HAYS COUNTY SHERIFF’S OFFICE
Dear Hays County Community, I want to take a moment to reflect on the progress we have made together and to thank you for the trust and support you have shown the Hays County Sheriff’s Office.
This year marked my first year serving as your Sheriff, and it has been both an honor and a responsibility that I take very seriously. From day one, our leadership team has focused on strengthening our agency from the inside out by investing in our people, improving operations, and ensuring transparency and accountability in everything we do.
One of our top priorities has been employee retention, recruitment, and workplace culture. Our deputies, corrections officers, dispatchers, and civilian staff are the backbone of this organization. By creating a professional, supportive environment, we are better equipped to serve the public. I am proud of the progress we have made in filling longstanding vacancies across patrol, corrections, emergency communications, and support divisions. Public safety remains at the forefront of our mission. This year, our overall staffing levels are higher than they have been in years, and we continue to add personnel across the agency. We have nearly filled all budgeted School Resource Deputy positions and are actively working with Hays CISD to expand coverage to additional campuses. Our goal remains clear to ensure every school in Hays County has a dedicated deputy providing safety, visibility, and peace of mind for students, parents, and educators.
Inside the Hays County Jail, our corrections staff continue to perform outstanding work under demanding conditions, managing daily inmate populations approaching 600. We passed our Texas Commission on Jail Standards inspection with zero deficiencies, completed major jail renovations, and added new correctional officer positions that will allow us to safely and responsibly bring back inmates from Haskell County, with a plan in place to return 150 inmates by April, improving oversight and reducing costs.
We also strengthened our Emergency Communications Division, filling existing vacancies and adding new positions to better support law enforcement, fire, and EMS partners across the county. Our dispatchers handle over 6,000 calls per month and do an outstanding job as first responders. Reliable, well-staffed 911 services are essential to public safety, and these improvements will have a lasting impact.
Transparency and accountability are not just words; they are expectations. When issues arise, we address them directly and openly. The community deserves an agency they can trust, and our employees deserve leadership that holds everyone to the same standard.
This year also brought meaningful opportunities to connect with the community through our Citizens Sheriff’s Academy, Rape Aggression Defense R.A.D. classes, youth events, community outreach programs, and the launch of our monthly Sheriff’s Office Newsletter. These efforts help strengthen partnerships and ensure open lines of communication. We are excited to announce that our next Citizens Sheriff’s Academy will begin in March 2026.
Brown Santa was a huge success. We served 663 families and over 2,000 children. Thank you to the community and our volunteers for making this possible.
We honored tradition by celebrating the Sheriff’s Office’s 177th birthday, remembering the heroes lost on September 11th, and recognizing the long history of service that continues today.
We also looked to the future by securing a responsible $73 million FY26 budget that includes approximately 30 new positions across the Sheriff’s Office to support our growing county.
None of this progress would be possible without the dedication of our employees or the continued support of our community. It truly takes all of us working together to build a safer Hays County.
As we look ahead to the new year, my commitment remains the same: to serve with integrity, accountability, transparency, and an unwavering dedication to public safety. Our partnership with the community will always be a priority. We are a safer county when the community believes in its law enforcement agencies. We are better together.
I encourage residents to stay engaged, ask questions, and continue working alongside us as we move into 2026.
Thank you for allowing me the privilege of serving as your Sheriff.
Sincerely, Anthony Hipolito Sheriff, Hays County
