Dallas State Senator John Carona has been a busy guy — he’s drafted a bill that is about to go before the entire Texas Senate which, if passed into law, will create a special division of the elite Texas Rangers.

What will this special division do? Their entire mandate will be to track down and lasso corrupt cops in Texas.

Yep, the famous Texas Rangers will soon have a squad, if you will, dedidated to ferreting out evildoers in local, state, and federal law enforcement agencies. Federal and state. Anywhere in Texas.

It’s unclear how many Rangers will be assigned to this division, but we’re sure that the “one riot, one Ranger” reputation still holds true.

What brought this on?

Apparently, the amount of influence that drug cartels have been having on law enforcement across the State of Texas has become evident all the way from the border up to Dallas, where Senator Carona wrote his proposed law.

Not Everyone’s Happy

Surprise, surprise. There are some elected officials that criticize this proposed law because, they say, we’ve already got the FBI investigating things. And, anyone reading this blog with any regularity knows that’s true: the FBI has been revealling all sorts of bad acts across this State.

However, proponents point to the strength of the drug cartels as efficient organizations whose operation cross several borders – and that these cartels are known to approach and turn law enforcement officials to their side, as standard operating procedure. Proponents argue that having the Rangers in addition to the FBI can’t hurt. It’s a big job, and it’s growing.

Status of the Bill

The senator’s proposal should reach the Senate floor for a vote next week. If the bill becomes law, then the earliest that we’ll have Rangers with their own Corrupt Cop Division is 2010.

Background of the Texas Rangers

What’s the big deal about the Texas Rangers, anyway? Well, first, they’ve been around forever. The organization was begun in 1823 by Stephen F. Austin — “the father of Texas” — just two years after he brought around 600 settlers into the Texas area, as part of a contract that Austin had signed with Spain. Seems Stephen F. Austin thought that the settlers needed some protection, and since there was no Spainish army to protect them, Austin created the Rangers.

Since then, in various incarnations, the Texas Rangers have fought against horse thieves, fence cutters, robbers, raiders, and other assorted bad folk. A concise history can be found at the Texas Department of Public Safety site (shown below) and a romantic tale of the Texas Ranger can be found in Larry McMurtry’s famous novel (and later, TV mini-series), Lonesome Dove.

Surely There’s Enough Work to Go Around ….

As for those objecting to the proposed bill, you gotta wonder. Seems like there’s more than enough corruption in Texas law enforcement these days to keep both the FBI and the Rangers busy….

Sources:

Brownsville Herald
http://www.brownsvilleherald.com/news/create_96865___article.html/law_enforcement.html

Texas Department of Public Safety
http://www.txdps.state.tx.us/director_staff/texas_rangers/