History of the Constables

History of the Office of the Constable
Considered by many to be the oldest identified law enforcement office in the Western World, the position of Constable dates back to the early eight hundreds in England and was officially defined in the Magna Carta as early as 1215.  The title and duties of Constable were brought to the new world with the formation of the original 13 English colonies, easily survived the Revolution, and continues to this day, pretty much intact, in all 50 States of the Union.

In Texas, the Constable was the first form of civilian law enforcement established, and rapidly replaced the Spanish style military policing organization, beginning with the appointment of Constables in the Austin colonies as early as 1823, thereby pre-dating even the Texas Rangers, the nation's first state-wide police force.  Each of Texas Constitutions has divided every county into Justice Precincts with a judge to assure justice at the local level and a Constable to serve that judge by executing all civil process, taking custody of property as directed by the court, and, protecting it until its rightful owner can claim it, taking into custody criminals on outstanding arrest warrants, investigating crimes, gathering evidence and arresting criminals of all sorts within, (and, frequently beyond the physical limits of)  the precinct.

The duties and responsibilities of the Constable originate within our State Constitution and, while his electors are voters of his/her precinct, his/her commission is signed by the Governor and his authorities are (technically) statewide; making him lawfully, though not financially, independent of control by the Judge or the commissioners of the county in which he/she serves.  Yet despite their broad authority, most Constables limit their activities to their elective precinct where they proudly continue to serve  as they have for more than a thousand years of history  as the first line protection for the people.  They are, and have always been, the first Community Oriented Police.