Applications for Blue Santa: Back-to-School 2023 are now closed.
Blue Santa is a program through TPD that helps Temple families in need. We partner with residents and local businesses by collecting gift donations in the form of toys and books. The program began in 2012 and since then has helped over 850 families and 2,400 children receive gifts for the holidays.
Through the program, each child receives gifts and books. Applicants are required to live in Temple and provide proof of residence and age verification. The program is open to children ages 14 and under.
To find o
ut where to donate, please contact the program coordinator at 254-298-5553.
The Citizen's Police Academy of Temple is a 25-hour course. Sponsored by the Temple Police Department, its goal is to give the community it serves a better understanding of police operations and procedures. Learn more and apply here!
Operation Fast Trak is a program that is designed to help with the rapid recovery of missing persons with mental disabilities who have developed wandering tendencies. These disabilities frequently result in wandering behaviors and include:
- Alzheimer's disease
- Autism
- Down's syndrome
The families and caregivers of these persons are often left with very few options, and very little peace of mind, as they deal with these challenging medical conditions.
The Temple Police Department, the Temple Public Safety Advisory Board, and Leadership Temple have joined forces to help save lives in Temple. Through community involvement and contributions, this program is growing and thriving in our city.
In 2007, an elderly Temple woman with Alzheimer's Disease wandered away from her caregivers at the Temple Mall. She was found the next day, deceased after succumbing to hypothermia. Operation Fast Trak, which began in 2008, is designed to help prevent that type of tragedy from happening again in Temple.
Operation Fast Track relies on proven, but simple radio technology and a specially trained search and rescue team. Clients who are enrolled in Operation Fast Trak wear a personalized wristband that emits a tracking signal. When caregivers notify the police that a person is missing, our officers respond to the wanderer's area and begin searching using this tracking system.
Operation Fast Trak reports that using this system reduces search times from hours and days to just minutes in most cases. In what now amounts to over 1,500 searches using Operation Fast Trak equipment, there have been no reported serious injuries or deaths, and recovery times average less than 30 minutes. Clearly, it was time to bring this powerful tool to Central Texas.
Operation Fast Trak currently serves several clients in the Temple area. Continued maintenance of equipment, and additional radio transmitters for clients, require funds that you can assist in providing. Please consider making a donation to help us continue this program. All funding received will be used to support Operation Fast Trak in Temple, and all purchases will be monitored by the Temple Public Safety Advisory Board. Remember, your contribution is a tax-deductible donation made to the City of Temple.
If you live in Temple and are the caregiver to a person with a medical condition that produces wandering behaviors, we would like to hear from you. With a short initial interview, we can provide you with the peace of mind this program allows. Call our program coordinator at 298-5788, or
email us.
It is the mission of the City of Temple Police Department Crisis Assistance Program (CAP) through crisis intervention to as near as to time of the event as possible, to provide information regarding rights, financial and emotional crisis intervention and to ensure that those who are experiencing a crisis are treated with fairness, dignity, and compassion.
This survey is for victims of crime to voluntarily provide anonymous feedback to the victim services staff at the Temple Police Department. Please take the survey
here.
Attorney General's Office - Crime Victim ServicesBell County CourtsBell County District Attorney's OfficeBell County Inmate InquiryLone Star Legal Aid - Protective OrdersNational Office for Victims of CrimeTexas Council on Family ViolenceTexas Department of Criminal Justice - Victim ServicesTexas VINE - Victim NotificationFor further information regarding Victim’s Assistance please contact Temple Police Victim’s Liaison, Lisa Hatfield at: (254) 298-5678 or via email at
lhatfield@templetx.gov
Texas Fallen officers are honored at the Bell County Peace Officers' Memorial Ceremony, which is hosted by a different Bell County LEA each year. Temple Police Department hosted the event May 11, 2021, honoring fallen officers from 2019 and 2020 and officers who died from COVID-19 over those same years.