Do you have a training or employment to promote? Go to the CONTACT US page.
Serving the Coastal Bend and it's Officers Since 1966.
Please note that the fall meeting of the Coastal Bend Peace Officers Association, which had been scheduled for Thursday October 26th, has been moved to Thursday November 16th. This change was necessitated due to other scheduling conflicts in the area. The meeting will still be held in Beeville at the Bee County Coliseum, and will be co-hosted by the Bee County Sheriff's Office, Beeville Police Department, and the Refugio County Sheriff's Office.
In our ever-evolving media landscape, the CPBOA is looking at branching out into the podcast realm. Go to Spotify and check out the trailer for "10-8/10-41."
https://open.spotify.com/show/4gnj8pRc6rSlayKiCv6XvT?si=fe105808560240fd
The Coastal Bend Peace Officers Association has now branched out to more social media, as we are now on Facebook as well as on Instagram.
Please follow us and like us: cbpoa911
The enclosed press release is from District Attorney Rob Lassmann regarding the recent turmoil regarding his office and potential budget cuts. His letter should explain all that is going on.
Applications for CBPOA scholarships are being accepted for children of current CBPOA members, and who wish to pursue a career in law enforcement. To obtain an application and to see the requirements, go to the bottom of this home page and download the "Scholarship Application" and "Scholarship Requirements."
There's much to see here. So, take your time, look around, and learn all there is to know about us. We hope you enjoy our site and take a moment to drop us a line.
San Patricio County Chief Deputy Adrian Rodriguez
CBPOA President
The Bee County Sheriff's Office, Beeville Police Department and the Refugio County Sheriff's Office will close out 2023 hosting our fall meeting. The event will be held on Thursday November 16th at the Bee County Coliseum.
By Matt Smith
Cleburne Times-Review, Texas
CLEBURNE, Texas — A law set to go into effect Sept. 1 passed by the Texas Legislature and signed by Gov. Greg Abbott removes the age cap for men and women interested in applying for jobs in law enforcement.
Cleburne Police Chief Rob Severance, who joined other law enforcement officers from across the state in pushing for the bill, called passage of House Bill 1661 a win for law enforcement and the public.
"I'm so excited this bill passed," Severance said. "Everywhere across the state, really across the nation, law enforcement agencies are struggling to hire enough officers. This should help a lot and, we hope, greatly increase the pool of potential applicants not just for the Cleburne Police Department but everywhere."
Under the current rule, a person wishing to take the entrance exam for a position in most police departments must be 18 but no older than 44 with the exception of officers transferring from one agency to accept a job as chief of police at another. The new law retains the minimum age of 18 but removes the age limit.
The maximum age limit soon to be dispensed with applies only to municipal civil service departments, of which CPD is one. The age limit did not apply to law enforcement agencies not classified civil service departments, Severance said.
"Cleburne is one of the departments in 102 Texas cities, and the only law enforcement agency in Johnson County, under municipal civil service," Severance said. "It was adopted at the city's Jan. 8, 1948, election and approved by the [Cleburne City Council] on Jan. 23, 1948."
The benefits of operating under a civil service model are fairness and accountability, Severance said.
"The purpose for police and fire departments, although this new law only affects police departments, is to remove politics from public safety employment decisions," Severance said. "It sets up requirements and due process steps. So, in other words, I can't just hire who I want. There has to be a competitive exam and a process to hire or disqualify applicants in order of that list."
State Rep. Dewayne Burns, R-Cleburne, discussed the bill during a recent visit to the Cleburne Rotary Club.
"There's a shortage of police officers and this should help with filling those vacancies," Burns said.
Severance praised efforts by Burns and state Sen. Phil King, R-Weatherford, in support of the bill.
"We approached [Burns] and asked if he would introduce the legislation," Severance said. "We also communicated with Sen. King's office. Both they and their staffs were great to work with. I testified for the bill before the House Committee on Urban Affairs. They asked a lot of good questions and there were others there in support of the bill."
For a variety of reasons, it's become harder to hire police officers in recent years throughout the country.
"Fully staffed we would be 55 officers including myself," Severance said. "We're currently eight short from being fully staffed and I've heard issues of similar or larger staff shortage challenges from police chiefs around the state."
Severance said several at or near the current age limit have expressed interest but previously would not have been able to apply.
"We're working through our last eligibility list to hire or disqualify candidates," Severance said. "But we have fewer people on that list than we have vacancies. So we're going to have to test again. Which, we'll probably do sometime in September after the new law goes into effect so we'll have a broader pool of applicants, potentially at least."
CPD has long recruited at Fort Cavazos, formerly Fort Hood.
"In talking to police chiefs around the state we found that a lot of people who retired after a career in the military at 45 or older still have a passion for service," Severance said. "Under the current law couldn't apply to [municipal civil service departments] but will be able to now. [Johnson County Sheriff Adam King], the sheriff's office isn't under civil service, told me that some of his best deputies have been people who were past their 44th birthday when they were hired."
One would think that younger officer candidates would be better suited for police position jobs, but such is not always the case, Severance said.
"Some people at 40, 50 or older are in better shape than most 20-year-olds," Severance said. "So it's really a case-by-case situation rather than lumping everyone into age groups. All applicants old or young will still have to take the fitness test, have a medical exam and go through all the requirements everyone has to go through."
Another plus, Severance said, is that CPD pays for accepted applicants to go through police academy training and pays them while they're attending.
