A violent crimes task force targeting repeat offenders, set up seven months ago in Houston, will broaden its activities to other big cities across Texas.
Gov. Greg Abbott on Wednesday directed the Texas Department of Public Safety to “immediately expand” the task force to the Austin, San Antonio and Dallas-Fort Worth areas. The unit would coordinate with local and federal partners to identify and arrest violent repeat offenders, he said.
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“Decades of criminal justice research and operational experience demonstrate that most violent crime is committed by repeat offenders,” Abbott said in a letter to DPS Director Freeman Martin.
The Houston operation has led to the arrest of 728 repeat offenders, with 455 considered to be a high threat, and more than 300 drug and weapon seizures, the governor said in the letter.
The Texas Tribune has reached out to police officials in Austin, Dallas, Fort Worth and San Antonio.
These cities, along with Houston, have reported a drop in violent crimes in the first quarter of 2026 compared to the same period last year, according to a new survey by the Major Cities Chiefs Association. The survey looked at the combined totals of four categories: homicide, rape, robbery and aggravated assault.
When Abbott launched the task force in October, he said its efforts would expand to other parts of the state but did not specify where. He cited his “historic relationship” with Houston leaders as a reason for choosing the city as the unit’s launching pad.
“I thought this was a good place to start, and then we will learn and be able to modify our strategies based upon what we do here, and then be able to deploy our best strategies to other areas across the state,” he said in October.
In addition, the governor blamed the state’s bail system for allowing more crimes to be committed and touted a package creating stricter bail requirements that he signed into law last year.