Keeping it Local
This municipal official or department serves as the primary law enforcement agency for a specific city or town.
Police Department of City/Local Police
Operating within public school systems, these specialized officers maintain safety and mentor students on school grounds.
State Troopers/Highway Patrol
Operating under the DOJ, this primary federal agency investigates domestic terrorism, counterintelligence, and major federal crimes.
Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI)
As the largest federal law enforcement agency, its agents secure U.S. international borders and official ports of entry.
Customs and Border Protection (CBP)
Beyond protecting the President and foreign dignitaries, this agency originally formed to investigate financial crimes and counterfeiting.
United States Secret Service
This elected local official and their deputies provide primary law enforcement and operate county jails for the Austin, Texas area.
Travis County Sheriff's Office
This state-level department oversees highway patrol, disaster response, and overall public safety across Texas.
Texas Department of Public Safety
This federal agency focuses specifically on combatting illegal drug trafficking and enforcing controlled substance laws.
Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA)
This Department of Homeland Security agency enforces federal immigration and customs laws inside the interior of the U.S.
Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE)
One of the nation's oldest federal law enforcement arms, this agency investigates mail fraud, illegal mail shipments, and crimes against postal facilities.
United States Postal Inspection Service
This elected local official and their deputies provide primary law enforcement and operate county jails for the Austin, Texas area.
University Police
Formed in 1823, this elite division of the Texas DPS serves as the state’s primary major-crimes investigative unit.
Texas Rangers
This agency investigates the illegal use and trafficking of firearms, explosives, arson, and regulated commercial goods.
Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF)
Created after September 11, 2001, this agency inspects passengers and baggage at commercial airports across the nation.
Transportation Security Administration
This agency’s uniformed officers protect federal buildings, courthouses, and government property across the country.
Federal Protective Service (FPS)
These law enforcement officers hold jurisdiction over sovereign Native American reservation lands.
Tribal Police
These conservation officers enforce hunting, fishing, and boating regulations while protecting wildlife across Texas lands and waters.
Game (and Fish) Warden
Established in 1789 as America's oldest federal law enforcement agency, its duties include capturing fugitives and protecting federal judges.
United States Marshals Service (USMS)
This federal agency coordinates disaster relief, emergency response, and recovery efforts following major national natural disasters.
Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA)
These law enforcement officers protect national parks, monuments, and historic sites managed by the National Park Service.
United States Park Police (or Park Rangers)
Operating within public school systems, these specialized officers maintain safety and mentor students on school grounds.
School Resource Officer(s)
This state agency manages adult state prisons and supervises offenders released on parole across Texas.
Texas Department of Criminal Justice
This DOJ agency oversees all federal correctional institutions and houses convicted federal offenders.
Federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP)
Operating under DHS during peacetime, this military branch enforces maritime law, performs search and rescue, and guards coastal waters.
United States Coast Guard (USCG)
Specialized uniformed police within the Department of Veterans Affairs who secure VA hospitals and medical centers nationwide.
VA Police