHave you ever hear the saying "Respect is something earned and not freely given." I have no respect for cops...and I am sure if you were to take a poll, most people have totally lost respect for cops....especially in Texas. While the job that a cop is SUPPOSED to do is an honorable one...it is an EXTREMELY rare ocurence when a cop atually lives up to the job. There is more corruption in law enforcement than I belive in any other occupation in the United States. You talk about cops protecting the citizens..but what we really need is someone to protect the citizens from the cops. Go chew on that...
Well let me give you a little insight to the DPS. The Legislature authorized some 51M (yea that's million) for overtime to be paid to every rank, Trooper to Major. On the Traffic Law Enforcement side, they have authorized each Trooper, Sergeant, Lieutenant, Captain, and Major to work 32 Hours a month overtime at time and a half. On the Criminal Law Enforcement side they have authorized each Agent, Lieutenant, Captain, and Major to work only 20 hours per month overtime. Now here is where it gets real interesting. The Troopers and Agents are required to actually work and put criminals in jail and are monitored by supervisors. Sergeants, Lieutenants, Captains, and Majors are allowed to merely go ride with a Trooper or Agent and collect the overtime, no enforcement required. At this present time there is a CVE Sergeant who has already worked 32 hours of overtime for the month and it is only the 8th day of the month. To add insult to injury, he had not written 1 ticket, 1 warning, or placed 1 person in jail. The taxpayers will pay him approximately $1,300 dollars this month for doing this. I think I just threw up in my mouth a little bit. This is not an isolated incident. This is happening on a monthly basis and has for the past year.
ReplyDeleteDPS Troopers have not had a raise since the 2007 Legislative Session. No cost of living adjustment (COLA) has been seen either. That is one of the big reasons DPS has a problem keeping Troopers. As of right now DPS is a training ground for other agencies and the private sector. Taxpayer dollars are being used to train, house, feed and equip Troopers. The Troopers do 8-10 years with DPS then go elsewhere for better pay, better working hours, and benefits. BTW: EEP or Enhanced Enforcement Program which replaced STEP (Specific Traffic Enforcement Program) was a stop gap measure sold to the Legislature by Col. McCraw to stop the bleeding of Troopers. It is nothing more than a band-aid on the problem. It is a successful program as it puts Troopers out on the roadway removing DWI drivers and doing other duties however it was sold to the Troopers as an overtime pay raise in an attempt to slow the exodus.
ReplyDeleteJust in my little county we have 32 LEO agencies. You can't swing a cat without bumping into some badge. Might be time to restructure. Maybe DPS has outlived it's usefulness. I certainly wouldn't sweat over funding 400 officers that haven't existed for some time without effect on safety. If we wanted to reduce crime we would end the war on drugs and tax the stuff and put the Mexicans out of operation. The DPS made their own reputation and can live with it They have boats? It figures.
ReplyDelete"One more thing, 2:40. I was a police officer so I know what the job is about."
ReplyDeleteWhoever wrote this statement doesn't have a clue. Being a security guard is not the same as being a cop.
If Texas doesn't lead the nation in nearly every traffic fatality statistic we're in the top 3. When I was a Trooper in Montgomery County Texas we averaged around 85 fatalaties a year. We added 10 more Troopers and the fatality rate dropped to around 65. We added 10 more and the last I checked they were averaging around 50 even though the population was increasing. How many death notifications have you made? How many times have you told a family they're daughter was killed by a drunk driver?
As far as the war on drugs are you suggesting we just go belly up and allow meth, heroine, or cocaine to be legal and just tax it. Have you ever responded to a call and seen a undernourished baby laying in its own excrement while its mother is passed out with a needle in their arms? Have you ever seen a meth tweaker beat to death a 2 year old with a belt because he won't stop crying.
I am now deployed down on the border with Mexico. Do you know what a Zeta cartel member is really like? Have you ever seen a torture room with Santa Muerte statues? Do you want them living in your community?
I can see that the public is not only non appreciative but openly hostile to the people who risk their lives for them. If it wasn't for my children and family I'd say screw it let these sheep deal with these criminals their own damn selves.
