Press Room

Commissioner Garcia Takes No Action on the Proposed Study of the Contract Deputy Program and Commits to Continuing Discussion with Law Enforcement Agencies & the Community.

I’m disappointed in the way the Commissioners Court agenda item regarding the constable contracts was interpreted and misrepresented. For this reason, I decided to pull it from the agenda. I strongly believe the program is serving its purpose, and I am grateful for the hardworking constables that keep our residents safe.  The goal of the study was not to eliminate the program. Rather, the goal was to understand how the program works, understand its full cost with the impending revenue cap imposed by the Legislature, and discover ways it might be improved.

I will work with our law enforcement agencies and continue this important conversation.

I look forward to discussing how to make this program better with the constables, who would have been invited to participate in the initial study, and take into account some of the constructive feedback we received today about this program.

As a former sheriff who supported our contract program and made improvements to it, I know that effective public safety is vital, and I am always committed to finding opportunities to improve how to keep all of our citizens safer while benefiting from transparency.