General Duties: Peace Officers 1.01: Constables and Deputy Constables
are classified as peace Officers and are licensed by the Texas
Commission on Law Enforcement Officer Standards and Education. 1.01.01
Duties and Powers: Peace officers duties primarily affect the public,
that is, the prevention of crime and arrest of offenders. By command of
statute, it is the duty of every peace officer to:
- preserve the peace within the officers jurisdiction by all
lawful means,
- interfere without warrant to prevent or suppress crime where
authorized by the Code of Criminal Procedure,
- execute all lawful criminal process issued to the officer by
magistrate or court,
- give notice to some magistrate of all offenses committed within
the officers' jurisdiction, where the officer has good reason to believe
there has been a violation of the penal law,
- arrest offenders without warning in every case where the officer
is authorized by law, in order that they may be taken before magistrate
or court and be tried.
Other statutory powers provide that:
- whenever a peace officer meets with resistance in discharging
any duty imposed under law officer shall summon sufficient citizens to
overcome the resistance,
- the peace officer who has summoned any person to assist the
officer in performing the officer;s lawful duty shall report if that
person should refuse to obey,
- when requested, the peace officer will inform the victim of a
crime about the procedures in criminal investigations.
Constables: Article Five, Section Eighteen of the Texas Constitution
provides for the election of constables.
Constables serve for a term of four years. The constitutional provision
states the requirements for establishing the appropriate number of
precincts in each county from which constables are elected. Another
subsection controls the effect of the boundary changes on constable
precincts and the term of office that shall be served after such changes
have taken place. From the constitutional base establishing the office
of constable, we turn to examination of the statutory authority that
defines the duties and powers of a constable.
The Local Government Code defines the following as the general powers
and duties of constable: (a) A constable shall execute and return as
provided by law each process, warrant, and precept that is directed t
the constable and is delivered by lawful officer. (b) A constable may
execute any civil or criminal process throughout the county in which the
constable's precinct is located and contiguous counties and in other
locations as provided by the Code of Criminal Procedure or by any other
law. (c) A constable expressly authorized by statute to perform an act
or service, including the service of civil or criminal process,
citation, notice, warrant, subpoena, or writ, may perform the act or
service anywhere in the county in which the constable's precinct is
located. (d) Regardless of the Texas Rules of Civil Procedure, all civil
process may be served by a constable in the constable's county
contiguous to the constable's county, except that a constable who is a
party to or interested in the outcome of a suit may not serve any
process related to the suit. (e) The constable shall attend each justice
court held in the precinct. The Local Government Code also contains a
provision that allows constables to summon residents to assist in the
execution of lawful or arrest of an offender. The Local Government Code
also sets forth strict guidelines for maintaining the 'bond of
constable.'