Worried about current compliance, Gov. Greg Abbott signals openness to stricter coronavirus order
"It's clear to me that we may not be achieving the level of compliance that is needed," Abbott said during a news conference in Austin. Full Story
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![Gov. Greg Abbott addresses the press after a meeting with government officials on COVID-19 preparedness in the state. Feb. 27, 2020.]()
Credit: Miguel Gutierrez Jr./The Texas Tribune -
Texas state crime labs won’t test suspected marijuana in low-level cases
The Texas Department of Public Safety said last week that it would not perform testing to distinguish between hemp and marijuana in misdemeanor cases. Full Story
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![A container of dried hemp plant with leaves and stems on Jan. 23, 2020.]()
Credit: Miguel Gutierrez Jr./The Texas Tribune -
Austin's homeless residents consider Abbott's camp helpful but say his tweets still stigmatize them
As the governor latches on to violent incidents to criticize Austin city leaders, people experiencing homelessness say he's painting them with too broad of a brush. Full Story
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![Tents line up in parking spaces at the former TxDOT facility, now 5 acres of state-sanctioned homeless campsite on Jan. 23, 2020.]()
Credit: Eddie Gaspar/The Texas Tribune -
Greg Abbott blames another stabbing on Austin's homeless policies and ramps up DPS patrols
The Texas governor said DPS will place additional patrols within two blocks of state buildings downtown and around the University of Texas. Full Story
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![Gov. Greg Abbott delivers a speech at the swearing-in ceremony of Justice Brett Busby on March 20, 2019.]()
Credit: Miguel Gutierrez Jr./The Texas Tribune -
He spent a month in Texas jail accused of hauling 3,350 pounds of marijuana. But lab results say it was legal hemp.
The man had told a Texas Department of Public Safety trooper that his truck contained hemp, not weed. He was released from detention after a federal crime lab tested the cargo. Full Story
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![The Texas Department of Public Safety claimed last month that it seized more than 3,000 pounds of marijuana during a traffic stop in Carson County. Lab results indicate the load was legal hemp.]()
Credit: Texas Department of Public Safety -
Marijuana prosecutions in Texas have dropped by more than half since lawmakers legalized hemp
After Texas legalized hemp and threw marijuana prosecution into chaos last year, prosecutors filed far fewer criminal charges, police departments paid for private testing and public crime labs were struggling to catch up. Full Story
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Arrest warrant issued for state Rep. Poncho Nevárez after he was caught on tape dropping envelope with cocaine
The document says that the envelope had Nevárez's official House seal and held “four small clear baggies” containing a substance found to include cocaine. Full Story
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![State Rep. Poncho Nevárez, D-Eagle Pass, on the House floor on May 1, 2019.]()
Credit: Juan Figueroa/The Texas Tribune -
As Texas gets ready to clear some Austin highway encampments, Gov. Abbott and Mayor Adler at odds over homeless residents
The governor's decision to force homeless people from under state overpasses drew the ire of city leaders and homelessness experts, who criticized Abbott's "fear-based approach." Full Story
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![An encampment site under the TX-71 and W. Ben White Blvd. overpass in Austin. Wind has blown belongings and trash across the floor despite the community's efforts to keep the site clean. Seen on Oct. 24, 2019.]()
Credit: Eddie Gaspar/The Texas Tribune -
Texas considering whether to hand driver’s license, citizenship information to Census Bureau
The Texas Department of Public Safety received a request for the information earlier this month but has taken no action. Full Story
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Credit: Emily Albracht for The Texas Tribune -
Troopers have sued the Texas Department of Public Safety over a waist size policy. Commissioners say the policy is needed.
