LUBBOCK, Texas (KCBD) – Law enforcement officers from local to federal agencies cut the ribbon on the new Texas Anti-Gang Center facility Tuesday, creating a centralized location for collaboration in combating violent crime across the region.
The facility, located just north of the Lubbock County Detention Center, houses investigators from the Sheriff’s Office, Police Department, DPS, Homeland Security, ATF and DEA under one roof.
“Being together in one central location, it becomes a family and it becomes a direction, not just a job,” Chris Daniel, LSO SWAT commander, said.
Former Lubbock Police Chief Greg Stevens said collaboration brought the Texas Anti-Gang Center to Lubbock.
Conversations with former DPS Regional Director Gary Albus and Sheriff Kelly Rowe about solving crimes that cross jurisdictions led Lubbock to apply for a grant from the Governor’s Office.
“It’s that kind of partnership that brings this about. And I can’t tell you how proud I am that here coming up on a decade, both of those units are still going strong and they’re growing and they’re having more and more success,” Stevens said.
With state funding, the Texas Anti-Gang Center began operations in 2018. Since then, investigators from multiple agencies have worked together to solve gang-related crime, though previously this collaboration mostly happened at each agency’s home base.
The county provided land north of the detention center for the new facility. The building includes a briefing room large enough to accommodate all agencies, meeting rooms and space for each agency’s equipment.
Daniel said the setup allows collaboration on calls to begin early.
“Before those doors ever open, before we can ever move, we can discuss things and have a plan before leaving,” Daniel said.
LPD Lieutenant Jason Lewis said the collaboration extends across county lines.
“Communication has to be every single day, multiple times a day, because when we talk about different crimes that occur in Lubbock or the surrounding areas, they’ve said that, you know, we cover 15 counties. So when there is crime in these, in Brownfield, in wherever, we travel. And so when that does occur, a lot of times it crosses multiple lines,” Lewis said.
The facility houses a prosecutor and investigator from the County DA’s Office full-time, allowing collaboration through prosecution.
“No one does collaboration in this state and probably across the country better than Lubbock,” prosecutor Stanek said.
Sheriff Kelly Rowe said he wants seamless cooperation between agencies.
“When you step into that building, I don’t want to know which agency you work for. I want to see absolute, seamless individuals,” Rowe said.
Albus said the work is being recognized statewide.
“There’s not a week that goes by that I don’t hear the Lubbock tag on the news or in the local newspaper,” Albus said.
DPS Director Freeman Martin said he remembers a time in the late 1980s when some agencies would rather not solve a crime than share credit with another agency.
DPS Lieutenant Thomas Wilson said Lubbock officers prioritize community service over individual recognition.
“We all live in the community. We’re from the community. We care about the crimes that are being committed here. We care about the community members. People here genuinely want to solve all of these crimes and they want to solve them quickly and they want to solve them safely,” Wilson said.
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