AUSTIN (KXAN) – In a major change for police transparency, the Texas Commission on Law Enforcement (TCOLE) has released its online license lookup tool allowing the public to search and view the status of current and former licensed Texas peace officers, jailers or telecommunicators.
Now, police officer licenses can be checked like most other licensed jobs in the state with public lookups – such as doctors, nurses, plumbers, electricians, midwives and dozens of others. Getting the records used to require an official request submitted under the Texas Public Information Act.
“Transparency in government is a cornerstone of public trust,” said TCOLE Executive Director Greg Stevens in a news release. “The Public License Lookup is an important way that TCOLE can support that transparency, and is directly in line with our mission to ensure that Texans are served by highly trained and ethical law enforcement personnel.”
The license lookup tool requires a simple registration, and it is available here.
Information in the database includes records of training, license issue date, training compliance, and education information. TCOLE said no private or personal identifying information is available, and it created a process to ensure undercover officer records are not shown.
"This is a positive step in TCOLE transparency, bringing the agency in line with other major professions. Online access to police officer licensing information is an important tool to help the public stay informed,” said Kelley Shannon, executive director Freedom of Information Foundation of Texas. “The more public records that are available online, the better. It reflects how the modern world functions."
The public database was outlined in TCOLE’s expansive sunset bill, Senate Bill 1445, by Sen. Angela Paxton, R-McKinney, that passed last year.
That legislation contained myriad reforms to TCOLE’s oversight of law enforcement, record keeping and rules for forming new police departments, among other things. Many of the reforms are still being implemented.
Luis Soberon, a senior policy advisor with the nonpartisan public policy research and advocacy organization Texas 2036, said it "just makes sense" that people should be able to check a police officer's license like other professionals.
"Transparency around licensing, employment and training is key for Texans to have confidence in the public safety professionals who serve them,” he told KXAN.
Soberon and Texas 2036 studied TCOLE and its sunset process leading up to the last legislative session. They released an extensive report in 2022 with recommendations for improving the agency, including the development of a public license database.
