Rangers Of Today
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Texas Government Code Sec. 411.024
THE TEXAS RANGERS DIVISION MAY NOT BE ABOLISHED

Note: The historical importance and symbolism of the Texas Rangers is such that they are protected by statute from being disbanded.

The division relating to the Texas Rangers may not be abolished.

Acts 1987, 70th Leg., ch. 147, Sec. 1, eff. Sept. 1, 1987.

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Texas Government Code Sec. 411.022
AUTHORITY OF TEXAS RANGERS

(a) An officer of the Texas Rangers is governed by the law regulating and defining the powers and duties of sheriffs performing similar duties, except that the officer may make arrests, execute process in a criminal case in any county and, if specially directed by the judge of a court of record, execute process in a civil case.

(b) An officer of the Texas Rangers who arrests a person charged with a criminal offense shall immediately convey the person to the proper officer of the county where the person is charged and shall obtain a receipt.

The state shall pay all necessary expenses incurred under this subsection.

Acts 1987, 70th Leg., ch. 147, Sec. 1, eff. Sept. 1, 1987.

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Texas Government Code Sec. 411.0221
SPECIAL RANGERS

Note: Any commissioned member of DPS can be a “Special Ranger” after retiring, but only a retired Ranger can hold a “Special Texas Ranger” commission.

(a) The commission may appoint as special rangers honorably retired commissioned officers of the department and not more than 300 other persons.

(b) A special ranger is subject to the orders of the commission and the governor for special duty to the same extent as other law enforcement officers provided for by this chapter, except that a special ranger may not enforce a law except one designed to protect life and property and may not enforce a law regulating the use of a state highway by a motor vehicle. A special ranger is not connected with a ranger company or uniformed unit of the department.

© Before issuance of a commission to a special ranger the person shall enter into a good and sufficient bond executed by a surety company authorized to do business in the state in the amount of $2,500, approved by the director, and indemnifying all persons against damages resulting from an unlawful act of the special ranger.

(d) A special ranger is not entitled to compensation from the state for service as a special ranger.

(e) A special ranger commission expires January 1 of the first odd-numbered year after appointment. The director may revoke a special ranger commission at any time for cause.

Acts 1987, 70th Leg., ch. 147, Sec. 1, eff. Sept. 1, 1987.

Texas Government Code Sec. 411.024
SPECIAL TEXAS RANGERS

(a) The commission may appoint as a special Texas Ranger an honorably retired or retiring commissioned officer of the department whose position immediately preceding retirement is an officer of the Texas Rangers.

(b) A special Texas Ranger is subject to the orders of the commission and the governor for special duty to the same extent as other law enforcement officers provided for by this chapter, except that a special Texas Ranger may not enforce a law except one designed to protect life and property and may not enforce a law regulating the use of a state highway by a motor vehicle. A special Texas Ranger is not connected with a ranger company or uniformed unit of the department.

© Before issuance of a commission to a special Texas Ranger the person shall enter into a good and sufficient bond executed by a surety company authorized to do business in the state in the amount of $2,500, approved by the director, and indemnifying all persons against damages resulting from an unlawful act of the special Texas Ranger.

(d) A special Texas Ranger is not entitled to compensation from the state for service as a special Texas Ranger.

(e) A special Texas Ranger commission expires January 1 of the first odd-numbered year after appointment. The commission may revoke the commission of a special Texas Ranger who commits a violation of a rule of the department for which an active officer of the Texas Rangers would be discharged.

(f) The commission shall authorize a badge for persons appointed as special Texas Rangers under this section that is distinct in appearance from the badge authorized for special rangers under Section 411.023.

Added by Acts 1999, 76th Leg., ch. 1189, §10, eff. Sept. 1, 1999.

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Click icon to view all current Texas Rangers and officers.

Thanks to the Waco Ranger Museum and Hall of Fame.

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Hank Whitman Commander of the Texas Rangers and Assistant DPS Director

As Assistant Director of Texas DPS for the Texas Ranger Division, I’d like to welcome you to the Internet site of the Texas Ranger Hall of Fame and Museum — the Official State Museum, Hall of Fame and Repository for the Texas Rangers. We are honored by your interest. (credit article to )

This site information about our agency and its heritage of service. The Rangers have protected the people of Texas since 1823, when colonizer Stephen F. Austin called for men to “Range” the frontier.

The modern Texas Rangers are an investigative division of the Texas Department of Public Safety. The 150 Rangers authorized by the Texas Legislature are posted across Texas in six companies with headquarters in Houston, Garland, Lubbock, McAllen, El Paso, and Waco/San Antonio with an administrative headquarters office in Austin. The Rangers have been called one of the most effective investigative law enforcement agencies in the world.

These highly motivated men and women, selected from many outstanding candidates, take pride in the colorful traditions they have inherited and the modern challenges they face. As living symbols of a unique heritage, they wear the boots, white hats and pistol belts of their predecessors.

As elite law enforcement officers of the 21st century, they have added college degrees, networked computers, cell phones and state-of-the-art forensic analyses. The Texas Rangers are a heritage to be valued and a symbol of service for future generations.

The Texas Ranger Hall of Fame in Waco is a cooperative project of the Texas Department of Public Safety, the Texas Rangers and the City of Waco. It preserves and interprets a unique heritage of service spanning the centuries. We hope you will visit the next time you are in Waco.

