Texas department of public safety highway patrol

Texas Department of Public Safety

Texas Department of Public Safety

The mission of the Texas Department of Public Safety is to supervise traffic on rural highways; supervise and regulate commercial and “for hire” traffic; to preserve the peace, to investigate crimes, and to arrest criminals; to administer regulatory programs in driver licensing, motor vehicle inspection, and safety responsibility; and to execute programs supplementing and supporting the preceding activities. In 1935, the 44th Legislature (Senate Bill 146, Regular Session), responding to recommendations made in 1933 by the Joint Legislative Committee on Organization and Economy, created the Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS) for the purpose of placing under a single jurisdiction the state’s functions in crime prevention and traffic control programs. The original Department was composed of the Texas Rangers, removed from the Adjutant General’s Department; the State Highway Patrol, taken from the State Highway Department; and the Headquarters Division, composed of the Bureau of Identification and Records, the Bureau of Intelligence, the Bureau of Communications, the Bureau of Education, and various administrative and service units. Other divisions were added in later years, as needed.

Photographs | Films

Texas Department of Public Safety: Photographs, 1937-1965, undated

Motor vehicle MVI-5 photograph

Creator: Texas. Dept. of Public Safety
Title: Department of Public Safety photographs
Dates: 1937-1965, undated
Abstract: The Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS) is the state police agency, charged with enforcing laws, preserving order, and protecting the rights, privileges, property, and well-being of Texas citizens. Photographs were made by Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS) photographers to document or promote the activities of the various divisions, personnel, training, equipment, and facilities. These records consist of photographs created by the DPS photo lab. Dated photographs span the period 1937-1965. Undated, original photographs may have been made as early as 1935. Others are known to be copies of even earlier images. The images consist primarily of black-and-white photographic prints and negatives, most in 4-by-5, 5-by-7, and 8-by-10 format. Some color negatives and transparencies are present for later years.

Click here to enter the records

Click here to access the online finding aid

Texas Department of Public Safety: Films, about 1960

Here’s Texas – Big Bend

Creator: Texas. Department of Public Safety
Title: Department of Public Safety films
Dates: about 1960
Abstract: The Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS) was created in 1935 for the purpose of placing the state’s functions in crime prevention and traffic control programs under a single jurisdiction. In about 1958 work began on a series of 13 color television public service films called Here’s Texas! that featured Texas tourism and traffic safety information. The films were created by Linda Shuler Productions of Dallas, produced by Humble Oil and Refining Company in cooperation with the Texas Department of Public Safety, completed in 1960. Records consist of 39 motion picture components including 16mm A rolls, B rolls, and sound tracks. The A roll, B roll, and sound track for each title in these records were digitized and combined to create the digital versions of these films, which are part of the Texas Digital Archive.

Click here to enter the records

Click here to access the online finding aid