In studying up to play Travis, I’ve had to do some extensive research on the differences between a DPS officer and a Texas Ranger. Here are some of the more telling articles I’ve found that reflect some of the more principal duties.


Gov. Rick Perry has directed the Texas Department of Public Safety, the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department, the State Fire Marshal’s office of the Texas Department of Insurance and the Texas Forest Service to work with local authorities to investigate an estimated wildfires that are believed to have been started by arsonists. .

“Arson is a serious crime with devastating consequences for the lives of Texans,” Perry said. “I have asked state authorities to investigate and aggressively pursue those who have intentionally started wildfires at the risk of destroying property and lives.”

It is extremely important that citizens and first responders report fires of suspicious origin immediately to the Statewide Arson Hotline at 877/434-7345 (877-4FIRE45).

Investigators will respond to these reports as soon as possible. Rewards may be offered for information leading to the arrest and grand jury indictment of arsonists.


Now, the above article mentions DPS by name, but refers to the blanket organization. The Rangers are actually a particular branch of DPS. They take care of the more serious investigations state-wide. Here are some recent stats.

In 2005, a total of 5,488 investigations resulted in 1,496 felony arrests, 137 misdemeanor arrests. The Texas Rangers executed 475 search warrants and secured 3,437 statements-including 563 confessions to various crimes. Rangers recovered stolen property valued at $1,832,101 and seized contraband valued at $1,518,392. There were 1,828 convictions for various crimes investigated that resulted in 23 death sentences, 52 life sentences and a total of 10,168 years in penitentiary time being assessed. Rangers served 546 subpeonas and 823 warrants. Rangers conducted 9 hypnosis sessions on criminal investigations. The Texas Rangers made 10 separate traffic referrals to appropriate authorities for dangerous drivers or driving conditions.

The Texas Ranger Division performs a diverse range of criminal investigations including:

· Murder, robbery, sexual assault, burglary, theft, and fraud;

· bank fraud;

· theft by credit card and computer generated counterfeit checks;

· misuse of criminal history information;

· misconduct and corruption of public officials;

· threats against the governor and other state and federal officials; and

· missing persons, parental abductions, questionable deaths and unidentified bodies



Mostly, Rangers are plucked from the large pool of DPS officers, but that isn’t necessarily steadfast. It says that you must have 8 years of ‘outstanding’ service with a bonafide law enforcement institution.

One thing I’ve found particularly interesting is that the Rangers now have their own forensics artist.

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