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TCOLE reports hiring surge, reorganizes academy oversight and shortens some academy contracts
Summary
The Texas Commission on Law Enforcement told commissioners it has grown staff, held a statewide job fair and reorganized its enforcement and academy oversight functions; academy contracts will be renewed for two years while a new credentialing and education unit stands up.
Executive Director Stevens told the Texas Commission on Law Enforcement on Sept. 10 that the agency has increased staff, hosted its first job fair and is reorganizing operations to add capacity for academy oversight.
Stevens said the agency “currently has 91 full‑time employees, and we have 5 temporary staff,” and that the agency had 15 job postings to fill 31 positions. He said the commission held its first job fair on Aug. 8 and that 58 people attended (about 52% online, 48% in person). “Some of them are in the hiring process as well,” he said.
The executive director described an organizational change that moves the old enforcement division into a new Compliance and Standards unit under Deputy Chief Vineyard and creates a separate Credentialing and Education unit under Deputy Chief Colin Grissom focused on academies. Stevens said the reorganization will concentrate enforcement‑style oversight (arrests, investigations, agency minimum standards) in Compliance and Standards while the new credentialing unit will oversee academies and training quality.
Stevens said the commission operates 124 basic training academies statewide and that the agency’s aim is to improve performance and support struggling academies rather than close them. To give the new credentialing unit time to build capacity, the commission will shorten academy contract renewals from its customary five years to two years during the interim. “We don't want people to think that we're renewing your contract for only two years because you're doing poorly,” Stevens said. The two‑year renewals, he said, are an interim tool while staffing and operating procedures for academy oversight are built; once the unit is staffed and established, the commission expects to return to five‑year renewals.
Stevens and Deputy Chief Grissom said the agency will increase field service agents to inspect and support academies and to identify what high‑performing academies do differently. Grissom noted that credentialing staffers will focus on the technical and educational aspects of academies and will begin more systematic oversight.
Commissioners and staff said they are messaging the change to training providers now and will present details at the TCOLE training conference later this month. Stevens said agencies with contracts coming up should expect a two‑year renewal during the transition; fee schedules and inspection processes will not change as a result of the shortened renewal term.
Why it matters: TCOLE’s approach shifts the agency from ad hoc oversight to a two‑unit model that separates compliance/enforcement from training and credentialing. The move aims to raise statewide academy quality while preserving local agencies’ ability to run training programs.
Ending: Stevens said the reorganization is intended to be collaborative and that staff and commission members welcome questions from training academies as the transition proceeds.
