The Human Resources Bureau
was founded in 1993. The Bureau consists of approximately
90 personnel who are assigned to the Academy, Personnel
Services, Recruiting and Background Investigations, Family
Assistance Unit, Uniform Supply and Inventory Control,
Career Development, Business Office, Network Administration
Division and Systems.
The role of the Human Resources Bureau is divided into
four functions: personnel administration, training, logistical
support and the business office.
The Personnel Services Division
is responsible for maintaining the personnel records of
all Sheriff's Office Personnel. It provides Sheriff's
Office personnel with information concerning policy and
procedure governing personnel issues which involve Federal
and State Laws, as well as, County and Department Policies.
The Division serves as the initial gateway for all personnel
issues, policies, orders, and records.
In the capacity of personnel administration, the Recruiting
and Background Investigations Section conducts
all the pre-employment testing, background investigations
and processing of all applicants to the Sheriff's Department.
In 2003, recruiters received and processed 5,700 resumes,
tested 2,756 applicants, and hired 298 new employees.
The Family Assistance Unit
provides family support and assistance in situations involving
serious injury or death to members of the department and
their families. The Family Assistance Unit was started
as a volunteer unit of the Harris County Sheriff's Office
and has grown to the extent that there are more then fourteen
volunteers and one full time sergeant's position. The
members of the Family Assistance Unit assist Department
members, both civilian and sworn, in times of catastrophic
events. Family Assistance members respond to calls when
Department members or their immediate family members are
in the hospital as well as in time of death.
The Uniform Supply and Inventory
Control Section is responsible for the issuance
of Sheriff's Office Uniforms, and related Sheriff's Office
issue. This section is also responsible for inventory
control of all Sheriff's office equipment and property.
The Business Manager
is responsible for coordinating the Sheriff's Department
budget, which is in excess of $225 million, as well as
serving as the liaison to Commissioner's Court for all
activities requiring Court approval. Business Office employees
are responsible for the procurement of all supplies and
equipment, to include equipment repairs. In addition,
they process all accounts payable and payroll as well
as serve as the interface for all other Accounting functions.
The Career Development Section
administers proficiency and incentive pay, as well as
keeping track of required training for all Deputies and
Civilian personnel.
By staying abreast of personnel law and Deputy training
curricula requirements, in addition to maintaining day-to-day
operations, the Human Resources Bureau provides "behind
the lines" support to our most important commodity
- our employees.
The Harris County Sheriff's
Academy was established in 1969, at the direction of Sheriff C. V. “Buster” Kern, to comply with new T.C.L.E.O.S.E. rules. The first basic class, which consisted of 28 students and required 140 hours of training, convened on October 27, 1969.
Since that first class in 1969, the Sheriff’s Academy has graduated 142 regular Basic Peace Officer classes, totaling 4269 cadets. The Sheriff’s Academy has always exceeded T.C.L.E.O.S.E. minimum standards. Currently, cadets attending the Basic Peace Officer course are required to complete 26 weeks of training. The Academy trains officers from many other agencies as well. Additionally, the Academy provides all fitness and firearms testing for the Department.
With a staff of one captain, one lieutenant, one registrar, one clerk, three sergeants and nine deputies, the Academy was responsible for providing over 330,000 contact hours of training to students from all over Texas in 2005. In addition to the full-time Academy staff, a cadre of more than 100 adjunct instructors conducts a broad variety of in-service training and continuing education classes at ancillary sites.
With the success of the three-day Building Entry Class that was begun in 2002, a dedicated structure was built containing three scenarios: a house, a trailer house, and a doctor’s office. It is now air-conditioned for year-round training comfort.
The new Firearms Complex was recently completed, and includes an all-weather (covered) 18-lane range with a pneumatic targeting system, a 12-lane shotgun and tactical pistol range (which also contains a pneumatic targeting system), a live-fire structure, and a 10-lane 100-yard rifle deck. It also has covered areas on all ranges for student comfort, a multi-class room building and solid security fencing.
In 2003, the Academy acquired a state of the art firearms training system, which is now located in a purpose-built classroom at the Firearms Complex. Besides correcting officers’ shooting problems such as reaction, sight alignment, trigger squeeze, etc., it offers numerous real life scenarios. In addition, it has an infrared flashlight for nighttime scenarios and reacts to an officer using chemical weapons or a baton as he moves up the ladder of force. It even returns fire if the officer fails to use available cover.
In 2004, the Academy acquired 2 fully interactive and fully programmable driving simulators, which also have their own purpose-built classroom at the Firearms Complex. These simulators contain a mock-up of a patrol car interior, including adjustable seat, police radio, mobile data terminal, and 3 flat screens to provide a 180-degree view of the “driving environment.” The simulators are controlled by an instructor terminal that can change the handling of the vehicles, run interactive scenarios, simulate high-speed and precision driving, induce equipment malfunctions, and even operate a chase car! The simulators can be operated independently, or can be linked for multiple-responder scenarios.
The groundbreaking ceremony for the new training facility occurred in 2005, and construction of the facility was completed in 2006. It is an amazing facility that boasts 8 classrooms, a computer lab, a multipurpose training room, and a weight room equipped with state-of-the art cardio and weight-training equipment.
The Harris County Sheriff’s Office Academy staff continues looking / toward the future as they provide the most modern and innovative training curriculum available.
The Systems Division
has several diverse responsibilities. The Data Control
Section is responsible for the accuracy and integrity
of Harris County data records that relate to the Arrest
and Detention of defendants. Activities include Data Corrections,
local Record Splits and Consolidations, CJIS Arrest Reporting,
Criminal History Reporting, and Data Report Distribution.
The Project Analysts are responsible for Application support
in Legacy systems as well as finding and implementing
new tools and procedures to assist the Department in its
business. This support can be in the form of correcting
program problems, enhancing existing applications or reports,
coordinating connections to other external systems, or
assisting the Department in functionality training.
The Terminal Agency Coordinator is responsible for ensuring
that timely and accurate information is entered into the
NCIC/TCIC databases. The TAC also ensures compliance with
NCIC/TCIC Rules and Regulations as they relate to personnel
and devices that access the TLETS System.
