Texas DPS opens first recruitment center in North Texas

The Texas Department of Public Safety has opened a recruitment center in southern Dallas. The center at the Mark Cuban Heroes Basketball Center is DPS' first outside of a public facility.

DPS says the center can strengthen connections with neighborhoods.

"Community engagement, community involvement and community understanding equal community support," says DPS Regional Director Jeremy Sherrod.

Sherrod says an office in a neighborhood gathering place can show people troopers are part of a law enforcement agency but also part of their community.

"Anytime you see a 'black and white,' obviously yeah, the first thing you're going to do is step on your brakes, but the one thing I want you to think about from this day forward is the involvement we have with the community."

State Sen. Royce West says the recruitment office can also help kids get to know law enforcement.

"Young people who come here get an opportunity to interact with law enforcement and look at a career in law enforcement," he says. "That's exactly what we want to be able to do."

DPS hopes to fill 600 jobs across Texas over the next two years. DPS says partnerships like the recruiting center can help attract the next generation of troopers and show people the work they do.

"Without these types of partnerships with the community, guess what? We don't fill academies," says DPS Training Operations Division Chief James Thomas. "We don't have the opportunity to serve the community, and we can't be out there on the side of the roadway and other places in the community ensuring the safety of the people we serve."

LISTEN on the Audacy App
Tell your Smart Speaker to "PLAY 1080 KRLD"
Sign Up to receive our KRLD Insider Newsletter for more news
Follow us on Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | YouTube