McAllen breaks ground on intelligence center

McALLEN - Construction began Saturday on an intelligence center that will house federal, state and local law enforcement officials so that they can connect the dots between crimes committed across the region and the rest of the state.

The former McAllen Police station will become home to the new Texas Transnational Intelligence Center (TTIC). The idea is to have a facility where information will be obtained and shared with multiple agencies as it happens - or in real-time.

A slew of men and women in uniform gathered outside the building to turn dirt on the $2.4 million project Saturday morning. Attendees included Texas Department of Public Safety Director Steve McCraw, Public Safety Commission Chairwoman Cynthia Leon, State Rep. Bobby Guerra, Hidalgo County Sheriff Eddie Guerra, McAllen Mayor Jim Darling and police chiefs from across the area.

The center is a result of legislation passed two years ago, and it involved the coordination of local law enforcement officials and politicians, including State Sen. Juan "Chuy" Hinojosa.

House Bill 11 - co-authored by Bobby Guerra - appropriated $2.4 million to the center and $2.5 million to a new program called Texas Anti-Gang (TAG). The new program, which will be based out of the center, supports regional efforts to combat gang violence through prevention and intervention efforts.

Gangs continue to pose a significant threat to Texas," Leon said. "As a result, we have established many of these anti-gang centers, including this one here today."

Officials are certain the new facility, which can house up to 120 officers at a time, will curtail gang violence.

"We talk a lot about post 9-11 - connect the dots - so forth and so on," McCraw said. "Well, you can't connect what you can't collect, and people don't realize that in Texas we have more than 1,574 different law enforcement agencies."

Collaborating at the local level will help connect the dots between crimes committed here and others across the country.

"What happens at the border doesn't just happen at the border," McCraw said. "It happens in New York City. The epidemic overdose of heroin is cartel related."

Darling echoed the same sentiment.

"What happens in Mexico, happens in McAllen - good and bad," he said. "And 'bad' is important to address, and certainly this building ...will go a long way to protect our citizens of the border."

Officials hope to open the new center in August.

Nlopez@themonitor.com