Police chiefs Ibarra, Hauck to help direct statewide law enforcement curriculum

Photo by by Shawn Arrajj

Police chiefs in Magnolia, Tomball and Conroe have been selected along with 29 other Texas police chiefs to help develop the training curriculum that all new police officers in the state must undergo before joining the force.

"We will be serving on a panel and are being asked to make suggestions about what topics to include and how to cover them," said Magnolia Police Chief Domingo Ibarra. "We will essentially be setting the goals of what we want new officers across the state to be capable of."

This is the first time police chiefs in Magnolia and Tomball have been selected to participate, Ibarra said. The pool of chiefs that the institute chooses from covers the hundreds of law enforcement agencies in Texas. Ibarra said he was selected based on an essay he wrote and responses he gave to a questionnaire that indicated he would serve as a good representative of smaller police departments.

"Ninety percent of law enforcement agencies in Texas are about the size of Magnolia's, with 15 or fewer officers," he said. "My testimony will be to speak on behalf of those agencies."

Ibarra said he attributes his department's selection to the officers and to city officials who have shown a commitment to law enforcement.

"I believe this is a reflection not of me, but of Magnolia as a city," he said. "This city has graciously given this small police department the resources and, most especially, the officers that inspire us on a daily basis."

The 2013 conference takes place Dec. 7–8 at Sam Houston State University in Huntsville where the Bill Blackwood Law Enforcement Management Institute of Texas is located. The curriculum being developed will be put into action Sept. 1, 2013, and will be used for two years before the next training cycle begins. Ibarra said he is excited to have been given a chance to participate.

Rob Hauck, chief of police in Tomball, was also selected to participate, but could not be reached for comment.

"I can't say where the future of the law enforcement is headed, but hopefully the experiences of our department in Magnolia can help guide it in some way," he said. "We're all honored to have been selected for this."