We have received confirmation from the Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS) through the Texas Public Information Act (TPIA) that the City of Dallas Security Force commissioned Security Officers through the Texas Board of Private Investigators and Private Security Agencies.

Comparing the names on the above document, one can see that many are also claimed to hold Peace Officer Certifications from, what is now known as, the Texas Commission on Law Enforcement (TCOLE).

Below are snapshots of the Personal Service Records (PSR’s) from TCOLE for the names listed in the document requesting Security Officer commissions:

One may notice, all but one name, from the first form in this publishing are also named and provided a “temporary certification,” for Peace Officer licensing from TCOLE.

In our research, we have been unable to find the school “Dallas Security Force,” to be approved by TCOLE, but the rules at the time, allowed TCOLE to provide a temporary, one year, certification to people who meet the minimum requirements for initial licensure. The requirement was, one must attend an approved school within a year and then they would be granted a permanent certification.

Again, the Dallas Security Force, was never an approved school from TCOLE:

Granting the temporary certification is not the biggest problem. The concern is, how did they maintain an active license? Also, why would an employer need an employee to be a Security Officer and a Peace Officer?

Short answer? They would not need them to be both classes of commission. By default of submitting a Security Officer commission, one can conclude there was never approval to have “arrest authority,” from the agency representing the City of Dallas Security Force.

The active license may be a failure in the system, of the time period. One that may have been known to those that decided to pursue law enforcement careers after Dallas Security Force.

Now that technology has advanced itself, finding these issues in history may become easier.

We have had issues with TCOLE doing a proper review of our concerns, so we submitted a complaint to their Human Resources Office and a Title 8 Complaint to the Texas Rangers. We are waiting on the resolution of our concerns.

Could the type of susceptibilities in the system of past process be a contributor to issues with law enforcement today?