Slide No. 1
Public safety department is the umbrella organization of the government of the United States of America. Public safety department provides technical, economic and administrative services. Public safety departments are state and local. State public safety department act within states. Every state has a public safety department. Local public safety department are acting within cities and towns. There are not many of them, because in small towns they are substituted by local police offices. However, in some states police offices are only divisions of the public safety department. Hence, we see that the interactions between law enforcement agencies and public safety department are rather tight.
Slide No. 2
The public safety departments of every state has its own programs. In this case, I have choose Taxes as the example because it is one of the biggest and most developed states of the United States of America. That is why all the data used in the presentation will be taken from the Taxes public safety department.
The Taxes public safety department is working with nowadays several programs:
- CriMNet;
- Crime Alert Network;
- Motorcycle safety center;
- Emergency planning and community right to know Act;
- Public safety officer benefit program;
- Spotlight on crime.
As we see, all the programs can be roughly divided into three types. The programs aimed at law enforcement and fight with crimes. The programs aimed at preventing international crimes. The programs aimed at public safety, such as motorcycle safety or driver safety programs. Hence, we see that the variety of programs aimed at protecting the public safety of the citizens of the United States of America.
Slide No. 3
The third slide is dealing with the issue of divisions of the department of public safety. There are many of them, however, the most significant are:
- Administration;
- Aviation and operation support;
- Criminal investigation;
- Driver license;
- Emergency management;
- Highway patrol;
- Rangers;
- Law enforcement support;
- Intelligence and counterterrorism.
Slide No. 4
The next slide dealt with the issue of mission and vision of the department of public safety. Mission of the department of public safety is to provide citizens of the country with their rights and freedoms protection. Besides, every officer or trooper of the department of public safety oath to protect not only rights and freedoms, but also living, working and learning conditions of every individual. The vision of the department of public safety is that
“The DPS is the premier provider of trusted and proactive services in an ever changing threat environment.” (txdps.state.tx.us)
The main values of the department of public safety of Texas are excellence, integrity, teamwork and accountability. The motto of the department is courtesy, service, protection. The main goals include protecting citizens of the state and the country from crime and terrorism, provide citizens of the United States of America with highway and roads safety, enhance statewide emergency management and public safety licensing and regulatory service. All these rules help the department officers perform a high quality work on protecting lives of citizens.
Slide No. 5
The structure of the department is rather difficult. The structure of the department is described by the scheme presented on the official web page of the Taxes public safety department:
We see that the department of public safety in Texas is divided into three sub departments: homeland security department, operations department and service department. Each of the department is divided into several offices. Homeland security department is divided into emergency management, protection bureau, government relations, media and communication and other offices. It is significant to know the peculiarities of work of every department and office. If a person is willing to work in the public safety department, he or she should know all the peculiarities of work of each of the department.
Slides No. 6, 7
Slides No. 6 and 7 are devoted to the requirements. There are primary and secondary requirement. However, all they are significant. The first requirement is vision. A person, who is willing to work at the department of public safety, should have perfect eyesight. Besides, when applying to this job, one is checked by a physician. It is significant to have perfect health. Age is the second requirement. A person should be not younger than twenty years old. A person who is twenty years old should have already trained to be a trooper: this is the obligatory requirement to become a public safety department employee at the age of twenty. If the person has not finished the training school yet, he or she is allowed to apply to this job only at the age of twenty one. The last primary requirement is to have at least sixty hours of college.
In the seventh slide, I have outlined the secondary requirements. They are:
- Military service;
- Law enforcement officer experience;
- “Out of state police officers will need a letter from their state peace officer licensing agency (TCOSE equivalent) stating their peace officers license is valid and has not been subject to reprimand, suspension or revocation. Out of state police officers holding a Reserve Peace Officer Commission/License will not be eligible.” (txdps.state.tx.us)
- Verification of law enforcement and military experience, as well as of college hours;
- 24 months service with one of the federal agencies defined by the Code of Criminal Procedure.
Slide No. 8
In the eighth slide, I decided to outline the main duties of the trooper. They are:
- Educate others on public safety;
- Control traffic violations;
- Recover stolen vehicles;
- Assist other officers in case of emergency or simply in need;
- Provide public security in crowded places;
- Enforce laws.
Hence, we see that a trooper is capable to perform different tasks to protect every citizen of the United States of America. In my opinion, it significant to be able to perform all the duties properly. When looking at the duties, it is visible that every citizen’s life may sometimes depend on the actions of a single trooper of the department of public safety. The troopers should realize the significance of their job and perform it well
Slide No. 9
In the ninth slide, I have outlined the main reasons why a person wants to become a trooper at the department of public safety. They are:
- Salaries. Salaries in the public safety department are higher than in law enforcement establishments;.
- Career growth. There are many opportunities to climb the career ladder. In the previous slides, I have outline the structure of the department. Hence, there are many opportunities to choose one or another specialty;
- Vacations. Every person is given an annual paid vacation. Besides, health leaves are paid, as well;
- Paid uniform. An employee should not buy clothes or uniform, because the department provides its employees with all the necessary equipment and clothes;
- Every trooper is provided with a personal vehicle. The department takes care of its employees, hence, every employee is provided with a personal vehicle to get to work and back home safe and without any problem;
- Career stability. Department of public safety is one of the most stable departments in the country;
- The right to protect the country. This is one of the main reasons, why the youth chooses to join the team of the department of public safety.
Slide No. 10
In the tenth slide, I have outlined several reasons why I have chosen this very topic. I this that it is a rather respectful occupation. Who is not us protect the country? Who if not us protect our families and neighborhood? We are responsible for every action we take. The world is full of cruelty and I am aimed at decreasing the amount of cruelty here. I have chosen the profession of the trooper of department of public safety because troopers are the ones who protect people, their rights, freedoms, living, working and learning conditions. Public safety department troopers are the ones whom we see every day on highways, in the town patrolling the city.
Resources:
n.a. (n.d.) Basic requirements for trooper. Retrieved from http://www.txdps.state.tx.us/trainingacademy/recruiting/requirements.htm
n.a. (n.d.) Employment/career opportunities. Retrieved from http://agency.governmentjobs.com/txdps/default.cfm
n.a. (n.d.) Trooper duties. Retrieved from http://www.txdps.state.tx.us/trainingacademy/recruiting/duties.htm
n.a. (n.d.) Texas department of public safety. Retrieved from http://www.dps.texas.gov/
n.a. (n.d.) DPS Vision, mission, goals, values, and motto. Retrieved from http://www.txdps.state.tx.us/mission.htm
