SpaceX’s Starbase moves to form its own municipal police department

Starbase, a company town created by SpaceX in South Texas, is moving to establish its own municipal police department—defined as a police force organized by a city. During a special meeting on Tuesday, the city’s commission approved an ordinance to create the department. The initiative is currently pending approval from the Texas Commission on Law Enforcement (TCOLE), which serves as the state regulatory body for police department approval. According to local news outlet Valley Central, the new department is expected to hire eight officers. If approved by the state regulatory body, the municipal force could be up and running in a few months.

The decision to build an internal police force stems from the need to secure the extensive infrastructure supporting SpaceX’s local operations. Starbase city administrator Kent Myers noted that there are many assets tied to SpaceX’s operations in the area, and he stated that these assets require protection, making the police department a critical part of that effort. The city is geographically isolated, situated about 10 miles from Brownsville, though the drive can take 45 minutes or longer. This isolation makes local emergency response infrastructure a priority for the town, which previously established a volunteer fire department in October.

Previously, Starbase attempted to manage local law enforcement by contracting with the Cameron County sheriff’s office. The city entered into a $3.5 million, five-year contract that was designed to have two deputies patrolling the city at any given time, with eight deputies overall assigned to the detail. Under this framework, Starbase also agreed to pay the county $100 per day per inmate to use its jail, alongside reimbursing additional expenses. However, the arrangement struggled to maintain consistent staffing. “We didn’t have a lot of success in finding deputies through the county, so we decided to change direction,” Myers said. Sheriff Manuel Treviño indicated that the staffing difficulties were partly due to the contract lacking civil service protections—employment protections for government workers. To establish the new municipal model, Starbase has reportedly hired security consulting firm Vision Quest Solutions to build out the department.

Why it matters

Starbase is transitioning from contracting law enforcement services with the Cameron County sheriff’s office to establishing its own municipal police department to protect SpaceX assets. This shift highlights how the company town is building out its own self-contained public infrastructure to support SpaceX’s long-term aerospace operations.