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SpaceX's Starbase to get its own police department
05 Feb 2026

Elon Musk's SpaceX is establishing a police department in Starbase, its company town in South Texas.

The move was approved by the city's commission during a special meeting on Tuesday.

However, the establishment of this municipal police department is still subject to approval from the Texas Commission on Law Enforcement (TCOLE).

Proposed police department to be led by chief of police
Security measures

The proposed police department will be led by a chief of police, who will be elected by the city's commission.

It is expected to recruit eight officers, according to local news outlet Valley Central.

Starbase city administrator Kent Myers emphasized the importance of this move, saying "there is a lot of assets here with the operations of SpaceX" and that "those assets need to be protected."

A home to SpaceX's manufacturing and testing facilities
Isolation factor

Starbase is the site where SpaceX manufactures and tests its prototype Starship rocket.

The town is small, with only a few hundred residents, most of whom are SpaceX employees or their families.

Its geographical isolation makes it even more unique; the nearest town, Brownsville, is about 16.09km away but takes over 45 minutes to reach.

Starbase has expanded its public services since last year
Growth trajectory

Since its incorporation as a city last year, Starbase has been expanding its public services.

In October, some SpaceX employees living at Starbase even started a volunteer fire department.

The city also created the position of fire marshal and took over the building inspections and permitting around the same time.

Initial law enforcement was contracted with Cameron County sheriff's office
Enforcement challenges

Initially, Starbase tried to manage law enforcement within its city limits by contracting with the Cameron County sheriff's office.

The city had signed a $3.5 million, five-year contract for two deputies to patrol at a time, with eight deputies overall assigned to the detail.

However, this arrangement didn't work out as planned due to difficulties in finding deputies through the county and lack of civil service protections in the contract.