ABOUT US
WHAT ARE CONSTABLES?
Constables are sworn Texas Peace Officers with full law enforcement and arrest powers, and are the one Law Enforcement Officer in Texas with the widest range of lawful authority, both in geography and in law. Constables have the full right, duty, and authority to enforce all criminal and civil laws or ordinances that are County or State-based.
WHAT DOES A CONSTABLE DO?
All laws are separated into different Codes enacted by legislatures and Constables are responsible for enforcing these Codes. A Constable, just like any other sworn peace officer, can make an arrest for violation of any element of the Texas Penal Code, and also for violation of any Texas Code which has criminal responsibility attached as a result of its violation. Examples of these are: special attention to Protective Orders in Family Violence cases; Texas Health Code in cases of Mental Health warrants and their specialized handling; specialized attention given to the retrieval of Probation and Parole Violators, etc.
Constables serve and enforce all the judicial court orders that emit from a Justice of the Peace court, and their enforcement authority continues onward to advance up the judicial court through County Courts, State District Courts, Appeals Courts and the Texas Supreme Courts. Constables do not serve process from municipal courts; this is handled by city police officers or city Marshal’s Office.
Constables are elected within a given geographical district or a portion of a County called a precinct. The precinct falls along the same electoral lines as the Justice of the Peace precinct which the Constable immediately serves. Many times this Precinct encompasses more than one city within the County.
Elected Constables are the Chief Administrative Officer of their department.
Constables appoint Deputies to serve under them to perform the duties of the Office. The marked Constable car you see is being driven by a Deputy Constable.
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