Texas Law Enforcement Officer
Ethics Standards
Texas 77th Legislative Session - 2001
House Bill 183
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Follow the status of this Bill introduced in Texas regarding the
adopting, publishing, and enforcement of a code of ethics for
licensed law enforcement officers. Click
Here
House Bill 183 - Ethics in Law Enforcement
President, AdvocateWeb
AdvocateWeb is concerned about circumstances where professionals
in positions of power, authority, or trust can abuse that power to
"exploit" or abuse clients. Law enforcement
officers have tremendous power, not only in the realm of dealing
with criminal offenses but also in numerous types of crisis
situations. This is why AdvocateWeb is in support of
this legislation involving law enforcement officer ethics standards.
In any
professional dealings with law enforcement officers, citizens need to be able to trust that
these professionals will conduct themselves in an ethical manner. Certainly the law
enforcement profession needs to have the ability to "weed
out" anyone they determine does not adhere to their own
professional standards.
House Bill 183 (HB183) is a step to further ensure integrity and professionalism in law enforcement and to provide
better safety for Texas citizens. Rep. Glen Maxey has
introduced this Bill which will:
- require the establishment of a Law
Enforcement Officer Code of Ethics which would apply to officers
statewide, and will
- empower TCLEOSE
(Texas Commission on Law Enforcement Officer Standards and
Education) with the authority to enforce this Code of Ethics. (TCLEOSE is the licensing organization for law enforcement officers
in Texas.)
With the passage of this Bill, TCLEOSE would be granted the power
to revoke/suspend officers' licenses for ethics violations,
which they are presently unable to do. Virtually all other
professions which require licensure also have some mechanism for
license revocation/suspension for ethics violations or professional misconduct.
Texas law enforcement officers cannot have
their license revoked for ethics violations even if a review by
their peers or superiors or TCLEOSE determines that an officer's
conduct warrants such serious consequences.
TCLEOSE currently can only revoke a license if the officer is:
- convicted in criminal court for a felony violation, or
- convicted for a misdemeanor violation if the offense directly
relates to their duties and responsibilities, or
- they are in violation of TCLEOSE rules
(which are mostly administrative and do not establish any
specific standard for professional ethical conduct).
There are numerous types of professional misconduct that might be considered
highly unethical, yet might not result in a criminal conviction in
court. Thus HB183 simply empowers law enforcement professionals with an alternate
method of accountability for maintaining professional standards of conduct.
Would you like to know more detailed information about this
issue?
Click here to download: HB183info.pdf
You can download the free Adobe Acrobat PDF reader at
: http://www.adobe.com/products/acrobat/readstep.html
Want to support this Bill? Here's
how!
Send an email to hb183@advocateweb.org
for more information.
House Bill 183 has been referred to the House
Public Safety Committee. If you would like to support this
legislation, please write letters
to the legislators working on this Bill:
Bill Author:
Plus the following members of the Texas House Public Safety Committee:
- Chair: Rep. Bob Turner
http://www.house.state.tx.us/house/dist73/dist73.htm
Capitol Address: Room EXT E1.308 Austin, TX 78701
(512) 463-0644
District Address: P.O. Box 879 Coleman, TX 76834
(915) 625-3596
- Vice-Chair: Rep. Terry Keel
http://www.house.state.tx.us/house/dist47/dist47.htm
Capitol Address: Room EXT E2.208 Austin, TX 78701
(512) 463-0652
District Address: P. O. Box 2910 Austin, TX 78768
(512) 463-0652
- Rep. Leo Berman
http://www.house.state.tx.us/house/dist6/dist6.htm
Capitol Address: Room EXT E2.302 Austin, TX
78701
(512) 463-0584
District Address: P.O. Box 6028 Tyler, TX 75711
(903) 939-2400
- Rep. Joe Driver
http://www.house.state.tx.us/house/dist113/dist113.htm
Capitol Address: Room EXT E2.910 Austin, TX 78701
(512) 463-0574
District Address: 201 South Glenbrook Dr. Garland, TX 75040
(972) 276-1556
- Rep. Roberto Gutierrez
http://www.house.state.tx.us/house/dist41/dist41.htm
Capitol Address: Room 4S.04, Capitol
Building Austin, TX 78701
(512) 463-0578
District Address: 100 Savannah, #270 McAllen, TX 78503
(956) 618-0192
- Rep. Suzanna Gratia Hupp
http://www.house.state.tx.us/house/dist54/dist54.htm
Capitol Address: Room E1.314, Capitol
Extension Austin, TX 78701
(512) 463-0684
District Address: P. O. Box 273 Lampasas, TX 76550
(512) 556-8954
- Rep. Carl Isett
http://www.house.state.tx.us/house/dist84/dist84.htm
Capitol Address: Room EXT E2.310 Austin,
TX 78701
(512) 463-0676
District Address: 1001 Main Street #602 Lubbock, TX 79401
(806) 763-2366
- Rep. Phil King
http://www.house.state.tx.us/house/dist61/dist61.htm
Capitol Address: Room EXT E1.410 Austin,
TX 78701
(512) 463-0738
District Address: 2110 Fort Worth Hwy. Weatherford, TX
76086
(817) 596-4796
- Rep. Mike Villarreal
http://www.house.state.tx.us/house/dist115/dist115.htm
Capitol Address: Room E1.416, Capitol
Extension Austin, TX 78701
(512) 463-0532
District Address: 1621 Blanco Rd. San Antonio, TX 78212
(210) 734-8937
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