11:08, are you suggesting we turn Texas into the battle ground that Northern Mexico is. We've already started. Look at the recent assasination of the prosecutor in Kaufman. The policies you embrace will only bring more violence into the state. Do you think that just because DPS has some boats with big guns on them the cartels are going to lay down and give up? What do you think it will take to engage in the type of all out war your leader envisions? How many officers? How much money? And what will be the result ---just more death and violence. The people who advocate continuing the same policy on the war on drugs that has failed decade after decade are just moronic. They say the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting a different result. But, then, I think there are many in law enforcement that don't want to actually solve the problem. Then what would they do? No, many just want the war to continue. Escalating a battle with the Mexican cartels will be a huge, huge mistake. But, go ahead, the more fighting, the more death, etc., the more job security you have the larger and more powerfult he government will become. It doesn't take much foresight to see where this will lead. Unfortunately, some people can't see past their own self interests. You say you're deployed in the border--how much progress is being made there. How many officers will it take to stop those drugs? HOw much money will it take? How many centuries will it take? How many people will die, both guilty and innocent, while this war is waged? In the end, what will be accomplished? But, lets just keep doing the same thing and hoping we might get a different result.
ReplyDeleteFurthermore, let's talk about the situations you describe - i.e. people on meth. How has the war on drugs prevented all this? As much money, resources and lives that have been thrown away on this war and what do we have to show for it? If the current policy was working, there wouldn't be many of those stories, would there? So, how long do we continueto do what doesn't work and start trying to do something to prevent what you describe? You use those stories, those children, babies, to support a policy that doesn't help them at all. So, I don't think you really care about those kids. You just use them to support an argument but, if you really cared about them, you'd want to do something that might prevent these situations. Yet, you embrace a policy that has allowed these situations to remain numerous. It's just too bad that you don't care about these poor kids. What you care about is continuing to have these stories to use to support this war on drugs that you get a thrill out of being a part of. Those kids are just props for you to use to justify continuing a failed policy because that's what you and your buddies get a charge out of. Shame on you.
ReplyDelete11:08, maybe you should check your facts before spouting off. Texas ranks 25th in traffic fatalities per 100 million vehicle miles. Right in the middle. Now, if you just took the raw numbers, you might be right. But, the problem with that is, Texas has a lot more people than most states. I guess you're not smart enough to get that distinction though. You just blindly swallow propaganda spewed by bureaurcrats who want more money to spend.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.census.gov/statab/ranks/rank39.html
2:40 raised the theatre shooting, etc. If you really want to prevent these things, more traffic cops ain't going to do it. Did the police get there in time to stop anything? No. If you really want to do something to prevent these things you need to put more resources into mental health treatment. Texas does rank near the bottom, last I checked 49th in mental health spending. But, an increase in mental health spending wouldn't benefit you in anyway, it wouldn't increase the size of your army or provide new toys for you to play with or give you the thrills you get by the war on drugs. So, in the same way you used the kids of methheads, 2:40 uses the victims of these incidents to advance his argument, when, in reality, what he wants won't prevent these situations. If 2:40 really cares about the victims of these tragedies, he'd advocate taking the money allocated for those 400 troopers and putting it in the mental health system. But, again, its not about solving problems, is it?
Seems Col. McGraw may be positioning DPS to only investigate high priority crimes. This leaves me to speculate that it's not long before the highway patrol will be under TXDOT and driver licenses will be outsourced to a private entity.
ReplyDeleteThe drug war can't be won. Won't be won. LEOs have grown into a complex pixie-sticked mess made worse by the legislature, courts and judges. They can't afford themselves and neither can we. Time to start legalizing drugs, starting with pot and working all the way through. Make it legal. Tax it. Take money from the cartels. Prohibition never works. If the war could have been won it would have been won decades ago. I'm firmly convinced it's a jobs program for prosecutors and police. It grows government.
ReplyDeleteI say this as a conservative who has spent a lifetime voting in every election for the most conservative candidate and watching the government grown like a cancer. Legalize drugs.