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Texas Department of Public Safety

The Texas Ranger Division is a major division within the Texas Department of Public Safety with lead criminal investigative responsibility for the following: major incident crime investigations, unsolved crime/serial crime investigations, public corruption investigations, officer involved shooting investigations, and border security operations. The Texas Ranger Division is comprised of 144 commissioned Rangers, 24 non-commissioned administrative support personnel, 1 budget analyst and 1 forensic artist, totaling 170 full time employees.

The Texas Ranger Division is currently in the process of creating a Public Corruption Unit in response to legislation passed during the 81st Legislative session. The Ranger Division has also been tasked with management oversight of the department’s full-time SWAT Team, proposed regional Special Response Teams (SRT’s), and the department’s Crisis Negotiations Unit. The Texas Rangers currently coordinate border security operations through six (6) Ranger Staff Lieutenants assigned to six (6) Joint Operations and Intelligence Centers (JOICs) along the Texas- Mexico border and Coastal Bend area of the state.

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Becoming a Texas Ranger

In addition to qualifications required for entry employment with the Texas Department of Public Safety, the following special requirements apply:

Each applicant must be a citizen of the United States of America, in excellent physical condition, and have an outstanding record of at least eight (8) years experience with a bona fide law enforcement agency engaged principally in the investigation of major crimes. The applicant must be currently employed with the Texas Department of Public Safety in the position of a commissioned officer with the rank of at least Trooper II.

Applicant must have a background subject to a thorough investigation, which would reflect good moral character and habits. Applicant must possess a valid Texas driver’s license free of any restrictions that would compromise the applicant’s ability to perform his duties.

An entrance examination will be given, and selected applicants with the highest scoring grades will appear before an Oral Interview Board before final selection.

At this time the basic requirements for employment as a DPS Trooper, which is the entry level for commissioned officers with DPS, are the applicant must be at least twenty (20) years of age and must have a minimum of ninety (90) semester hours from an accredited college. Thirty-six (36) months or more military or law enforcement experience may be substituted for required semester hours. Military police experience, however, does not count toward the eight (8) years experience required in order to be eligible to compete for the position of Texas Ranger.

Little recruiting has ever been necessary. It is not unusual for more than 200 officers to apply for only a handful of openings.

Rangers are required to attend at least 40 hours of in-service training every two years, but for most Rangers, the training far exceeds the requirement. Some Rangers receive additional training in areas such as investigative hypnosis, which has played an important role in some criminal cases.

In 1987, the average Ranger was about 45 years of age. On average, Rangers had 42 hours of college and twenty-eight Rangers had college degrees (including two with Master’s degrees). In 2007 the average age is 47. College had increased to an average of 117 hours, 41 Rangers have Bachelor’s degrees, 14 Rangers have Associates degrees, and 3 have Master’s degrees.

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Texas Rangers Co. “D” 2006

Rangers group photo in Waco 2007

Hispanic Rangers serving Texas

All Companies photo 2000

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The law concerning the Texas Ranger Badge.

Texas Government Code Sec. 411.017
UNAUTHORIZED ACTS INVOLVING
DEPARTMENT NAME, INSIGNIA, or DIVISION NAME

(a) A person commits an offense if, without the director’s authorization, the person:

1. manufactures, sells, or possesses a badge, identification card, or other item bearing a department insignia or an insignia deceptively similar to the department’s;
2. Makes a copy or likeness of a badge, identification card, or department insignia, with intent to use or allow another to use the copy or likeness to produce an item bearing the department insignia or an insignia deceptively similar to the department’s; or
3. uses the term “Texas Department of Public Safety,” “Department of Public Safety,” “Texas Ranger,” or “Texas Highway Patrol” in connection with an object, with the intent to create the appearance that the object belongs to or is being used by the department.

(b) In this section, “department insignia” means an insignia or design prescribed by the director for use by officers and employees of the department in connection with their official activities. An insignia is deceptively similar to the department’s if it is not prescribed by the department but a reasonable person would presume that it was prescribed by the department.

© A district or county court, on application of the attorney general or of the district attorney or prosecuting attorney performing the duties of district attorney for the district in which the court is located, may enjoin a violation or threatened violation of this section on a showing that a violation has occurred or is likely to occur.

(d) It is an affirmative defense to a prosecution under this section that the object is used exclusively:

(1) for decorative purposes, maintained or preserved in a decorative state, and not offered for sale; or

(2) in an artistic or dramatic presentation, and before the use of the object the producer of the presentation notifies the director in writing of the intended use, the location where the use will occur, and the period during which the use will occur.

(e) An offense under this section is a Class A misdemeanor, unless the object is shipped by United States mail or by any type of commercial carrier from a point outside the State of Texas to a point inside the state if the shipper or his agent has been sent notification by registered United States mail of this section prior to the shipment, in which event the offense is a felony of the third degree.

Acts 1987, 70th Leg., ch. 147, Sec. 1, eff. Sept. 1, 1987. Amended by Acts 1989, 71st Leg., ch. 496, Sec. 1, eff. Sept. 1, 1989.

Only the Texas Rangers, Texas Department of Public Safety, can authorize exceptions.

The few that have been granted are usually badges made for movies & TV shows (such as Walker: Texas Ranger). The Frontier Battalion Texas Ranger Exhibit has been given permission granting this special exception to wear and to display the Texas Ranger Department of Public Safety badges during their displays and activities.
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Visit the Waco “Texas Ranger Hall of Fame and Museum” web page for an excellent showing of fake and reproduction Ranger badges. click on their icon on “Home Page” and Look under Beware: Fake Badges.

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Current events within the Texas Rangers.

Comments by the Governor of Texas Rick Perry.

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Contact us at badlands5@sbcglobal.net or beadman@hughes.net