Round Rock City Council unanimously approved an interlocal agreement Jan. 22 to join a regional task force aimed at reducing vehicle-related crimes across Central Texas.
The setup
The agreement brings Round Rock together with the cities of Hutto, Cedar Park, Georgetown, Leander and Pflugerville, along with Williamson County, to create a Regional Vehicle Burglary Suppression Taskforce.
The task force will focus on investigating auto thefts, vehicle burglaries and catalytic converter thefts through coordinated, multiagency enforcement efforts.
Assistant Police Chief Tom Sloan told council members the agreement formalizes cooperation that already occurs among neighboring jurisdictions, noting that many vehicle crime suspects operate across city boundaries.
“A lot of Round Rock suspects do not live in Round Rock,” Sloan said. “They live elsewhere. By approving this interlocal agreement, we can work together to better address catalytic converter thefts, auto thefts and vehicle burglaries.”
The approach
Under the agreement, participating agencies will assign officers to work collaboratively on investigations while remaining employees of their home departments. Officers assigned to the task force will be granted authority to operate across participating jurisdictions when conducting task force investigations.
Sloan said the number of officers involved from each agency will vary depending on the crime being investigated and operational needs.
The task force will be overseen by a board made up of police chiefs or designees from each city and the county sheriff or designee. A task force commander will provide regular updates on operations, training and enforcement activities.
The agreement does not create a new shared budget. Each agency will cover its own personnel, training and equipment costs, though agencies may pursue grants independently to support task force operations.
The agreement takes effect upon execution and will automatically renew annually unless a participating entity withdraws with advance notice.
