Mission Statement
"The Kingsville Task Force will aggressively enforce City, State and Federal
laws related to special crimes through overt and covert investigations designed
to identify, disrupt and eliminate the activities of criminal organizations. Our
mission is to enhance the quality of life in the city of Kingsville and the
communities within Kleberg County by working in partnership with citizens to
protect life and property, maintain order, understand and serve community needs
and enforce the law in a manner consistent with community values and integrity."
The Kingsville Task Force Vision
- We will continue to be known for community service programs, at preventing crime
through community involvement, and for providing a safe living and working
environment for the promotion of higher education, research, and public service.
- We will continue to respect individual rights, as well as our commitment to
protect the safety of all persons within our community.
- We will continue to
strive for professionalism and integrity by maintaining high ethical and
performance standards.
- We will continue to encourage and support technological
advances, training and professional skill development to enhance our
effectiveness and to provide the safest possible environment for all our
personnel.
- We will continue to provide opportunities for our staff to have
training on special interests and abilities which increases our overall
effectiveness.
- We will continue to remain committed to a cooperative team
effort between all agencies.
- We will continue to always have a pro-active
approach to identify problems and provide solutions within the communities we
serve and the agencies we assist.
Core Values
- Integrity We are committed to candor, honesty, and ethical behavior with each other and those we serve.
- Public Service We deliver to the public high quality service which is fair, courteous, responsive, and efficient. We are cognizant of the need to involve the community in creating a secure and safe atmosphere.
- Competence We maintain the highest standards of training for personnel and the monitor change of new trends in the field of law enforcement.
- Responsibility and Accountability We make effective use of our resources and provide a spirit of open communication within our community. We are responsible for our actions. We admit our mistakes and strive to earn the trust and support of our community.
- Respect for Co-workers We maintain a workplace environment based on mutual respect which reflects an appreciation of the unique qualities of each individual who contributes to the overall good of our team.
About Us
The South Texas Specialized Crimes & Narcotics Task Force was initiated by
former Sheriff Adan Munoz Jr. back in the early 1990s. The agencies who
participated under the Ed Byrne Grant through the office of the governor under
have not had to provide a required share of funding. Since that first year the
Task Force was able to meet its cash match with monies from seized assets and
was under the Texas Narcotics Control Program based out of Austin. In 2001 a
major restructure on the Ed Byrne Grant took place in Austin in which the grant
was now administered by the Criminal Justice Division of Texas. There were other
changes taking place affecting all CJD Task Forces. The most significant and
positive change was the Department of Public Safety Narcotics Service would
serve as complete oversight of the entire program. The Task Force Commander
served on a committee to revise policy changes which would be used by DPS and
task force agent�s state wide.
For the year of 2003-2004, the South Texas Specialized Crimes and Narcotics Task
Force did not meet the criteria needed to continue the grant renewal process
because the previous Kleberg Sheriff chose not to participate with the program.
Despite all the efforts to continue the program, the Criminal Justice Division
and DPS awarded all the equipment and project income to the City of Kingsville
as long as it was applied for continued narcotic enforcement within the
community.
Currently the task force is operating within the city of Kingsville, and in
Kleberg County.
The Task Force is often utilized by federal agencies like, DEA, FBI, IRS, U.S.
Customs, A.T.F., U.S. Border Patrol, and other federal entities to assist them
with large and complex investigations which have local, national, and
international impact.
Two Task Force agents are U.S. Customs cross-designated. Also in our area of
jurisdiction is an Inner Coastal Waterway (ICW) which runs from South Padre
Island up past Corpus Christi.
The Task Force has three marked interdiction units and two drug detection K-9s
working the U.S. Highway 77, a major narcotics thoroughfare. Since 9/11 our
efforts have intensified because of the unprotected borders along the
Texas-Mexico Border. It has been determined by intelligence sources that drug
cartels and terrorists have joined forces to infiltrate by crossing illegally
into the United States.
The Task Force's staff is comprised of a Commander, an Assistant Commander, a
Senior Special Agent, Special Agents, and two Administrative support staff. The
Project Director for the task force is City of Kingsville City Manager Carlos
Yerena and is supported by the Kingsville Police Chief Ricardo Torres.
Our goal is to stem the flow of illegal drugs from the south to the north and to
investigate specialized crimes such as money laundering. We work proactively
with all communities within Kleberg County to educate how illegal narcotics
poison our society.
Our agents do anti-drug work in the local communities, working undercover
operations and investigations to help clean our area streets of drug dealers and
make our area a safe and healthy place to live.
If you have information on a crime in our area please contact us at (361)
595-5778
Homeland Security Live
Alert
|