Constables to train further in addressing drug activity

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Daily Texan Staff
July 22, 2009

Constables throughout Central Texas may receive training that will help them recognize drug trafficking and how to better prepare themselves if they encounter street gangs or drug cartels.

“When you don’t know what you’re looking for, you miss things,” said Travis County Constable Adan Ballesteros. “You may totally miss what’s happening and may be injured or killed.”

Ballesteros also serves as vice president for the Central Justice of the Peace and Constable Association.

He spoke at the Rotary Club of Austin’s weekly meeting Tuesday, where he discussed what’s happening along the Mexico-Texas border and how the Central Texas Justice of the Peace and Constable Association is trying to help constables become aware of the signs of drug-related activities.

“I think it’s important for everybody,” said Bruce Golden, club president. “It affects us all.”

Ballesteros said that constables are not properly trained in recognizing the warning signs of drug trafficking, yet it is important that they learn about this in the event they come across members of street gangs or drug cartels during traffic stops.

“We are going to instruct the 28-county area not only to make their jobs as constables better, but also to watch out for signs of drug-related activity,” Ballesteros said.

The training will include providing constables with information on the various drug cartels in Mexico, local street gangs and how to spot members of these groups. Guest instructors from the Drug Enforcement Administration and FBI will share their experiences with the trainees.

The association has planned this training since March, and although nothing is off the ground yet, it hopes to have this training available soon.

“We’re trying to improve the amount and degree of training outside government mandates,” said Carroll Faske, Washington county constable in Precinct 2. “[Training] is being organized to give officers on the street this education.”

Faske is also the sergeant at arms for the association.

Ballesteros said there is a lack of communication between constables and some suspects who only speak Spanish. Ballesteros stressed the importance of teaching some Spanish words and phrases during training.

Ballesteros showed photos of past drug busts and a map showing the territories of various drug cartels in Mexico, while comparing drug cartel members to cockroaches.

“Once you kill one, another one runs by,” he said.

Ballesteros said that just in the past year 4,000 people were killed in Juarez, Mexico, a border city near El Paso.

“[Constables] need to be careful of who they stop and who they come across,” he said.

Ballesteros said that Colombia is no longer the strongest drug-trafficking country.

“You know who is the strongest? Mexico,” he said.

Constable Adan Ballesteros speaks to W. Gaines Bagby before the Rotary Club of Austin meeting Tuesday.