The DPS officers' association sued the agency over a new policy to measure a trooper's physical readiness for the job not only by fitness tests, but by waist size. Thursday, the Public Safety Commission decided the policy is scientifically sound. Full Story
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![The Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS) graduates a class of 74 new state troopers at the Texas Capitol.]()
Credit: Bob Daemmrich for The Texas Tribune -
After two Texas mass shootings, Greg Abbott wants to strengthen a vague network officials won't discuss
The governor's executive orders after shootings in El Paso and West Texas are meant to address gun violence without gun control. But a Department of Public Safety network he tapped says it needs more resources — and is remaining mum on how it operates. Full Story
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![Steven McCraw, Director of Texas Department of Public Safety, gives his testimony before the House Select Committe on Mass Violence Prevention & Community Safety committee on Sept. 17.]()
Credit: Eddie Gaspar/The Texas Tribune -
How to report a possible community, school safety threat in 10 minutes
Community members can report a potential threat to iWatchTexas via an app, online or over the phone. The resource launched last year, shortly after the shooting at Santa Fe High School. Full Story
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![The iWatchTexas application was released in 2018 to help report suspicious activity in school and communities.]()
Credit: Eddie Gaspar/The Texas Tribune -
Lines to get driver's licenses are long. Texans are skeptical more money will help.
In hopes to provide quicker service, over 90 of DPS' 229 offices — including every mega center and "severely crowded" office — will become fully staffed, while another 100 will receive smaller personnel boosts. Full Story
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![DPS Mega Center. Pflugervile, TX.]()
Credit: Tamir Kalifa for The Texas Tribune -
Texas' Driver Responsibility Program ends next month. Here's what that means for you.
More than 600,000 Texans will immediately be eligible to have their driver's licenses reinstated after the program's Sept. 1 repeal. The system was widely criticized for adding additional annual fees on top of the price of tickets, but all pending surcharges will soon be waived. Full Story
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![People wait at a driver license reclamation clinic in Austin on June 22, 2018.]()
Credit: Rachel Zein for The Texas Tribune -
Dallas' sudden spike in homicides has officials perplexed. And not everyone agrees that state troopers are helping.
After May's 40 homicides, Gov. Greg Abbott deployed state troopers to Dallas. Despite some drops in violent crimes, city officials say they've done more harm than good. Meanwhile, there's still no consensus on what's driving the increase as victims' families are left to grapple with grief. Full Story
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![Andrea Haag and Ben Harrington, whose son Joseph Pintucci was killed in January, pose for a portrait in their home in Highland Park.]()
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Here's everything you need to know about Texas gun laws
A debate over gun control was reignited after a gunman killed 22 people at a Walmart in El Paso. Here's a rundown of Texas' gun laws. Full Story
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![Guns at McBride's Guns in Austin on Mar 26, 2013.]()
Credit: Callie Richmond for The Texas Tribune -
Horror in El Paso: 20 dead, 26 wounded in mass shooting at Walmart
Police say the suspect is a white male in his 20s from the Dallas area who was arrested without incident. Police are investigating whether it was a hate crime. Full Story
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Credit: Ivan Pierre Aguirre for The Texas Tribune -
Texas DPS officers told not to arrest in low-level marijuana cases after new hemp law
A memo obtained by The Texas Tribune instructs DPS officers to cite and release suspects in misdemeanor marijuana cases "as appropriate." Officials said the goal is to continue enforcement even though some prosecutors aren't taking new pot cases. Full Story
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![State Troopers stop civilian on Congress Ave. in Austin, TX on Feb. 12, 2016.]()
Credit: Shelby Knowles for The Texas Tribune -
Texas DPS intelligence and counterterrorism chief fired after arrest on sexual assault charge
John Jones was arrested Tuesday in Travis County. He is accused of raping a woman at a party July 20. Full Story
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![At center of photo, John Jones, the former Texas Department of Public Safety Chief of Intelligence and Counterterrorism.]()
Credit: Screenshot via C-SPAN -
Gov. Greg Abbott deploys DPS to combat Dallas violent crime spike
The city had 40 homicides last month, the highest monthly total since the 1990s. Full Story
![The Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS) graduates a class of 74 new state troopers at the Texas Capitol.]()
Credit: Bob Daemmrich for The Texas Tribune