City of Huntsville

POLICE DEPARTMENT

1220 11TH STREET, HUNTSVILLE TEXAS 77340

TELEPHONE 936-291-5480

FAX 936-291-5455

The City of Huntsville was incorporated in 1845 and in 1968 a new "home rule" charter was adopted. Our form of government is a council-manager form with the council being composed of the mayor and eight council members.  The council appoints the City Manager and the City Manager hires the various department directors.  

The Director of Public Safety commands the police and fire division of the City and serves as the Chief of Police.  The Police Department is presently comprised of forty-seven sworn officer positions, four civilian support positions, one civilian property/evidence control position, and one full-time parking enforcement officer.  The department is housed in a 10,000 square foot brick and glass two-story building situated in the town center which was occupied in April, 1981, and has undergone an extensive remodel in 2003. 

A partial list of officer/employee benefits are outlined below.

EMPLOYEE BENEFITS

To review a list of Officer and Employee Benefits, please refer to the following link:

www.huntsvilletx.gov/residents/employment.asp

Refer to Section "Important Documents"

COMPENSATION

Please refer to the following link regarding City of Huntsville and Huntsville Police Department Pay Scale:

www.huntsvilletx.gov/residents/employment.asp

Refer to Section "Important Documents"

        POLICE EQUIPMENT 

The City, with the exception of your weapon and shoes, furnishes all uniforms and police equipment. The department administrator, however, must approve weapons.                           

PROBATIONARY PERIOD

All new officers of the Police Department must serve a probationary period of twelve months.

Minimum Standards for Employment

If you have tested as a police applicant with the Huntsville Police Department within the last twelve (12) months and passed the exam, you are not eligible to re-test until a period of twelve (12) months has elapsed from your last test date. If you have previously tested with our department and failed the exam, you are eligible to re-test.  

1. Be a citizen of the United States.

2. Be at least 21 years of age.

3. Is a high school graduate, or passed a general educational development (GED) test and has completed at least twelve (12) hours credit at an institution of higher learning with at least a 2.0 grade point average on a 4.0 scale, or has an honorable discharge from the armed forces of the United States after or least 24 months of active duty service.

4. Be of good moral character.

5. Is not currently under indictment for any criminal offense.  

6. Has not been convicted of any felony offense.

7. Has not been convicted of any offense above a grade of Class C misdemeanor within the last ten (10) years. 

8. Is not prohibited by state or federal law from operating a motor vehicle and maintains an acceptable driving record. (See attached violation point chart.) 

9. Not have been convicted of Driving While Intoxicated or Driving under the Influence of Drugs within the past ten (10) years.

10. Be in satisfactory psychological, emotional and physical health appropriate for police duty. 

11. Not have been discharged from any military service under less than honorable conditions. 

12. Not have had a TCLEOSE license denied or revoked. 

13. Not currently on suspension, or have a voluntary surrender of a TCLEOSE license currently in effect. 

14. Has never been convicted of any family violence offense. 

15. Show no trace of drug dependency or illegal drug use. Have vision correctable to 20/20 and is not colorblind. 

16. Fingerprinted and subjected to search of fingerprint files to disclose any criminal records. 

17. Not have used marijuana and / or hard drugs to any extent other than experimental, unless the drug was prescribed by a physician. 

18. Is not prohibited by state or federal law from possessing firearms or ammunition. 

19. Must not have previously tested with a passing grade within the last 12 months. 

20. Has not been on court ordered community supervision or probation for any criminal offense above the grade of Class C misdemeanor within the last ten (10) years. 

ALL APPLICANTS MUST SUCCESSFULLY COMPLETE AND/OR MEET THE  FOLLOWING: 

1. Written examination. 
2. Preliminary interview   
3. Be fingerprinted and subjected to a search of local, state, and national records to disclose any criminal record.
4. Successfully complete a polygraph examination. 
5. Be subjected to a thorough, comprehensive background investigation. 
6. Be personally interviewed by officials of the Huntsville Police Department.
7. Be examined by a licensed psychologist retained by the City of Huntsville and certified to be fit for police duty.
8. Physical and drug examination by the City of Huntsville medical doctor and certified to be fit for police duty including drug testing, vision, and hearing testing.                       

Violation Point System

(Driver Record)

The driver's violation point system is established to create a standard procedure for determining eligibility and insurability of police recruit applicants involving operation of city vehicles.  Such determination is based on a three year period prior to the applicant's employment as a police recruit with the Huntsville Police Department.

Violations not categorized will be assigned points based upon a judgment of the severity of the violation. 

An applicant who has accumulated over 8 points within the previous three year period prior to selection as a police recruit will not be considered for employment. 

  I.              Violations 

  A.            1 - point 

  Defective headlamps or other defective or inappropriate vehicle equipment.  

  B.            2 - point 

  All drivers license violations. 

  Failure to signal intentions. 

  Following too closely. 

  Disregarding warning signs. 

  All speeding violations. 

  C.            4 - point 

  Disregarding stop lights or stop signs. 

  Improper turns, lane changes, or other turning movement violations. 

  Driving on wrong side of road or other wrong way violations. 

  Failure to yield right-of-way or other failure to yield violations. 

  Violating promise to appear. 

  No liability insurance. 

  Drag racing, contests of speed, exhibition of acceleration violations. 

  Accident involving motor vehicle with fixed object. 

  Failure to stop and give information. 

  II.          Automatic Exclusion 

  A.          Involuntary manslaughter. 

  B.          Criminally negligent homicide. 

  C.          Fleeing or eluding a police officer. 

  D.          Operating vehicle with license suspended or revoked. 

  E.           Failure to stop and render aid. 

  III.         Removal of Points 

  A.          Accumulated points may be reduced in one or more of the following ways: 

  1.     2 - points may be credited to applicant's record if he/she has completed an accredited Defensive Driving Course or a Driver Education Course within the specified three year period and can furnish proof of such completion. 

  2.       1 - point may be credited to applicant's record if violations totaling no more than 4 points have been accumulated within the last 24 months.

  3.      2 - points may be credited to applicant's record if no violations have occurred within the last 24 months.