The CID is an integral component of the Department’s responsibilities to investigate and respond to Threat-to-Life (TTL) incidents throughout the state, including crisis calls, active shooters, threats to school and law enforcement, the use of weapons of mass destruction, and acts of terrorism, both domestic and international.
BETA Program
In response to the rising number of threats across Texas, local, state, and federal stakeholders from various disciplines have collaborated to develop the Texas Behavioral Threat Assessment, Intervention, and Prevention (BETA) Program. This initiative aims to prevent targeted violence through a prevention-focused framework. The Texas Department of Public Safety is committed to facilitating the implementation of this strategy by ensuring close coordination among law enforcement, mental health professionals, social workers, school staff and administration, prosecutors, and others. Some jurisdictions in the state have already adopted many of these best practices, and this initiative seeks to expand upon their successes by instituting it throughout the state.
Click here to read the Texas Behavioral Threat Assessment, Intervention, and Prevention Program Strategy, which outlines the principles, goals, objectives, and structure of the BETA Program.
Select CID personnel are assigned to regional BETA Management Teams that are tasked with responding to TTL reports from other law enforcement agencies, mental health professionals, school administrators, other government entities, social media outlets, and concerned citizens. These assessment teams primarily are tasked with investigating individuals who are most likely to be perpetrators of targeted violence, including the use of weapons of mass destruction, crisis calls, active shooters, and threats to law enforcement.
Select CID personnel are also assigned to federal task forces throughout the state to investigate domestic and international terroristic threats – including homegrown violent extremism – that involve violence against the civilian population and/or infrastructure of the state of Texas and/or the nation.
Suspicious Activity Reporting
Visit the iWatchTexas web site to submit a report regarding suspicious behavior that may indicate criminal, terroristic, or school safety-related threats.