Constables are among the earliest recorded
police officers in world history. From a very humble beginning in the
5th century, by the turn of the 6th century they were chief household
officers. In France, Constables commanded the armies in the Kings
absence. Becoming noted peacekeepers under King William 'The Conqueror'
in 1066 Constables responsibilities were expanded with the adoption of
the Magna Carta, which not only became the pattern for most of the
world’s Constitutions, but also mentioned Constables in written law.
Constables have served the Justice Court system since 1362. In 1583
William Lambard published the first Policy & Procedure manual for
Law Enforcement. It's primary purpose was to outline the duties of the
Constable.
On March 5, 1823, John Tumlinson, the newly elected alcalde or Justice of
the Peace of the Colorado District in Stephen F. Austin's first colony
in Texas, wrote to the Baron de Bastrop in San Antonio that he had
"appointed but one officer who acts in the capacity of constable to
summon witnesses and bring offenders to justice." That appointee, Thomas
V. Alley, thus became the first Anglo law enforcement officer in the
future republic and state of Texas. Other prominent colonists who served
as constable included John Austin and James Strange.
The Constitution of the Republic of Texas (1836) provided for the
election in each county of a sheriff and "a sufficient number of
constables." During the ten years of the republic's existence,
thirty-eight constables were elected in twelve counties, the first in
Nacogdoches County and the largest number (thirteen) in Harrisburg
(later Harris) County. Court records indicate that violent crime was
rare in the republic, except when horse or cattle thieves entered Texas
from Arkansas or Louisiana; most indictments were for nonlethal crimes
such as illegal gambling or assaults resulting from fights or scuffles.
Juan N. Seguin and Elliott M. Millican both served as constables during
the republic.
Shortly after Texas became a state, an act passed by the legislature
specified that the constable should be "the conservator of the peace
throughout the county," adding that "it shall be his duty to suppress
all riots, routs, affrays, fighting, and unlawful assemblies, and he
shall keep the peace, and shall cause all offenders to be arrested, and
taken before some justice of the peace." Constables were the most active
law-enforcement officials in many counties during the early statehood of
Texas.
After Texas seceded from the United States in 1861, many county offices,
including that of constable, remained unfilled or were filled by men
less competent than their predecessors. During the military occupation
of Texas after the Civil War, the election of county officials all but
ceased, as the Union military appointed more than 200 individuals to
state and county offices. A number of these appointees refused to serve;
from 1865 to 1869, over one-third of the county offices in Texas were
vacant. Many counties had no appointed or elected constables during this
period. Austin, DeWitt, Fayette, McLennan, and Navarro counties had but
a single constable each, appointed by Gen. Edward R. S. Canby, head of
the Fifth Military District, in 1868-69.
Under the Constitution of 1869, a Reconstruction document that
centralized many governmental functions, no constables were elected in
Texas from 1869 to 1872, though some were appointed by justices of the
peace. Many of these appointees lacked experience in handling violent
offenders and access to secure jail facilities, and had few deputies to
call upon for assistance. They were no match for the poor, embittered,
and heavily armed former soldiers from both sides who roamed the state,
often turning to crime. As a result, the office of constable began to
diminish in importance, and the better-equipped county sheriffs began to
assume a leading role in law enforcement. Still, a number of prominent
Texas peace officers of the late nineteenth and twentieth centuries
began their careers as constables or deputy constables, including Thomas
R. Hickman, George A. Scarborough, and Jess Sweeten. In 1896, while
serving as a United States deputy marshal, Scarborough shot and killed
the controversial El Paso constable John Selman, who had himself gunned
down the notorious John Wesley Hardin in 1895.
The Constitution of 1876, designed to decentralize control of the state
government, reduced the power of many state officials and mandated that
constables would once again be elected at the precinct level. A 1954
constitutional amendment extended their term of office from two years to
four. Today, constables numbering approximately 780 are elected from
precincts in most Texas counties. Their law-enforcement roles vary
widely, but in general their police powers are no different from those
of other peace officers in the state. Complete records do not exist, but
the most recent estimate is that at least (93) ninety-three Texas
constables have died in the line of duty, including (67) sixty-seven in
the twentieth century.
Constables are commissioned by the Governor of Texas as Law Enforcement
Agencies just as the Sheriff's Department or Texas Department of Public
Safety. In fact, a Constable is an associate member of the D.P.S. under
section 411.009(a) of the Government Code. His/Her "original"
jurisdiction is anywhere in the county of election and is statewide in
all criminal and most civil matters.
To meet the challenges and demands of this responsibility Texas
Constables must be licensed by the Texas Commission on Law Enforcement
with a minimum of 600 classroom hours of training in a Basic Police
Academy as well as attend specialized civil process instruction during
the training cycle to stay abreast of ever changing laws of the state.
In 2000, there were 2,630 full-time, sworn constables/deputy constables
and 418 reserve deputies working in Texas.