"You can apply to [CPD] and don't have to have a peace officer's license," Severance said. "We'll send you to the police academy pay for that and pay your salary while you're attending. Not every department will hire somebody and fully train them like that."
The new law, once it goes into effect, may inspire officers 45 and over at larger Metroplex police departments to consider Cleburne, Severance said.
"Cleburne has a good, hometown feel and as police here we get a lot of support and appreciation from the community," Severance said. I think that's an opportunity for some of the officers working in bigger cities who maybe don't feel that appreciation.
"Here you get a chance to do community policing in a manner where you get to know people in the community and feel like you're making a difference. I don't know that you always get the same sense of satisfaction like that working in a larger department.
"Overall, this new law should help us in our continuing goal to get word out to everybody about opportunities in Cleburne and what a great community this is to work in."
___
(c)2023 the Cleburne Times-Review (Cleburne, Texas)
Visit the Cleburne Times-Review (Cleburne, Texas) at www.cleburnetimesreview.com
Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.
House Bill 17 (Cook/Huffman) holds elected prosecutors accountable and prohibits the refusal to prosecute offenses. The bill clarifies that the policy or practice of refusing to prosecute a class or type of offence constitutes official misconduct for the purposes of removal from office.
House Bill 28 (Slawson/Birdwell) enhances the criminal penalty for aggravated assault from a second-degree felony to a first-degree felony if a deadly weapon was used in the assault and caused a traumatic brain or spine injury resulting in a persistent state or paralysis.
House Bill 1442 (A. Johnson/Bettencourt) provides law enforcement and prosecutors additional tools to go after organized street racing and street takeovers in Texas and elicit more substantial consequences for the perpetrators of these crimes. In February, Governor Abbott announced the launch of a statewide street takeover task force to combat the rise in dangerous street takeovers happening across Texas.
House Bill 2899 (Plesa/Hall) allows immediate removal of vehicles used in street racing or a reckless driving exhibition from the road for the safety of other drivers. The bill removes the current requirement that a vehicle be impounded only if there was property damage or someone suffered bodily injury and instead allows impounding if the owner is charged with racing on a highway or reckless driving exhibition.
Senate Bill 22 (Springer/Guillen) establishes the Rural Sheriff’s Office Salary Assistance Grant Program and the Rural Prosecutor’s Office Salary Assistance Grant Program for counties with a population of 300,000 or less, impacting 236 of Texas' 254 counties. The bill allows for increases in the salaries of sheriffs, prosecutors, and their staff and provides the ability to hire more staff, as well as aid in the purchasing of necessary vehicles, firearms, and safety equipment.
Senate Bill 840 (West/Anchia) deters and punishes violence against healthcare workers in the workplace by enhancing the penalty for assault from a Class A misdemeanor to a third degree felony if the victim is a hospital employee on hospital property.
Senate Bill 1004 (Huffman/Herrero) serves as a deterrent and increases accountability for parolees who have ankle monitors as part of their conditions of release by making it a state jail felony for anyone to tamper with or remove a required electronic monitoring device. This January, Governor Abbott called for legislative action focused on parolees who cut off their ankle monitor.
Senate Bill 224 (Alvarado/Leach) increases the safety of Texans by penalizing the rapidly growing crime of catalytic converter theft, which has increased 1,200 percent between 2019-2021, according to the National Insurance Crime Bureau. The bill enhances criminal penalties for offenses involving a catalytic converter.
Click on the "Our Directors and History" page to see our updated list.
Have your agency Chief contact:
Customer Service: 866.941.4090
Your agency can receive training to help combat child sex trafficking. For more information, please contact Minta Moore at:
New Life Refuge Ministries
PO Box 9157
Corpus Christi, TX · 78469
Phone: (361) 946 - 6331 | Fax: (361) 888 - 8895
info@newliferefugeministries.org
Our new member dues are some of the most affordable of any law enforcement organization anywhere.
Only $5.00 to renew every year? You can't beat a deal like this.
"The purpose of the CBPOA shall be to promote the cooperation and understanding of all persons involved in the enforcement of laws of the State of Texas and of the United States; the continued and convenient interchange of information and training between various Federal, State and local agencies, and to conduct ourselves in a manner that
"The purpose of the CBPOA shall be to promote the cooperation and understanding of all persons involved in the enforcement of laws of the State of Texas and of the United States; the continued and convenient interchange of information and training between various Federal, State and local agencies, and to conduct ourselves in a manner that will gain the respect of those we serve and to constantly strive to improve our position.'
The Coastal Bend Peace Officers Association is responsible for awarding thousands of dollars of scholarship money each year to qualified and responsible sons and daughters of CBPOA members who wish to carry on the tradition of law enforcement and law enforcement related fields.
Whether you help through providing meeting locations, volunteering your time, or spreading our mission through word-of-mouth, thank you. We couldn't accomplish our goals without the help of members like you.
Do you want to join the CBPOA? It's simple. Just click on the "DOWNLOAD" button below, print the file and fill it out. You can email the completed form to Charity Franco at coastalbendpoa@gmail.com
CBPOA MEMBERSHIP APPLICATION (docx)
DownloadIf you have a student who is in need of a scholarship, click on the "DOWNLOAD" buttons below to print up the "SCHOLARSHIP APPLICATION" and the "SCHOLARSHIP REQUIREMENTS" FORMS
Coastal Bend Peace Officers Association
Copyright © 2018 Coastal Bend Peace Officers Association - All Rights Reserved.
Powered by GoDaddy