Texas Southmost College held its third annual Law Enforcement Expo Tuesday at the Jacob Brown auditorium and parking lot where dozens of agencies attended to inform the community about the career opportunities available.
Law enforcement agencies that attended included Texas Park’s & Wildlife, U.S. Border Patrol, U.S. Customs and Border Protection, Texas Department of Public Safety, Brownsville Police Department, Harlingen Police Department, San Benito Police Department, Internal Revenue Service, U.S. Army, Marines, Air Force, Cameron County Juvenile Justice, Cameron County District Attorney’s Office and more.
“At the District Attorney’s Office it is interesting because people most often think, ‘well you’re probably just going to be a prosecutor,’ which is true; we do have an office full of prosecutors, but we also have an office full of paralegals and support staff,” Yvette Vela, Cameron County District Attorney’s Office community outreach specialist, said.
“Today we have our Special Investigations Unit, so these are the trained officers that are attached to various agencies within Cameron County, so they also work with our federal partners … It’s fun, no two days are the same.”
The event was free and open to the public and it was hosted by TSC’s Department of Behavioral & Social Sciences and Criminal Justice Program in collaboration with the college’s Office of Student Life. Attendees included high schools, middle schools and community members.
“It’s very important for agencies to participate in general, not just Brownsville PD but agencies in general, that way we can raise awareness and provide the community and those interested in a law enforcement career with more information on what the job entails,” Melissa Gonzalez, BPD communications officer, said. “That way we can attract that community and keep them interested in a career in law enforcement.”
Arnold Canales, a Texas game warden officer, said he loves his job because no two days are the same and he gets to choose his hours.
“I think it’s the best job in the world; they’re paying me to have fun,” he said. “There’s never a day where I’ve woken up and be like ‘I gotta go to work again.’ It’s always ‘yay, I get to go to work again’.”
Texas Game Warden Officers focus primarily on hunting, fishing and boating laws but they enforce all state laws and are certified police officers.
For more information about requirements, visit tpwd.texas.gov/warden.
