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What is a Constable? Where do they fit into the legal/judicial/law enforcement spectrum? Elected? Hired? Duties?

A Constable is an elected position, the deputy constable are hired employees of the precinct constable. they are certified and sworn peace officers just like any other leo. Constables are primarily warrent and process servers for the local Justice of the peace, in some districts they do traffic enforcement, also some are hired by contract to do traffic duty on such things as toll roads and patrol within gated communities. they are also contracted to do the law enforcement many times within what is called a village here in Texas

I wondered about that also. Thanks for explaining.

JP171 wrote:A Constable is an elected position, the deputy constable are hired employees of the precinct constable. they are certified and sworn peace officers just like any other leo. Constables are primarily warrent and process servers for the local Justice of the peace, in some districts they do traffic enforcement, also some are hired by contract to do traffic duty on such things as toll roads and patrol within gated communities. they are also contracted to do the law enforcement many times within what is called a village here in Texas

Hopefully it doesn't "take a village!"

Is it a full time position? I assume one has to be eligible to be a sworn officer, no rap-sheet etc. Maybe they don't elect folks who have rap sheets in Texas. Isn't that refreshing?

Remember Mayor Marion Berry in Washington, D.c., the first elected official in history to ride to his inauguration in a limo bearing license plates he had made? Sorry, I digress.

Is there one in every precinct? How big is a precinct?

JALLEN wrote:Is it a full time position? I assume one has to be eligible to be a sworn officer, ....

Is there one in every precinct? How big is a precinct?

Constables are a bigger deal than you are realizing.

I live in Harris County Precinct 4, which has a population just over 1 million people. The Constable has eight facilities, about 25 commanding officers, hundreds of rank and file, and about a dozen divisions. They do a lot more than just warrants. They do traffic enforcement, crime scene investigation. white collar/fraud investigations, K-9 units, mounted patrol, DWI enforcement, etc. etc.

Constables are fully sworn law enforcement officers with arrest powers and authority.

JALLEN wrote:

JP171 wrote:A Constable is an elected position, the deputy constable are hired employees of the precinct constable. they are certified and sworn peace officers just like any other leo. Constables are primarily warrent and process servers for the local Justice of the peace, in some districts they do traffic enforcement, also some are hired by contract to do traffic duty on such things as toll roads and patrol within gated communities. they are also contracted to do the law enforcement many times within what is called a village here in Texas

Hopefully it doesn't "take a village!"

Is it a full time position? I assume one has to be eligible to be a sworn officer, no rap-sheet etc. Maybe they don't elect folks who have rap sheets in Texas. Isn't that refreshing?

Remember Mayor Marion Berry in Washington, D.c., the first elected official in history to ride to his inauguration in a limo bearing license plates he had made? Sorry, I digress.

Is there one in every precinct? How big is a precinct?

You're a lawyer, so the following link might shed more light for you than the average person.
http://www.statutes.legis.state.tx.us/D ... /LG.86.htm" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Jumping Frog wrote:

JALLEN wrote:Is it a full time position? I assume one has to be eligible to be a sworn officer, ....

Is there one in every precinct? How big is a precinct?

Constables are a bigger deal than you are realizing.

I live in Harris County Precinct 4, which has a population just over 1 million people. The Constable has eight facilities, about 25 commanding officers, hundreds of rank and file, and about a dozen divisions. They do a lot more than just warrants. They do traffic enforcement, crime scene investigation. white collar/fraud investigations, K-9 units, mounted patrol, DWI enforcement, etc. etc.

Constables are fully sworn law enforcement officers with arrest powers and authority.

What is the relationship between the Constable's officers and the Sheriff's officers?

Are there always 4 precincts?

Are the police, sheriff and constable officers all in the same area, along with DPS etc?

Here, police operate in incorporated cities, sheriff in unincorporated areas outside cities, and some smaller cities contract with the Sheriff to provide LE services in that city. No constables or JPs.

Police operate within the city for which they are employed. Sheriff's deputies can operate anywhere in the county, including within the cities of the county. Constables operate within their precinct, although they can legally cross boundaries in the service of a warrant, subpoena or process.

JALLEN wrote:What is a Constable?

aka Istanbul.

The location makes a huge difference in what constables do. If you are in a heavily populated area, they might have traffic cars, but they don't typically respond to calls. Their primary duties are to serve civil process, and their jurisdiction is the precinct in which they are elected. If someone is evicted, the constables will come out and oversee all their crap being thrown out into the street. Say a lady has a restraining order against a boyfriend and wants to move out. She can call the constables to come by and standby while she collects her things from the house. In more rural areas, the constables may take calls to assist the sheriff's office. Since they are elected, you usually see them at public events helping out with security. They want people to know they are out there. I've known tons of constables, and the best was out west of where I'm at. His uniform was a full-on polyester shirt with patches and all, and a pair of blue jeans. It was quite comical to see.