By MES Dispatch Staff
The Briefing
- Starbase, Texas — the SpaceX company town near Boca Chica Beach — has begun recruiting for a newly formed police department, seeking six officers and two sergeants.
- The city hired Chief Glenn Bennett in June and an administrative assistant starting Sept. 1.
- Starbase created its own department after a proposed agreement with the Cameron County Sheriff’s Office to assign dedicated deputies fell through.
- Officers will patrol in Cybertrucks; the start of patrols depends on equipment arrival, staffing levels and approval from the Texas Commission on Law Enforcement.
- Voters approved incorporating Starbase, home to about 500 full-time residents, as a city in 2025.
STARBASE, Texas — The newly formed Starbase Police Department has begun recruiting officers, seeking to fill six officer and two sergeant positions, according to a ValleyCentral News report.
Starbase, home to SpaceX’s South Texas launch site, is populated almost entirely by SpaceX employees and their families. The city hired Chief Glenn Bennett in June, and an administrative assistant is set to start Sept. 1.
“I’m confident we’ll have a wonderful team,” Bennett said. “We just have to sort through all the applications to find them.”
The city opted to form its own department after a proposed agreement with the Cameron County Sheriff’s Office to assign a dedicated team of deputies to Starbase fell through. Officials cited security concerns, including multiple reported incidents of people showing up seeking to see or speak with SpaceX founder Elon Musk, as the impetus for seeking dedicated police coverage.
Officers will patrol the area in Cybertrucks, and the department is finalizing uniform designs, which an internal memo described as intended to be “comfortable,” “futuristic” and “cool.” Officials said the timeline for beginning patrols depends on equipment delivery, adequate staffing and certification approval from the Texas Commission on Law Enforcement.
Starbase grew out of SpaceX’s development of its launch site near Boca Chica Beach, where the company broke ground in 2014 before developing and testing its Starship spacecraft. Voters approved incorporating the area as a city in 2025. Starbase currently has about 500 full-time residents.