Today I learned that every Texas Ranger’s badge is carved from Mexican silver

[live627]

Interesting post I saw on Reddit

@Tiffany you'll be interested since you live in the great state of Texas. IMO this just makes it even better!

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[Retro]

That's pretty cool.

Click the picture for more detailed info about this.

 

[Tiffany]

Wow, that is totally new information for me that I've never heard of before and actually, hadn't given any thought too. I also had no idea that the badge was made from a Mexican silver coin, meaning that steel wasn't used to create these from the beginning and does connect Texas with Mexico nicely. I couldn't figure out if the tradition still is carried on? You know, our family has always liked Walker Texas Ranger and on occasion when skipping channels we will stop for a few minutes and watch a scene. We've seen all of the episodes over the years. I like the history of the Texas Rangers.
Thank you @live627 for sharing today.

 

[Astro What]

They were originally made from Mexican 5 peso silver coin.
Long history of it. One of my neighbors was a Ranger for years and finally retired and was elected our local Sherrif.

 

[Tiffany]

They were originally made from Mexican 5 peso silver coin.
Long history of it. One of my neighbors was a Ranger for years and finally retired and was elected our local Sherrif.

I'd feel pretty safe living in a city with a sheriff that used to be a Texas Ranger.

 

[Astro What]

Honestly... the Rangers are way overblown. They are no different than any other trained investigator in larger agencies. It's just the "history" of the position. And sadly, most of the appointments to the position are based on the "good old boy" pattern.

 

[Tiffany]

Maybe so, I wouldn't know, but not surprised. I still think the Texas Rangers law enforcement agency (division of the Texas Dept. of Public Safety) has value as an additional investigative service with their own tactical units native to Texas.

 

[Astro What]

Maybe so, I wouldn't know, but not surprised. I still think the Texas Rangers law enforcement agency (division of the Texas Dept. of Public Safety) has value as an additional investigative service with their own tactical units native to Texas.

Oh, they do... but my point is that they are not any more knowledgable than investigators with any larger agency (and several smaller ones).
They just have a history that they like to toot the horn of. Todays Rangers are nothing like the Rangers of the old days.
Many of the larger state agencies have their own OIG officers that are just as qualified and trained as a Texas Ranger, and in some cases even more so.
You have to look at where they are drawn from... the DPS officers rarely enforce criminal law unless it deals with traffic or drugs. Their investigative skills outside that limited zone are lacking. In fact, many of them are not even up to date on the majority of criminal laws.
That is not to take away from them, as they are primarily charged with traffic enforcement and drug interdiction. In my 15 years of patrol, I can count on one hand the number of times I know of them investigating something like a robbery. They would wait until the Sheriff Department or local PD showed up to investigate that offense.
Now, take an investigator with a larger PD, generally they have come out of patrol, which investigates criminal and traffic offenses, so they have a more rounded exposure to enforcement and investigations.

 

[Tiffany]

Oh, they do... but my point is that they are not any more knowledgable than investigators with any larger agency (and several smaller ones).
They just have a history that they like to toot the horn of. Todays Rangers are nothing like the Rangers of the old days.
Many of the larger state agencies have their own OIG officers that are just as qualified and trained as a Texas Ranger, and in some cases even more so.
You have to look at where they are drawn from... the DPS officers rarely enforce criminal law unless it deals with traffic or drugs. Their investigative skills outside that limited zone are lacking. In fact, many of them are not even up to date on the majority of criminal laws.
That is not to take away from them, as they are primarily charged with traffic enforcement and drug interdiction. In my 15 years of patrol, I can count on one hand the number of times I know of them investigating something like a robbery. They would wait until the Sheriff Department or local PD showed up to investigate that offense.
Now, take an investigator with a larger PD, generally they have come out of patrol, which investigates criminal and traffic offenses, so they have a more rounded exposure to enforcement and investigations.

I can believe that....law enforcement today can't compare to what it used to be on so many levels. At least Texas as a multi-layered system with various law enforcement agencies on local levels to pull resources from like FBI, Marshall's, State and local Police, Sheriff's and Texas Rangers.