Let's keep that border open.
ReplyDeleteSaying that we should just legalize drugs is a knee-jerk reaction. Sorry, but I don't want to see my cost of living go up and my standard of living go down because we decided to stop fighting illegal drug use. You might be asking yourself "How would that happen?" Take advantage of a clear headed moment and think about it.
ReplyDeleteI recall a DPS wide email from Steve McCraw where he readily stated that the 400 vacancies were intentionally not being filled so that the salary money could be used for other purposes. Now these vacancies can't be filled due to a lack of applicants? Which is it? I'm so tired of the bureaucratic fables I could scream. Does anyone at DPS tell the truth anymore?
ReplyDeleteJust had a thought. How about starting with and adequately staffing the DPS' core missions and adding responsibilities until the staffing and money hits the budget allocation. Then we stop, mindful that the agency can't be all things to all people. The DPS should perform no more services than it can consistently provide with quality.
ReplyDeleteAs for Col. McGraw, you weren't hired to do what you want to do. You were hired to do what the people of Texas want you to do. If you are unhappy and would be more at home in a bigger pond, may we gently suggest that you relocate and make way for someone else?
"Are you suggesting we turn Texas into the battleground Northern Mexico is"
ReplyDeleteI'm suggesting we don't let the Cartels get a foothold in South Texas and buy politicians and local police. Once they are entrenched it is very difficult to uproot them because they blend into every day society.
I can agree the war on drugs has been a failure but I haven't seen anyone come up with a solution. Legalizing marihuana is one thing and I wouldn't have a big problem with that. During my career I've arrested around 1000 people for DWI and 99.9 % of them were jacked up on alcohol or prescription drugs. Additionally, most of the use of force incidents I've been involved with were against a person drunk on alcohol. I've never dealt with a violent pothead.
That being said are you really suggesting we should legalize meth, herione, and cocaine? Even in the Netherlands hard drugs are outlawed. Its real easy to spot a problem but another matter to come up with a workable solution.
As far at the poster who said cops don't care about kids and only use them to support their arguments. Do you actually know any cops? Can they see an abused children and not give a shit? Nothing could be further from the truth. We can disagree about the solution but to claim cops could care less about kids because they are so gung ho and like to wage war shows me you don't personally know many cops.
And I agree the DPS gunboats are a dog and pony show. They are very ineffective in actually catching dope. The cartel has scouts all along the river and they just wait for them to leave.
One thing I do know because I'm here working down on the River and I've personally seen their atrocities is that the Mexican Cartels are evil. I've seen the bodies with satanic markings on them and I've interviewed kidnapping victims who talk about being raped and degraded. I do not want these people around my children and I will do everything in my power to stop them.
DPS troopers retire and then go on contract employment at a very high rate. I have heard that this has cause a very inflated budget as well. Anybody care to shed a little insight on how the contracting works?
ReplyDeleteDPS has the retire rehire program which means if a Trooper is in retirement range he can retire, take 30 days off, then rehire in his current position for the same pay. The benefit is the Trooper gets his retirement check plus his salary while working for DPS.
ReplyDeleteIt was a stop gap measure the Department used to keep Troopers still working and not leaving for the private sector.
@(2/8 11:39 A.M.) ....with your mentality we should just throw in the white flag right now and give Texas back to Mexico right?..Since Law Enforcement doesnt work....Maybe it will just all go away by itself.. Its obvious you have a hatred towards law enforcement as a whole.. Was it because your were not fit to hold the position and you were fired?.. What you and others like you lack is the capability of understanding what it takes to enjoy your freedom.. You are clueless when it comes to understanding the evil that exist in this world. The only thing keeping this evil between and you and your loved ones is people like the ones who choose law enforcement as their profession.. So in the future if your so convinced law enforcement is something we can so easily do away with then you have that option to handle evil on your own but we all know better.. You will be the first one to call a police officer for help when its needed then be the first one to stand in line to complain how it was improperly handled according to your "standards"... There is no way to please people like you.
ReplyDelete